Elementary nurse Tracy Dailey, left, and high school nurse Holly Irwin fill backpacks for a weekly needs-based program that distributes backpacks with staple food items contributed by churches in the four-county area to elementary students in the Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District every weekend.

For many school nurses, it's natural to take on projects that go beyond their job descriptions if it means caring for their students.

School nurses at districts throughout the county head up extra projects to feed students on weekends, give them presents at the holidays and take care of public health issues.

Backpack for Success, a collaborative program between the school nurses at Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District and parent Amanda Sherry, gives children in need a backpack full of food to get them through the weekend, said Tracy Dailey, nurse at A-C Valley Elementary School.

“It’s just a way that we know food is getting into their bellies,” Dailey said.

They partner with churches and other community groups to get donations of food items and money to fill the backpacks.

They pack the food up on Thursdays at the school and send it home with children on Fridays, Dailey said.

Each student gets 10 to 12 easy-to-prepare and eat foods and snacks.

The initial distribution was the first weekend in November to about 70 children in the elementary school. As word got out about the program, the nurses started including high school students when they saw a need.

Anyone who wants to donate to the program can drop food off at the school or mail donations to Allegheny-Clarion Valley Elementary School, Box 347 Rt. 58, Foxburg, PA 16036.

A full report appears in Tuesday's Butler Eagle. This story is the third in a series on school nurses in Butler County.