CHEBOYGAN — Over the course of two days last week, students with the Bishop Baraga Preschool Program participated in a bike-a-thon to collect donations and help others.

"The preschoolers participated in a bike-a-thon, doing laps in 30 minutes," said parent Rebecca Miller. "Students raised pledges either for the event total or per lap."

The donations collected were given to Roger Cronk, who heads up the food and toiletries backpack program for Cheboygan Area Schools. This program helps children in need throughout the district.

"The bike-a-thon with the little kids was awesome," said Cronk. "This goes to the food and also the hygiene program."

Between the two days, May 5 and 6, the three and four year old students in the Bishop Baraga Catholic School Preschool program raised over $3,000 to donate to the backpack program. They took pledges from their friends and family members, for money they would earn for each lap made around the track. This money was then pooled and donated.

The preschool students have been doing this fundraiser for the last several years. In 2021, the students spent two days walking around the track at Cheboygan Area High School. That walk-a-thon raised $4,710 to help other students in the school district in need.

This year, the students were able to raise a total of $3,665.

"I just thought they were an amazing group of kids," said Cronk. "And I knew, at that age, they were helping other kids that needed food."

In the past, the students of the Early Learning Center — formerly housed in Cheboygan High School — participated in similar events to gather donations to help the food backpack program. When that facility was closed, Bishop Baraga's preschoolers joined the cause.

More than 140 students throughout the Cheboygan Area Schools district benefit from the food backpack program. The program provides the students with backpacks filled with nutritional meals to help them get through the weekend, when they may not be able to access proper meals outside of school.

When Cronk first started the program, there were just under 75 students in the district who were given the backpacks. Now, that number has more than doubled. 

The backpacks given to the students are filled with six meals — three meals per day for the weekend — all of which can be microwaved. There are also snacks and drinks in the bags that go home with students each Friday.

Cronk has also expanded his program by offering personal hygiene products to the students as well. He has kits of personal care items, including deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste, eye drops and other items.

This personal care kit program started with the sixth graders, and has expanded to include any student who is in need of them.

"This year, I passed out 2,200 hygiene kits to kids in Cheboygan Area Schools, Bishop Baraga and Cornerstone Christian," said Cronk.

Cronk is also currently working on putting together other kits for younger children which will include toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Each student in the program needs around $100 or more a year to provide meals for the weekends and this cost has increased with the addition of personal care items.

If anyone is interested in helping in the program, or wants to adopt or sponsor a child in the program, they are encouraged to contact Cronk by emailing him at rogercronk@mail.chebschools.com. All donations to this program are tax deductible.

Contact Features Writer Kortny Hahn at khahn1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @khahnCDT.