Backpack Adventures

Age: All ages

Are you ready for a backpack adventure? Our friends, Even Stephen and Plane Jane are!

In this child-friendly classroom activity, kids can download, print, and cut the Even Stephen or Plane Jane of their choice (we have many to choose from!). Send the flat character to friends and family across the country. Instruct the children to include a handwritten note telling the recipient(s) about Blessings in a Backpack and why they selected the character they did. They should ask the reader to take pictures with Even Stephen or Flat Jane at a nearby landmark. Set a classroom goal of collecting photos from all 50 states!

Children can also go on adventures with the doll and take pictures at a local landmark, around the dinner table, on holiday, and more. The adventures are endless!

Choose your Even Stephen or Plane Jane from the characters below.
Download and print on 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
Cut out the doll. (Optional: tape it to a popsicle stick, pencil, or another slim, sturdy object.)
Mail the character to friends or family in another state or ask students to go on a backpacking adventure in your own town.
Tell people about Blessings in a Backpack!
Share your character’s travel stories with us on social media. Tag Blessings in a Backpack in your post and use the hashtags #blessingsinabackpack and #backpackadventures.
- Click here to connect with us on your favorite social channel(s).

This activity can be done in conjunction with our Maddi’s Fridge activity. Click here to learn more.

Click Here to Download Even Stephen or Plane Jane

Even Stephen

Did you know that 9 million American children live in food-insecure homes? We believe that’s 9 million too many.

The effects of childhood hunger aren’t just a growling stomach — it can lower IQ and academic achievement and weaken the immune system, among other things. Blessings in a Backpack wants all children to succeed in school and life, so we’re here to even the playing field by ensuring kids don’t go hungry on the weekends.

Even Stephen represents the thousands of kids who are part of the Blessings program. Because when kids have food to eat, they no longer have empty bellies; they can learn, play, and thrive alongside their friends!

Plane Jane

The reasons for childhood hunger are complicated, but with Blessings in a Backpack, the answer is plain and simple.

Each Friday of the school year, we put food in kids’ backpacks so they don’t go hungry over the weekend. Schools report that attendance is up on Fridays because of Blessings in a Backpack.

Plane Jane represents the positive impact Blessings in a Backpack has on the lives of children nationwide. In fact, 78% of children fed by Blessings in a Backpack feel cared for by their community — that’s you!