Gause students collect donations for Weekend Backpack Program

Washougal — Gause Elementary School social worker Julie Bristol told students that she had a single birthday wish: Collect enough food donations to carry the school’s Weekend Backpack Program for hungry families through the rest of the school year. She figured that would take 2,400 food and personal items, she said. But the Gause kids came through in a big way, nearly doubling that goal and coming up with more than 4,200 items, Bristol said. “They know that the food may be for a classmate or friend, and they want to help,” she said.