BSA Cub Scout leader and Rotarian Bethany Benjamen, Rotarian and TCAT Jacksboro President Debbie Petree and Campbell County Vice Mayor Randy Brown deliver school backpack supplies to the Jellico community on Tuesday. Supplies were provided by nonprofit Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) in Oak Ridge.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN. (WLAF)- On Tuesday, members of the Campbell County Rotary Club traveled to Oak Ridge to the nonprofit Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) to pack backpacks with school supplies. Rotarians then delivered them to Jellico Elementary and Jellico high School. ADFAC serves all Campbell County Schools with school supplies, except Elk Valley, which is served by Mission of Hope.

VERY TOP PHOTO: Campbell County Rotarians Debbie Petree with TCAT Jacksboro, Tracie Davis with CC Children’s Center and Regina Blankenship with Community Trust Bank pack backpacks with school supplies on Tuesday to be delivered to students in the Jellico Community.

Campbell County Rotarians gathered Tuesday morning for a service project at ADFAC in Oak Ridge.  They assembled new backpacks full of school supplies and then had the privilege of delivering these backpacks to the children in the Jellico community. (Left to right) Rotarians Debbie Petree, TCAT; Randy Brown, Campbell County Deputy Mayor; Sharon Wilson, RSCC; Tracie Davis, Children’s Center; Regina Blankenship, Community Trust; Ray Perry, The Pinnacle; and BSA cub Scout leader Bethany Benjamin with her son.

The nonprofit ADFAC, which buys items in bulk, packs backpacks and gives them to students in need. This summer, ADFAC coordinated the largest School Supplies Program distribution in its thirty-two-year history by partnering with 50 schools, and an estimated 5,700 eligible students who will receive new backpacks and supplies.

The supplies go to students in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan and Roane counties, with school staff helping to ensure almost 6,000 children who need the gifts get them.

According to the non-profit organization, ADFAC staff work year-round to raise funds and purchase backpacks and supplies. In June through early August of each year, volunteers sort and pack supplies in ADFAC’s School Supplies Room. The sorted and packed supplies are delivered to each partner school for distribution

Eligible students are selected by school staff based on free/reduced lunch guidelines and other indicators of need.

All schools in the Anderson County, Clinton City, and Oak Ridge City school systems currently participate, as well as numerous schools in Campbell, Morgan, and Roane counties.

The School Supplies Program is supported through donations from individuals, clubs, and churches, private foundations, in-kind supplies and volunteer labor, and the United Way. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 7/25/2025-6AM)

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