PARIS — A fourth grader at Paris Elementary School has started a campaign, Start School for KidZ, to provide other students with the supplies they need.

“I was seeing that some of my friends have old bags with holes in them,” Bradley Sincyr-Newbert said.  “A lot of them can’t afford school supplies. I decided to help them out this year.”

“It’s a big thing for a kid to do,” his mother, Cindy Newbert, said. “I was kind of surprised. We were talking about what he would need for school. He said some of his friends have old bags, and not all the kids have supplies when they start school; teachers have to supply them and they do enough already.

“He asked if we could get some bags for the school. I told him we could get a couple, but (like everyone) I don’t have all the money in the world,” she said. “So we set a goal to get 10 bags to donate.”

“We were coming home from (Harrison) rec one day, and I was thinking about school starting,” Sincyr-Newbert said. “I felt bad for all my friends who had old bags so I asked my mother if we could do Start School for KidZ. She started a Venmo for me and we got donations from that. And people have donated a lot of stuff.”

Each backpack comes with a water bottle, whiteboard markers, pens and pencils, colored pencils, ruler, crayons, glue stick, calculator, notebook, folders, a Subway gift card, and Pop It fidget toys.

Sincyr-Newbert and Newbert have dropped by several businesses to ask if they would be willing to help. Oxford Federal Credit Union provided pens, pencils, calculators, water bottles and Pop Its.

He has used the Venmo donations, collected through social media posts, to buy supplies. One person from Harrison provided six bags and some family friends have also provided some. Some people who read about Start School for KidZ on Facebook have reached out to tell the Newberts they plan to donate bags filled with supplies.

In addition to the credit union, as of last week the mother-son team secured contributions from Bearfoot Realty, Amato’s, Littlefields, Pa’s Tradin’ Company and Russell & Sons Towing & Recovery. Local community support group Misfit Crafters VIP has also pledged support for Start School for KidZ.

“A friend told us about Cindy Newbert’s Facebook post,” Misfit Crafters VIP member Vicki Verrill said. “We also do a backpack drive. So we are donating five packs to them, plum full of school supplies.”

“If (Bradley) needs them, we decided to stuff five for him,” added fellow crafter Tina Rowe. “We are country ladies that just want to help our community.”

Newbert’s Venmo account pulled in $175 after she posted about Start School for Kidz on Facebook. She said they have received about the same amount from other donations. When those leveled off, Sincyr-Newbert decided to mow lawns, earning money to buy more backpacks.

Sincyr-Newbert started his campaign with a goal of 10 backpacks filled with supplies but he is on track to exceed 30.

Newbert reached out to school Principal Lori Pacholski about the campaign. She said their plan is to collect for Start School for Kids until Aug. 15 and deliver everything to Pacholski, who will manage the logistics of distributing to students ahead of school starting Aug. 31.

For his part, Sincyr-Newbert is looking forward to the new school year, especially science and math classes.

“I like science because you do a lot of experiments,” he said. “This year is the first year of real science for me. I can’t wait, we’ll study volcanoes. Things that are explosive and messy.”

“Bradley has always had a big heart,” Newbert said. “Always helpful, kind and friendly. His teachers love how caring he has always been and how he wants to help his friends out. He’s doing a great thing and I am super proud.”

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