TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — On the third floor of the CASS Building at Florida A&M University is where you'll find one of the biggest hearts in all of Tallahassee.
"My students are very special to me. I handhold a lot probably because I am older and all of my kids are grown."
Teresa Berger is an adviser at FAMU where they are guiding engineering students to a path of success. In her spare time, she's playing a bigger role in communities throughout Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
"I wanted to do something on campus. I went to school here, I work here. I want to represent FAMU."
Teresa and Officer Lane Harper of the Birmingham Police Force co-founded The Power of Life Foundation, a non-profit organization helping families in need. On July 24, they'll be at FAMU giving away 1,000 backpacks.
"So we have the mesh ones, they are beautiful. We have clear ones, we have some animal characters."
According to a survey by Communities in Schools, school supplies cost more than $1,000 for each elementary student, almost $1,300 for middle school students, and $1,668 for high schoolers. It's a cost that weighs heavily on families in the area especially during the Pandemic.
"We are concerned about the Delta variant as well and we decided that if we can help families a lot of them are coming off COVID...getting back to work...some of them not back to work."
One thousand backpacks filled with school supplies and masks will be given out to families who show up on July 24 at FAMU. Second Harvest of the Big Bend will be there as well giving out food to families in need.
"We're gonna give them food, there will be socks, hand sanitizer, and we'll be able to cover them with a mask as well to protect them while they are in an environment with other people who may not have been vaccinated."
The school supply giveaway will happen at FAMU from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 24 at the corner of Gamble Street and Wahnish Way.
