Ending the summer with service

Dozens of local teens spent the last days of their summer vacations knee-deep in markers, pencil boxes and rulers.

They weren’t selecting school supplies at their local warehouse stores; instead, the students were helping hundreds of other local kids and their families.

More than 1,500 backpacks filled with school supplies, Payless ShoeSource gift cards, toys and socks were given out Saturday at the Costa Mesa headquarters of local nonprofit Share Our Selves.

Saturday morning, hundreds of low-income families lined up by 6 a.m., then spent hours in line for the backpacks.

The days before were a frenzy of filler paper and heat, as volunteer groups helped fill the backpacks in a non-air-conditioned warehouse.

Standing between aqua party tubs filled with highlighters and 4-foot-high stacks of wirebound notebooks, members of the National Charity League’s local chapter filled hundreds of backpacks during their volunteer time last week.

“We get community service hours, but we mainly help out because the girls are really involved in community service with our moms,” said Newport Beach resident Marie Fitch, 15.

Marie, who attends Mater Dei High School, sorted pencil boxes with her friend Kaitlyn Clark, 15, a Corona del Mar High School student.

The girls vote on which activities they will do each year.

Other organizations the league works with include the Down Syndrome Assn. of Orange County, Oak View Children’s Bureau, Orangewood Children’s Home and Someone Cares Soup Kitchen.

The National Charity League fosters mother-daughter involvement.

“I thought it would be really cool when I was in seventh grade. I haven’t really stopped since then,” Kaitlyn said.

Each backpack was filled to the brim with supplies and toys, collected during drives at the Orange County Fair, or donated by companies like Tilly’s, Hot Topic and Hyundai.

“The backpacks are really stuffed; really heavy,” said Vanessa Ontiveros, the nonprofit’s operations manager.

Dickies messenger bags and backpacks donated by Tilly’s proved to be very popular among teenage recipients; younger kids preferred Hannah Montana lunch pails and other licensed merchandise.

Share Our Selves also provides free medical and dental care, food, clothing and holiday programs. For more information, visit shareourselves.org.