Rock band Pearl Jam gives Wileman students ‘Blessings in a Backpack’

Wileman Principal Deborah Maki

DELAVAN — Funds raised at a summertime Pearl Jam concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater outside East Troy have found their way to the Delavan-Darien School District and Wileman Elementary School.

The school recently received a grant of $50,000 from the alternative rock band and the non-profit Blessings in a Backpack organization to buy food for children in need.

The funds will provide weekend meals to students who qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. At Wileman Elementary, that’s about 240 students or nearly 75 percent of the student body in the 4-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade school.

“We were overwhelmed to be selected for this grant,” Wileman Principal Deborah Maki said. “It fills such a need in our school and in our community. We are very thankful on this Thanksgiving to have a connection with this organization and Pearl Jam.”

In partnership with Stinebrink’s Piggly Wiggly in Delavan, Wileman Elementary School staff will send eligible students home each Friday with a small backpack full of food, including such items as oatmeal, canned meals and vegetables, fruit snacks, granola bars and juice boxes.

“It’s really just enough to make sure our kids can make it through the weekend with several meals,” Maki said. “It’s a great program. There really is a need for it here in Delavan and it’s growing.”

District-wide, about 63 percent of the more than 2,500 Delavan-Darien students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. The number of eligible students has more than doubled since 2001, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

According to the Blessings in a Backpack website, about $80 will provide weekend meals for one student for an entire school year. The funds donated by Pearl Jam and Blessings in a Backpack should last about three years based on the current number of eligible Wileman Elementary School students, Maki said.

Families must apply to be a part of the program, Maki said. The school will start sending the food home with eligible students after the start of the new year.

Why Wileman?

At its summer concert at Alpine Valley, Pearl Jam chose three charities to split $2 from every ticket sold. The charities were Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Blessings in a Backpack and Wisconsin Voices.

One of the board members for Blessings in a Backpack is the CEO of Live Nation, the company that runs Alpine Valley’s amphitheater. The board saw a need in Delavan and chose Wileman, Maki said.

Links:

Pearl Jam: http://www.pearljam.com/

Blessings in a Backpack: http://www.blessingsinabackpack.org/

Live Nation: http://www.livenation.com/

Stinebrink’s Piggly Wiggly: http://www.stinebrinkspigglywiggly.com/