Saturday, October 3, 2026
Howie’s Heart kicked off its month-long school supply donation drive with a teen service event, Backpack Buddies, on July 1 at the Franklin Square Public Library. During the event, volunteers decorated school supplies with messages of encouragement and kindness.
The drive will benefit United Way of Long Island’s “Stuff-A-Bus” program, which provides essential school supplies to children across Long Island.
Teens decorated pencil boxes, keychains and cards to fill backpacks that were donated by local residents for children in need ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
Jen Camacho, co-founder of Howie’s Heart, said it’s important for teens to show love and support for friends who may not be able to afford supplies.
“I know when I was little, I used to love to going school shopping for stuff,” Camacho said to the group of teens. “For these kids, they don’t get that opportunity often. So, giving them something special that we make tonight, that’s beautiful and unique, will probably help them feel really great, too.”
Teens used markers and stickers to design custom school supplies as they sat at tables in the library’s meeting room, laughing with friends and other Howie’s Heart volunteers.
Madison Duckworth, a regular volunteer for the nonprofit, said she loves attending Howie’s Heart events because of the welcoming environment and the opportunity to help others.
“I feel like the people who are less fortunate are the same kind of people as us, and enjoy the same things,” Madison said. “I feel every kid deserves that.”
Madison, 13, has been volunteering for the nonprofit for about a year. Her mother, Jaime Duckworth, also volunteers for Howie’s Heart and helps supervise events that Madison attends.
Jaime said she has known Camacho for eight years, as Camacho previously served as the Service Unit Manager for Daisy Scouts Troop 1383, which Madison was a part of before joining the Girl Scouts. After Camacho stepped down, the two reconnected at a local vendor fair.
Jaime said she fully supports Camacho’s vision for Howie’s Heart and quickly signed up so she and her daughter can help at events.
The school supply drive, Jaime continued, is an important way for the community to support the nonprofit’s mission of spreading kindness.
“It’s hard,” Jaime said. “We live in a community right now where everything is so expensive. People that you don’t always know about are struggling. If there’s anything that other people can really do to even take a little bit of that away, then that’s what we need to do.”
Savannah Torregrossa, a rising junior at H. Frank Carey High School, has volunteered with Howie’s Heart for over a year. She said the nonprofit is the perfect way to give back to the community.
She noted that many students at Carey, including some she knows personally, are in need of school supplies.
“I want to make sure kids have what they need to be successful in school,” Savannah said. “School is a big part of life, and seeing kids struggle because they don’t have everything they need, I want to make sure they succeed.”
Emma Scheidling, a rising senior at H. Frank Carey, said she originally joined Howie’s Heart events to fulfill community service hours but continues attending because of how the nonprofit helps others.
Not only does she get to spend time with friends, she said, but she also gives back to those in need.
“I feel like it’s such an important thing for someone to do so they can fully understand what somebody else is going through,” Emma said. “My mom always says, ‘If you have the tools to do — do it.’”
Emma’s brother, Thomas Scheidling, a rising freshman at Carey, also said he started volunteering last year for service hours, but quickly realized how meaningful the nonprofit’s work is.
“For me, it means that I’m making someone’s life easier and making their day better,” Thomas said.
He encouraged other teens who are unsure about volunteering with Howie’s Heart to take the leap.
“Just do it,” Thomas said. “It’s going to help somebody out. You end up having a great time, and you’re going to be helping your community.”
Anyone interested in donating to the school supply drive can visit HowiesHeart.org or FranklinSquarePL.org for a list of requested items. Donations can be dropped off at the library’s circulation desk.
