Kids pack special picnic

Amanda Anderson has become a well-known presence in her Rancho Santa

Margarita neighborhood. Every year, the 14-year-old posts fliers

around the block, asking neighbors to donate backpacks, which she in

turn passes on to charities. To build the stash in her garage, Amanda

also goes door to door for contributions.

“A lot of people in our neighborhood are expecting it, because

this is the sixth summer she’s done it,” said her mother, Sheri

Anderson.

On Tuesday, Amanda’s gifts found their rightful places -- in the

hands of perfect strangers. At a picnic at Vista Park hosted by A

Light in the Window, a nonprofit organization for which her mother is

a board member, Amanda donated 25 backpacks to Costa Mesa families --

and her gift was matched by others in the community, who donated

about 100 more.

The four-hour event, organized largely by Amanda herself, offered

a back-to-school boost to children from the Orange Coast Interfaith

Shelter, Families Costa Mesa, Mika and other outreach groups. On a

hot afternoon, with a firetruck and carnival games surrounding the

field, dozens of young residents stood in line to receive stuffed

animals and backpacks filled with supplies for the upcoming school

year.

The backpacks were a welcome gift for the recipients. Jason

Ambriz, 11, said that he hadn’t had a backpack since two years ago,

when the zipper on his old one broke. In its place, Jason had found

another method of packing his schoolbooks.

“I have a sports bag that carries stuff,” he said, adding that he

had found a way to sling it over his shoulders.

Amanda, who began collecting backpacks in the third grade, comes

from a charitable family. Her father Gary serves on the board for

Goodwill Industries, while her mother served on other nonprofit

groups before joining A Light in the Window earlier this year.

Part of Amanda’s inspiration for the backpack drive, however, came

from an outside source.

“I was reading an article about a girl who gave out prom dresses,

and I thought I could do something,” she said.

She estimated that in six years, she had collected about 2,000

backpacks. Some of her neighbors provided new ones, while others

donated their children’s old ones. The only requirement, Amanda said,

is that the zippers function properly.

“I like to listen to the kids laughing,” she said. “It makes me

feel good inside.”

While Amanda organized most of the Tuesday picnic, even stitching

bean bags and painting backdrops for the carnival games, others lent

a hand as well. The Costa Mesa Fire Department donated the stuffed

animals, while Newport Harbor Lutheran Church and several individuals

provided more backpacks. The newly formed Rotary Club of Costa Mesa

served hot dogs and other food.

The picnic marked one of the first public events for A Light in

the Window, which formed in January to offer services to Costa Mesa

families going through difficult times. The group’s ultimate goal,

according to Executive Director Kathy Haze, is to prevent

circumstances that could lead to domestic violence.

In addition to offering supplies to children, A Light in the

Window hosts social nights for parents and operates what it calls a

clubhouse in Costa Mesa -- a house in an undisclosed location in

which one family lives full-time. Haze said a donor in the community

was underwriting the cost of the rent.

“When I started the nonprofit in January, I went to the other

nonprofits in Costa Mesa and told them I wasn’t trying to duplicate

their services -- just adding to them,” Haze said.

When Sheri Anderson joined the board of directors this year, Haze

got another ally in her daughter. Last year, Amanda donated around

700 backpacks at an event sponsored by the Orange County Child Abuse

Prevention Center, where her mother then worked.

“We’re a very philanthropic family,” Anderson said. “We live in a

nice area of Orange County, and my husband and I wanted our kids to

understand that not everyone is as fortunate as we are.”