More relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina has been sent from the Highline area - including donations from throughout America.

This time it's with the help of a national radio show host based in Seattle and a warehouse in North Highline.

Delilah, the host of Love Songs with Delilah on Warm 106.9 and a resident of the North Highline area, offered the warehouse used for her charity - Point Hope Ministries - to the Backpacks of Hope Project.

Backpacks of Hope was started by Kerry Hanchai, whose sister works with Delilah.

Hanchai has had previous experience working on relief efforts when she organized a group to help after 9/11.

She was told she had four days to get a project together that could go national. The result was Backpacks of Hope.

On Sept. 4, Hanchai and her husband, Ton Hanchai, stood up at their church, New Heart Worship Center in Auburn, and announced they were collecting items for Backpacks of Hope.

Vince Hardy was in attendance that Sunday and just happened to have 26 backpacks in his truck in the parking lot.

His wife, who works for Wells Fargo Bank, had accepted 26 backpacks left over from a Wells Fargo fundraiser and had no idea what to do with them.

"We thought we would find a place," said Hardy.

After listening to Hanchai's presentation, the answer was clear.

"Sometimes you don't know why things happen and it's serendipitous," Hardy said.

Announcements for Backpacks of Hope were then broadcast nationally by Delilah on her show, Love Songs with Delilah, a website was set up, and donations from across the nation started pouring in.

"People are sending in backpacks full of supplies," said volunteer Lynda Lucyk, holding up a bag that was shipped weighing over 15 pounds.

Shipments of donations have come from as far away as New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, Illinois, New Mexico, Virginia, Massachusetts and Florida.

Sporting line Diadora, which has a warehouse in Kent, donated 151 brand-name backpacks. Oh Boy Oberto!(tm) has donated 50,000 individual packs of beef jerky that will be sent to relief workers in the Gulf Coast region.

The backpacks are being sorted for age and gender. Backpacks for babies will be filled with diapers, wipes, baby food, bottles and sippy cups.

Many of the volunteers have come from New Heart Worship Center and have been working 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

One dedicated volunteer, who recently had surgery for carpel tunnel syndrome on her wrist, has given many hours to tie tags on the stuffed backpacks.

The backpacks were shipped to Neederland, Texas, on Sept. 29 on two semi-trucks that weren't used in the Burien relief effort.

"Thank you to Steve Denmark," said volunteer Andrew Caple. Denmark was instrumental in the Burien relief effort and in rounding up the trucks organized for shipping donations to the Gulf Coast region.

Once the backpacks arrive, they will be divided among various locations such as a Methodist children's home with 150 evacuee children.

Backpacks of Hope will continue to accept donations until the need subsides.

To learn more about how to donate, visit www.backpacksofhope.org."