Looking back on my childhood, I always had what I needed on the first day of school and every day throughout the year.

Not having a backpack full of school supplies was never an issue for me.

There were times when I noticed some of my classmates that didn’t always have everything that I did in the classroom.

I would share a pencil here and a piece of paper there, but never really thought much about it.

It never dawned on me that maybe their family couldn’t afford to purchase school supplies. I just figured they forgot their supplies at home.

I was happy to help. After writing about the Backpacks for Kids school-supply donation campaign, I wish I would have helped more when I was growing up.

We often get so focused on our own lives that we don’t always pay attention to what others are up to.

I can’t go back to my school days and change things, but I can certainly thank those making donations and the people at the Northshore School District,  Northshore Kiwanis and Woodinville Chamber Education Committee for supplying full backpacks to students in need through the campaign, which is under way now through Aug. 3.

If we would have had a program like this when I was growing up, I certainly would have jumped on board. And I encourage Reporter readers to look into the Backpacks for Kids campaign and think about reaching out to others in the next two weeks.

I’m certainly going to make up for lost time and lend a hand.