We're SO Excited!

This year in addition to distributing backpacks at the Pass Creek Church of God in Allen, the First Church of God in Wounded Knee, and the Calico Community PowWow, we will be working with the non-profit organization RE-MEMBER to distribute backpacks!  

RE-Member is an excellent organization that has been on the Pine Ridge Reservation for several years and does great work serving the basic needs of the Lakota people on the Reservation. 

We are so very honored and excited to be able to partner with them in the effort to get school supplies to more children on the Reservation. 

This is BIG !!

We are thrilled to announce something BIG! 

In April of 2012, Josh Lansdale will set out to hike over 2000 miles of the Appalacian Trail - and he'll be doing it to raise money for Backpacks For Pine Ridge!

You can help out by sponsoring Josh per mile of the hike!  And you'll be able to follow his journey from his Facebook page! 

Click here to see more information about his hike and how to help out.   

Josh has made several trips to the Pine Ridge Reservation and has decided to do this to help raise money to provide backpacks and school supplies for the children living on the Rez.   Be sure to "Like" his Hike For Pine Ridge page on Facebook and share it with all your friends! 

Exciting News!

We are once again planning our Trax for Backpacks 5k and we have exciting news!  This year we will add a 10 race as well as the 5k ... and ... we are working with a school on the Pine Ridge Reservation to have one of the students design our logo!  

We can't wait to see the new logo and meet the student who will get to design it! 

For now, mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 29 to come out and walk or run the Trax for Backpacks  5k or 10k.  It will again be held at the Voice of America Park in West Chester, OH.

The Shamrock Shuffle 2011

THANKS to all who came out and walked or ran on the Backpacks For Pine Ridge Team

at the Shamrock Shuffle yesterday!! 

You all did a GREAT job!  And those of you who ran for the first time ... we'll be thinking about you and your shin splints.  ;O)

I think we had the 25 people necessary to receive the $250 grant from The Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty but it will probably be a few days before we know for sure.

Thanks so much for your support and we hope you had FUN!



REZonate Music Fest 2011

You won't want to miss the REZonate Music Fest this summer.  One of the premiere horn bands in the Greater Cincinnati area, Blue Stone Ivory, will be performning! 

Mark your calendar now and plan to be there!

REZonate Music Fest

September 17, 2011

Keehner Park

West Chester, OH 

BIG Thanks to The Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty

We owe a BIG THANK YOU to the Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty for the wonderful breakfast and the generous grant of $1000 to Backpacks For Pine Ridge!  

The Rotary Club has been a friend of Backpacks For Pine Ridge for several years now.  This year we are especially excited that two of the Rotary Club members will be going to Pine Ridge Reservation with us to deliver the backpacks! 

The Shamrock Shuffle

Backpacks For Pine Ridge is a non-profit fund through The Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty.  On March 12, 2011, The Community Foundation will be hosting their 5th annual Shamrock Shuffle 5k and 10k at Union Center in West Chester. 

This year there is a new twist called The Shuffle Gives Back.  Each fund or charity can register as a team (which Backpacks For Pine Ridge has done) and for each 25 people who register for the Shamrock Shuffle on the Backpacks For Pine Ridge team, we will get a grant for $250!   If we get 50 people registered on our team, we'll get a grant for $500! 

Also each team that is the most recognizable and the most enthusiastic will be eligible for an additional $250! 

SO ...

Here's what to do ...

Go to the registration page of The Shamrock Shuffle's web site and register.  When it asks if you are on a team, click "yes".  A space will open up for you to type in "Backpacks For Pine Ridge". 

There are benefits to registering early as early registration is $25 a person.  Pre-registration will be $30 a person and day of the event registration will be $35 a person.  Early registration also includes a t-shirt and breakfast after the race. 

Generally a backpack with school supplies costs us about $10 each so if we get 25 people on our team, and get the $250, then each person on our team will represent a child on the Reservation that will be getting a backpack full of school supplies! 

Go register now and come out on March 12 for a fun time!

End of Year Report 2010

Thanks to all who helped make this year a huge success! It sounds so cliché to say, but it really is true that you are the reason we are able to accomplish what we do.

Early in the year we got word that the Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association had purchased a 2010 Heritage Softail Classic Harley-Davidson motorcycle to raffle off and were giving the proceeds to Backpacks! That set in motion a lot of fun. We cherish the relationships we were able to build with the Cincinnati TMA members through working with them at various festivals where the bike was on display.

In May, the Cincinnati TMA also helped some from our congregation at the Winton Road First Church of God to stuff the backpacks with school supplies and pack them into boxes for shipping.

In July we delivered 611 backpacks filled with school supplies to the Pine Ridge Reservation. We delivered to Allen, Wounded Knee, and the Calico Community. We were especially touched to discover what a huge impact we have had a the Calico Community. Previously they have held their annual PowWow in September. They would distribute the backpacks by ir them in the middle of the PowWow circle and having the grandparents come out first to get backpacks for their grandchildren. Like every other grandparent, they enjoy being able to do things for their grandchildren but are too often unable to. By distributing the backpacks in this way, it allowed the grandparents to give school supplies to their grandchildren. This year the Calico Community has changed the date of the PowWow to August so that the backpacks can be given out in August rather than September. This will relieve the stress of the people there because they will have the backpacks and school supplies in hand and will not need to worry about how they will provide them for their children.

On September 11th we held the REZonate Music Fest at Keehner Park in West Chester, OH. Thanks to our sponsors: Jacobs Plumbing and Excavating, Hauser Properties, Hauser Heating and Air, Ameridian Specialty Services, The Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty, Antonelli College, and Rascals Sports Bar and Grill, this year was successful once again! Blessid Union of Souls headlined the event with Brian White, Karyn Williams, 8KOunt, and The Nuclear Penguins all playing the event. The West Chester Police Department’s Honor Guard presented the colors for a very moving 9/11 tribute.
It was at the REZonate Music Fest that the Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association drew the name of the winner of the 2010 Harley and presented Backpacks For Pine Ridge with a check for $10,180!!

In October we teamed up with Speedy Feet, Napa Auto Parts, US Food Service, The Body Shop, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Whole Foods to hold the Trax For Backpacks 5k at Voice of America Park. The event was very successful with over 100 runners and walkers participating.

As of December 2010 we have purchased 800 backpacks and all of the school supplies to go in them and are preparing to deliver them to the Reservation in July of 2011.

It has been a great year and we are looking forward to seeing what great things God has in store for 2011.

The Numbers are In and Its Good!

The number are in from the Trax for Backpacks 5k!! We cleared $ 1,872.00 !! Not bad for a first year event!!

Thanks to all who came out and ran or walked or just came out to cheer us on.

Thanks to our sponsors NAPA Auto Parts, The Body Shop Personal Training, Whole Foods and US Food Service.

And thanks to Rhonda Greely who had the vision and determination to make it all happen! It was a fun morning for all. We look forward to doing it all again next year!

Goodbye to a Good Friend

It is with much sadness and a sense of disbelief that I am writing of the unexpected loss of a very good friend. Saturday, November 13th, Gary Means suffered a heart attack and passed away. Gary was a personal friend for many, many years and was closely connected to Backpacks For Pine Ridge.

As a professional graphic designer he donated his time and talent to creating our beautiful logos for both Backpacks For Pine Ridge and for the REZonate Music Fest. In addition the the logos and countless fliers Gary created for REZonate, he and his wife Jan also supported Backpacks For Pine Ridge financially.

Those who knew Gary will remember him as a compassionate man who cared deeply and gave generously. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to all of his many friends who will miss him greatly.

REZonate Music Fest

Many thanks to all who helped to make the REZonate Music Fest a success this year! There are just to many to thank individually. Over 100 volunteers and so, so, so many who worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Here are a few pics of the day.

The West Chester Police Department Honor Guard

doing a tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11

The Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association

raffled off a 2010 Heritage Softail Classic Harley-Davidson Motorcycle

Emcee Dan Tacket calling the winner of the Harley from the stage

The Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association presenting Amber from Backpacks for Pine Ridge with a check for $10,000 toward the purchase of backpacks and school supplies to for the children on Pine Ridge Reservation

Blessid Union of Souls

Brian White

Karyn Williams

8KOunt

The Nuclear Penguins

Bridgewater Falls Bikes & BBQ Pics

Last Sunday we had a booth at Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center's Bikes & BBQ event. We gave out info about Backpacks For Pine Ridge, REZonate Music Fest, the Trax For Backpacks 5k, and the Teamsters Motorcycle Association sold about 30+ raffle tickets. Scot even sold one to Ickey Woods, former Bengals player. Here are a few pics of the event.

The 2010 Heritage Softail Classic the TMA is raffling off to benefit

Backpacks For Pine Ridge

Gary and Ron from Cincinnati TMA

Scot from Cincinnati TMA selling a raffle ticket to Ickey Woods

Sunday, June 27th: Bikes & BBQ Event

Come see us at Bridgewater Falls Shopping Center this Sunday afternoon, June 27th, from noon till 4pm. Ickey Woods, former Bengals player will be on hand to judge the BBQ cookoff and we'll have raffle tickets available for the 2010 Heritage Softail Classic!

The 2010 REZonate Flier

Thanks Gary for a GREAT job creating the flier for us! Check our web site for a downloadable version.

Ft. Ancient PowWow

Look for us at the Gathering of Four Directions PowWow at Ft. Ancient on Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13. We will be there with info and raffle tickets for the 2010 Heritage Softail Classic Harley Davidson.

Click here for the flier and info about the PowWow

The Harley is on Display Today!

Come see us today, June 5th at Tri-County Harley Davidson in Fairfield. The 2010 Heritage Softail Classic that will be raffled off at REZonate this year will be on display. Get your ticket and say hi

Backpack Packing 2010

BIG THANKS to the Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association and some folks from Winton Rd. First Church of God for coming out to stuff backpacks and pack them! Together we packed 547 backpacks before we ran out of boxes! We'll get more boxes next week and finish the rest for a total of 600!

Click on the pics for a larger view!

Backpack Packing Party 2010

These are just a few of the supplies we'll be packing this Saturday!

Ft. Ancient PowWow!!

Look for the Backpacks For Pine Ridge booth at the 20th Annual Fort Ancient Celebration: A Gathering if Four Directions

Saturday, June 12th from 11:00am - 7pm

&

Sunday, June 13th noon - 6pm

Fort Ancient:

6123 State Route 350

Oregonia, OH 45054

The Harley!

The 2010 Heritage Softail Classic Harley Davidson bike that the Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association is raffling off at REZonate on Sept. 11th this year is all paid for!!

Now its time to get it in gear for the kids! Ticket sales now all go to provide school supplies for the kids on Pine Ridge Reservation - the poorest place in America!

Thanks to the Cincinnati TMA and Tri-County Harley Davidson in Fairfield, the sky is the limit for what we can do for the kids!

Come see us this weekend at the Trenton Yard Sales - and get a look at the bike!