Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Even after a 38-year teaching career, Patricia Early, in retirement, still cares deeply about students. Several years back, Early wanted to find some way to help them—especially the needy. So, as a long-time member of the Talbot County Women’s Club, the 73-year-old started what she calls a backpack program.
“When the program started, people didn’t realize the need for them,” says Early, the organization’s chair for backpacks. “This really helps the kids. The people at the schools didn’t believe we were doing this when it first started and they got their backpacks.”
The three-year-old effort has been a roaring success, particularly during the pandemic. More than 200 back packs have been given out.
“(Early) has first-hand knowledge of the stress the kids go through because she was a teacher,” Talbot County Women’s Club President Nancy Lutes says about the process of starting a new school year. “Some families don’t have the resources for supplies when the kids are going back to school. It was the perfect idea. It alleviates the stress.”
The first two years, the program delivered backpacks stuffed with supplies— including composition books, glue sticks, binders, dry erase markers, folders, pencils, and notebook paper—to sixth graders at Easton Middle School, where Early taught for 30 years.
Early says she receives a discount from Staples on supplies and she, along with husband Steve, spend $200 of their own money on the backpacks ordered from an online retailer.
“When kids go to school and some don’t have enough money for backpacks, they walk around with nothing,” Early says. “We are really helping out the kids in need. We are not just handing out backpacks. The school gives them out to those who need them.”
This year, Easton Elementary School fifth graders were the beneficiaries of the backpacks. “It’s very rewarding to be able to give back to the community and especially to the kids who are in need,” says Early, a board member of the organization for eight years. “Right now, it’s very important for a family to pay the rent or buy food. The start of school may be the lowest thing on the priority list.”
It costs about $500 to run the program each year and Early, an Easton resident, organizes two or three fundraisers throughout the year, including tea parties and flower marts. “It’s a big project,” Lutes says. “We appreciate how she coordinates it every year and her commitment to the kids.”
Lutes and Early also appreciate the reaction they get from the administrators and teachers. “It’s overwhelming for them,” Lutes says. “They are very grateful. They really appreciate her support for the students.”
The idea for giving out backpacks came to Early when she spent a decade volunteering for the Easton chapter of the Society Saint Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charity that helps people in need, as a home advisor for a decade. She counseled families looking for assistance and often referred them to the local department of social services and a neighborhood service center. “Their kids needed help, too,” Early recalls.
Early also volunteers for other Talbot County Women’s Club projects. She sat on several committees for the upkeep of the organization’s facility and is heavily involved in monthly luncheons. “Anything she takes on, she does it very seriously,” says Patricia Latham, a former Talbot County Women’s Club president and current board member. “She is very thorough about the work she does.”
Early loves to talk about her teaching career and it soon becomes clear how devoted she was to it. She worked as a reading specialist at Easton Middle and taught seventh and eighth grade language arts and social studies. She holds a B.A. in education from the University of Maryland and reading specialist master’s degree from Towson University.
“She was a very good teacher,” Latham says. “She taught all six of my children. They really loved her.”
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