CENTRALIA — A Centralia woman is being praised for her work in providing hundreds of local kids with school supplies they’ll need as classes will soon be starting.

Crystal Koch [coke], a nurse and mother of two, told WSIL-TV that she started buying backpacks a little at a time, with plans to donate about 100 to a local drive.

However, the number of backpacks continued to grow and she then decided to start filling the more than 500 backpacks with supplies that K-12 students in Centralia would need.

At her own expense, Crystal began purchasing notebooks, pens, and index cards, Kleenex, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer. She even started filling the backpacks specific to each school supply list.

For all her efforts in helping out parents and students in Centralia, Crystal has been named an Unsung Hero.

She told the station hat she just wanted to help the kids start the school year off right and that God has blessed her and he has blessed her with the ability to bless other people

She hopes to have a drive next year and would like to add sponsors and donations.