Republican Rep. Jacqueline Sly of Rapid City's District 33, one of the state's new female legislators, recently took part in a school supply project coordinated in part by the National Foundation for Women Legislators.

With help from the nonprofit Office Depot Foundation, Sly said she distributed boxes of colorful backpacks to some private and public schools and nonprofit groups serving children from low-income families in the area. The project is separate from the Black Hills Federal Credit Union's "fill the bus" school supply drive.

Sly said the 375 backpacks - available in orange, blue, red, purple, green and pink - went to:

Behavior Management Systems, Working Against Violence, Inc., Children's Care, New Underwood School, Zion Lutheran School, Knollwood Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, General Beadle Elementary and Living Hope Academy. In addition, White Eagle Christian Academy of Mission also received backpacks.

Sly said in a prepared statement sent by e-mail that she was honored at being selected to participate and lauded efforts by the Office Depot Foundation, the charitable agency of Office Depot, Inc.

"This is an extremely beneficial program," she said. "As we have seen the economy fluctuate over the last year, many parents have struggled to figure out how they will be able to purchase supplies for their children."

Nationally, the program has distributed 2 million backpacks for K-5 students since 2001. Each backpack includes a ruler, crayons, a glue stick, pen, a pencil and sharpener and an eraser.