GRANGER — Students throughout the area are helping their classmates, and there's a good chance they don't even know it. One group is helping others in need using the school supplies and even clothes that are left in lockers when students leave for the summer.

“Every single item in our warehouse would be in a dumpster — that's where it was going,” said Ted Bryant.

During the school year, Bryant teaches at Bethel College. During the summer, he teaches students how to make a difference.

Bryant leads a unique non-profit project called greenLockers. Volunteers collect supplies that students typically throw away when they clean out their lockers at the end of the school year.

“I thought, what if we put containers in the hallways so students could just donate those items instead of throwing them all away — new or slightly used school supplies, clothes, books — and so that's really kind of how it was born,” Bryant explained.

This year, the group collected 9,000 pounds of goods from 17 different schools.

This time around he empowered middle school students — from St. Joseph and Elkhart counties and as far away as Dowagiac and Sturgis, Mich. — to get involved with this project.

“We give them the containers, they set them in the hallways, students donate the supplies,” Bryant said. “Then the charitable organizations locally come to the warehouse, pick up whatever supplies they want, then they are the ones that actually distribute it to the children and the students in need in their local area.”

The YMCA of Elkhart County is one of the groups receiving the supplies. So far, it's helped more than 60 students.

“There's definitely a need, and with the greenLockers situation, it is helping out,” said Carlos Harris of YMCA Youth Services. “Especially with the economy going right now, [there are] a lot of kids in need, [with] school starting back with supplies, clothes.”

If you would like to know more about the program, click on the link in the Related Content box.