Brenden’s Friday Backpacks Brings Community Together With Two September Events
Brenden’s Friday Backpacks is preparing for two September events that give Jefferson County residents a chance to enjoy a night out, support local students, and help keep weekend food on the table for children across the county.
The first comes this Saturday, Sept. 12, with Rock ‘n Roll Bingo at the Meramec-Arnold Elks, followed later this month by the fourth annual Fox vs. Seckman football game food drive on Sept. 25.
For Brenden’s Friday Backpacks, both events help support a mission that has grown considerably since beginning in 2011.
Jim Osia, a volunteer driver for Brenden’s Friday Backpacks who also coordinates the Fox vs. Seckman collection, said the organization operates entirely through donations and volunteer service.
“We work all on donations. ” Osia said.
According to Osia, the program began as a Boy Scout Eagle Project serving just four students at Windsor. Last year, he said, the organization was providing weekend food assistance to close to 1,800 students and now serves every public school district in Jefferson County.
Rock ‘n Roll Bingo Returns Saturday
The first opportunity to support the program comes Saturday, Sept. 12, when Brenden’s Friday Backpacks hosts Rock ‘n Roll Bingo at the Meramec-Arnold Elks, 1515 Miller Road in Imperial.
Doors open at 6 p.m., with bingo beginning at 7 p.m.
Admission is $25 in advance or $30 at the door, space permitting, and includes a bingo card and soda.
The evening will feature 10 rounds of bingo, with a non-cash prize for each round, along with a 50/50 drawing and silent auction baskets. Guests may also purchase an all-you-can-drink bracelet for $20 or use the cash bar. Outside beverages are not permitted, but attendees may bring their own snacks.
Osia said the bingo fundraiser has traditionally drawn strong community support.
“Every year that I’ve been to it, it has sold out,” Osia said, adding that it has been the organization’s largest one-time fundraiser.
That support helps Brenden’s Friday Backpacks continue purchasing, packing, and delivering food for students who may need additional meals when school is not in session.
Donated food is brought to the organization’s Arnold facility, where volunteers inspect and organize it before packing bags based on students’ grade levels. Volunteer drivers then deliver the food to participating schools.
Fox and Seckman Turn Rivalry Into Friendly Competition
Less than two weeks later, the community will have another chance to help when Fox and Seckman meet on the football field Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. at Seckman High School.
For the fourth year, the game will also serve as a friendly food drive competition benefiting Brenden’s Friday Backpacks.
Students from Fox and Seckman will staff separate donation tables outside the game, allowing supporters of each school to contribute items toward their team’s total before entering the stadium. Donations are separate from game admission and do not replace the purchase of a ticket.
Osia said the idea came to him after thinking about the thousands of people who attend the rivalry game and the opportunity to turn that crowd into something that could help local students.
“I want to make this a friendly competition,” Osia recalled telling school officials when the collection began.
And the competition is real, even if the ultimate goal is helping children.
Osia counts individual servings rather than simply counting boxes. A box containing six individually packaged snacks, for example, counts as six donated items because those are ultimately distributed individually to students.
In 2024, Fox collected nearly 1,000 items compared with roughly 400 from Seckman, according to Osia. The result even led the Seckman supporter to make good on a friendly wager and wear a Fox shirt while making deliveries.
What to Donate
For the Brenden’s Friday Backpacks competition, requested items include kid-friendly canned soup and pasta, pudding or fruit cups, plastic jars of peanut butter 16 ounces or smaller, individual snack packages, granola or breakfast bars, and single-serve cereal.
The event will also collect donations for the Fox C-6 Care Closet, although Care Closet donations will not count toward the Fox vs. Seckman competition.
Requested Care Closet items include conditioner, deodorant, hand soap, paper towels, tissues, socks, underwear, and leggings in all sizes.
Osia said the Care Closet gives the football drive another way to support families throughout the district, while the competition itself helps supply Brenden’s Friday Backpacks.
Helping Students Through the Weekend
For Osia, the reason behind the events is simple.
“It’s supplemental food for these kids that often don’t have food options over the weekend.” he said. “It’s a good way to serve your community.”
The program works with schools to determine how many bags are needed, with those numbers sometimes changing throughout the year as family circumstances change. Volunteers pack the food, drivers deliver it to schools, and school staff handle distribution to students.
For the Jefferson County residents who will attend either Rock ‘n Roll Bingo or the Fox vs. Seckman game this month, supporting Brenden’s Friday Backpacks can be as simple as buying a bingo ticket, bringing a box of individually wrapped muffins, or dropping off a can of soup.
Those small contributions, collected together, help make sure local students have something waiting for them when the school week ends.
Brenden’s Friday Backpacks depends on community support to provide weekend food for students across Jefferson County. You can help by making a monetary donation, purchasing items from the organization’s wish list, supporting local fundraisers, or following Brenden’s Friday Backpacks on Facebook.
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