LOCKHART, Texas — Connie S. Amaya is a grandmother and retired Lockhart ISD staff member who uses her own retirement money to buy backpacks to give out for free to the community.
“I chose that backpack years ago because I wanted to give them something that was the most expensive, to kind of set up, set them up for the school year for success,” Amaya said.
Amaya started the free backpack drive in Lockhart five years ago as a way to remain connected to her community post-retirement.
Every year, she prepares for the drive months in advance, resulting in her entire house being filled with backpacks.
“Through the year, I just start ordering backpacks and I keep them in a storage room, and so I just keep ordering and keep ordering,” Amaya said.
At around 6 a.m. on Saturday, families were already lined up with chairs and umbrellas to wait for the drive, which didn't start until 9 a.m.
“Since early this morning, we've had people lined up all the way down this street behind us ... We were so excited. We were just so excited to see so many people, because that's been my goal, to reach as many people in the community," Amaya said.
Amaya does not do this drive alone. Her husband, sister, brother, son, grandson and many more family members all help her put days like these together.
"As the day [gets] closer, we’re all getting excited,” Amaya said.
Amaya also hit a major milestone on Saturday: she handed out her 2,000th backpack.
"It meant that that's how many families we have impacted,” Amaya said. “That's what that number really stands for. That's how many families that we have helped."
This year, in addition to backpacks, Amaya decided to also start giving away school supplies. She also handed out free haircut vouchers to help parents with the additional costs of preparing for a new school year.
It’s Amaya’s compassion that keeps families coming back year after year.
“I encourage them to go to school every day. I encourage them to be leaders and not followers. I encourage them to make good grades all the time," Amaya said.
Amaya and her family have also gone to Uvalde twice in the past year to hand out backpacks, as that community deals with the aftermath of the tragic school shooting in May 2022 that killed 19 children and two teachers.
Amaya said she is hopeful that her back-to-school drive will continue to grow and impact even more people in the future.