'They do so much': Generous donation helps Jewish Federation with annual backpack drive

It’s the pre-dawn darkness when the trucks started rolling in South Florida, a fleet of 16-foot box trucks loaded to the gills with backpacks and school supplies for students and teachers throughout Volusia and Flagler counties.

“The crews are starting around 4 a.m.,” said Barry Wood, president of D&W Sourceall, a Fort Pierce company that has worked for more than a dozen years assembling and delivering essential school supplies for a mammoth back-to-school backpack drive organized and funded by the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties.

This year’s Operation Backpack school supply push will provide some 9,000 filled backpacks, teacher and student supply kits to 89 schools across two counties from Edgewater to Palm Coast. They will be awaiting students when classes begin on Thursday in Flagler and on Monday in Volusia.

It’s an effort that is being bolstered by a recent donation of $197,850 to the Jewish Federation by longtime Volusia County entrepreneur and philanthropist L. Gale Lemerand.

Meet Gale Lemerand: The Lemerand brand

It’s a gift that ranks as the largest contribution from a single donor in the organization’s history, according to Federation president Marvin Miller.

“He approached me,” Miller said. “He told me he appreciates what we do, that he knows what we do. This donation will help us across the board with backpacks and everything else that we do.”

'It's amazing, the work they do'

Over more than four decades in Daytona Beach, Lemerand has donated tens of millions of dollars to an array of educational and community service organizations.

His name graces buildings at Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona State College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of Florida, where a main thoroughfare that runs past the football stadium is named for him.

Over the years, he has made a series of smaller donations to the Jewish Federation but was inspired to make a bigger impact after taking a recent tour of the organization’s tiny headquarters on Andalusia Avenue in Ormond Beach.

“Marvin showed me what they were doing with the backpacks, which I knew about, but I didn’t have any idea about the extent of it,” said Lemerand, the force behind the popular Houligan’s and Stonewood Grill & Tavern restaurant brands, among others. “It’s amazing the work they do here.”

'Operation Backpack' rolls into action this week

This week, that work involved school backpack deliveries ahead of the opening day of classes.

After quick stops at Wawa and Dunkin Donuts, the three box trucks headed north on Tuesday to make deliveries along the east side of Interstate 95 to a list of schools that included Holly Hill School, a Volusia County Schools facility that serves kindergarteners through eighth-graders.

“We’ll come back on Wednesday and cover the west side of 95,” Wood said.

Jewish Federation programs reflect legacy of longtime leader

The annual backpack drive is among the community-oriented legacies established by Gloria Max, the longtime executive director of the Jewish Federation. She was hailed as an indefatigable advocate for children and families in need after her death two years at age 80 following a six-year cancer battle.

Her spirit is still reflected in the backpack program that continues to expand its reach, Miller said. Two years ago, the annual supply push topped out at roughly 7,000.

Miller also is seeing more need for other programs that include the federation’s weekly grocery distributions through its Jerry Doliner Food Bank. That program now provides 250-300 meals that feed as many as 85 families each week.

“Our lines are getting longer here,” Miller said. “We are seeing people here who are working and still need help.”

Lemerand’s donation will provide a formidable push toward meeting the organization’s annual fund-raising goals of $250,000-$300,000 for the food bank program and $187,000 for Operation Backpack, Miller said.

Lemerand, who will turn 90 next May, hopes that others might be inspired to help the Jewish Federation in its work, either through donations or by joining the organization’s roughly three dozen volunteers that help with the weekly food bank distributions.

“I see so many organizations like this that do such great work, but they don’t get their message out to the community about what they do,” Lemerand said. “They have to do a better job of getting the word out because they do so much.”

Back to school

In Volusia County, teachers returned to school on Tuesday, with students starting the 2023-24 school year on Monday.

In Flagler County, teachers returned for work days on Aug. 2, with students starting the 2023-24 school year on today.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Supply drive will get 9,000 backpacks to Volusia, Flagler students