A group of 13-year olds, who celebrated their birthdays together at the Washington Civic Center, thought outside the box in a very unselfish way to benefit those who are less fortunate.

Sarah Baltz, mother of one of the boys, Jack Baltz, said, the boys thought ‘What can we do for other kids like us?’ That is when the boys decided to have a joint birthday party, having each of their guests bring a canned or packaged item to donate to children who are in need. The boys sent out invitations for their Rods, Reels, Boats and Southern Boys-themed birthday party, notifying guests to bring an item to benefit Back Pack Pals of Beaufort County.

“I just thought it was great,” Baltz said. “I mean, those kids brought so much food for the Back Pack Pals of Beaufort County program. It’s just really a neat program.”

All the mothers of the boys are either teachers in Beaufort County Schools, active in PTO or affiliated with Washington Housing Authority, which prompted the idea, Baltz said. However, Jack Baltz said, he wanted to contribute to Back Pack Pals of Beaufort County, which he learned about at his church, First Church Christ in Washington.

“We knew some kids didn’t have food and we thought we should help,” Jack said. “It was really fun. Everyone brought a canned item. We wanted people to feel better to have food and be glad.”

Bath Elementary School Library Coordinator and Back Pack Pals Coordinator Alice Faucette said local schools and churches that gather food items for the less fortunate support the program. St. Thomas Episcopal, Bath Methodist and Rosemary Church of Christ all bring in food for the Back Pack Pals program to pack and distribute to needy families.

“We put them in backpacks, put them on the buses on Fridays and send them home to families who need food,” Faucette said.

Twenty-four families in Bath, covering around 50 kids benefit from the weekly program, Faucette said. The birthday party campaign brought in items to help with the stock of food, including packages of juice, SpaghettiOs, snacks, pancake mix, spaghetti noodles and cans of sauce and oatmeal, Faucette said.