Scout's project fills backpacks for pupils
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

Boy Scout Nick Englisis sits among the 195 backpacks filled with school supplies that he collected for the Kids Corporation of Newark. Nick collected the backpacks and school supplies for his Eagle Scout project.

MARLBORO — When it came time to come up with an idea for an Eagle Scout project, Nick Englisis knew he wanted his effort to somehow benefit children. In the end, the young man's project provided 195 book bags loaded with school supplies to children in Newark.

Nick, 17, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 531 in Holmdel. He has been a scout since he was 8 years old. He is currently in his senior year at Marlboro High School

Knowing that he wanted his project to help children in need, Nick began an Internet search to seek out organizations with whom he could work. Kids Corporation was an organization that appealed to the young man.

Kids Corporation is a Newark nonprofit, founded in 1971, that operates summer and after-school programs, a year-round environmental science camp and a free health clinic, benefiting more than 4,500 elementary school children each year in New Jersey's largest city.

The scout said he liked the organization's mission and wanted to work with the group. Nick pitched the idea of the backpack drive.

"From my first contact with Nick after he found Kids Corporation's website, I found him to be impressively smart and poised for such a young man," Kids Corporation Executive Director Micháela Murray- Nolan said.

Nick set out to make contact on a corporate level in an attempt to find companies that would help him collect backpacks filled with school supplies. He had a friend who worked at Staples who was able to provide him with a corporate contact. The company sent Nick more than $1,000 worth of merchandise, he said. Mead donated more than $1,000 worth of school supplies and Sharp donated 200 calculators.

Nick went on to work with the website www.afterschoolstore.com to host a link so that people outside the local area could purchase backpacks filled with supplies for his project. The website put together a package and offered free shipping, Nick said, which resulted in 91 bags being sent his way.

To generate more help for the project, Nick established a Facebook page for the collection and emails were sent out in the hope of receiving donations.

"(Nick) was extremely resourceful as he worked on Project Backpack, reaching out to global manufacturers, stores and websites to facilitate donations and cut costs for donors. Each backpack was completely filled with binders, pens, notebooks, crayons and even a scientific calculator in every bag," Murray-Nolan said.

With so many book bags collected, Nick said it took four cars to deliver them all to Newark.

"Nick single-handedly collected 195 book bags — twice as many as our usual annual book bag drive. Because of Nick, Kids Corporation was able to provide these critical education supplies to students at two public schools, two churches, one neighborhood center and one homeless shelter in Newark this fall. His tremendous effort means that nearly 200 needy Newark students have the tools they will need to perform and succeed in school this year," Murray-Nolan said.

Nick said he is glad to see that his project will help so many children.

"They deserve it. They barely have anything and I was just happy to help them," he said.

Nick will soon face a board review on his Eagle Scout project. He said he should receive his Eagle Scout award at a ceremony in April.