After 15 years, Cheryl Harris, previous President of the Bulldog Backpack Program, has decided to step down and Raquel Oligmueller, new President of the backpack program steps up into the role.
“Extremely grateful that Cheryl and the Board trust me enough with this position, I’m really excited. Cheryl and Todd did all of the hard work by setting it up 15 years ago and as you can see by the people that are here we have a lot of seasoned volunteers. So I’m hoping that there will be in the future some of the younger generation to step up and help and volunteer more,” said Oligmueller.
The backpack program started when Cheryl Harris, while working at the school, saw a need within the community.
“The backpack program started 15 years ago by Cheryl and Todd. Cheryl actually worked in the school and she saw this need, she saw students coming to school hungry. They partnered with somebody and they started the program. So we primarily help families that just need more assistance and students that need just a little extra help over not just the weekends but school breaks as well. We rely on the school counselors and the principals, teachers where they coordinate and have recommendations they let us know,” said Oligmueller.
Oligmueller’s visions for the future of the program involve the younger generation volunteering and utilizing social media.
“I would absolutely love to see the younger generations helping, with not just this program but there are programs that are meaningful to the community. But also, not just that, I also have a lot of these ideas in my head how we could be more impactful, get the name out there more, how we can utilize social media, free advertisement. I have some ideas but I’ll definitely need some help as well. Everything is welcome,” Oligmueller said.