Primerica

Primerica on Perimeter Park Road, is already on board. She could just accept the news and let it go. Gornto doesn't have any children who go to Maynard. But instead, she's working to find another way to bring the backpacks and supplies to the children in time for the school year. Reliford and Gornto are looking for other resources and to possibly partner with other groups that receive similar donations.

"She has such a heart for our children and the school," said Principal Brenda Reliford, referring to Gornto's efforts. "It allows the learning to continue so the students don't have to be worried about things like paper and pencils. Students take a real ownership of these backpacks as well. They don't lose them." "Sometimes these kids show up on the first day with nothing," Reliford said. "So we're going to make something happen."

Each August, all 200 students at Maynard Elementary School in Knoxville start the school year with new backpacks filled with school supplies. At least that's been the case for the last five years. But the corporate donations that made the giveaway possible have become another casualty of the faltering economy. This summer, Joy Gornto is trying to make sure those backpacks are there once again when the doors of the inner-city school open next month.