With school starting in a few weeks, a local nonprofit is organizing a backpack and school supply drive for children in need.

The drive is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15 at the Oak Harbor Walmart.

The Opportunity Council and the Boys & Girls Club are teaming up to collect new backpacks for kids of all ages but especially for children in elementary school, said Monica Lopez, who works for the nonprofit.

They hope to receive a variety of styles so children that receive the backpacks aren’t stigmatized — they can have the same thing as everyone else at school.

“We don’t want to give a pink ‘Frozen’ backpack to a ninth grader,” Lopez said, referring to the popular animated Disney film.

The nonprofit also is collecting college-rule filler paper, pencil pouches, colored pencils and crayons — lots of crayons.

The nonprofit fills the new backpacks with supplies and matches them to children from pre-screened, qualified low-income families, she said. They give out around 350 a year.

The Lions Club recently helped out with a backpack drive. But they never seem to have enough to match the need.

The nonprofit also gives families a voucher that allows them to get a new pair of shoes or back-to-school clothing from the Garage of Blessings.

“Even some of the smaller things are hard for families to afford,” Lopez said.

Poverty is real and mostly hidden in Oak Harbor, she said. Living-wage jobs are hard to come by if someone doesn’t work on base. Most of what’s available are low-wage jobs at fast-food restaurants and the like, she said.

The nonprofit also accepts cash donations.

n For information, go online to www.oppco.org