Hartley Steiner lives in one of those Mill Creek neighborhoods where the craftsman homes are spacious, the wide new sidewalks are spotless and the property values seem to rise by the day.

This summer, Steiner was surprised to learn that some families within a mile of her house can’t afford a backpack and school supplies for their school-aged children.

In July, Steiner started thinking about school supplies for her son, Gabriel, who starts kindergarten at Cedar Wood Elementary School next week. It occurred to her that she could donate those supplies to others.

“We always donate, so why not donate school supplies?” Steiner said.

She talked to friends and neighbors and put an advertisement on the Internet asking for donations of school supplies and backpacks.

She expected responses from donors, but was surprised by the number of people who contacted her because they needed help.

Sitting in her living room last week with donated backpacks piled up under the window, she said the calls come from families as far flung as Tacoma and Arlington. Steiner also gets calls from social service case workers, organizations and more. But a large chunk of the requests have been from Mill Creek.

Faced with the number of requests, Steiner decided to limit the project to children in the Everett School District. She called the district to ask how best to do that.

“I suggested I wouldn’t take (the project) to Cedar Wood because it’s affluent,” Steiner said.

But a district staffer suggested she should, since low-income families get missed in high-income areas like the one near Cedar Wood. People don’t donate to those schools, she said.

The local need became even more apparent after Steiner put up a notice at the local fire station. One potential donor responded. So did three families in need of supplies.

“This is just down the street from me,” Steiner said.

Another woman who lives in Mill Creek contacted Steiner to say she had three children and could afford school supplies, but not backpacks.

Steiner and her husband brought three backpacks to the house, including an orange one.

“(The mother) came out with her middle son and I put the backpacks over the fence,” Steiner said. “She said (to the son), ‘Look, your favorite color is orange.’”

As the boy tried on the backpack, Steiner got teary-eyed.

“It was nice to hear it meant something to them, that there’s a way to bridge the gap between what they need and what they have,” she said.

The people who’ve requested help have jobs, Steiner said. She talked with one pastor, for example, whose church helps a local family that requested help from her.

“The pastor said (the father) is working, he just has a low-paying job,” Steiner said.

Altogether, friends, neighbors and strangers have donated enough backpacks and school supplies to sponsor about 30 children. Fifteen more children are on the waiting list and still need sponsors.

Steiner donates to families but not to organizations. She verifies low income level in a number of ways, including a qualification for district free and reduced lunch.

Steiner also personalizes the donations. She learns the child’s name, age, size and general life situation and gives the details to the donor sponsoring the child.

To illustrate, she pointed out a shiny pink backpack with a dangling mirror and a picture of Tinkerbell on it.

“I told (the donor) she (the student) is in kindergarten and has an aunt trying to adopt her,” she said. “The goal was for people to take it personally. You’re not just donating something into a barrel.”

Teenagers, for example, need different packs than kindergartners — sturdier ones that will last longer, she said. It’s better if they also look fashionable, she added.

“Too often people donate second-hand things you don’t want your kid to take to school,” Steiner said.

Steiner plans to start a non profit to keep the project going. Her next project will be a coat drive this fall.

But with the start of school just around the corner, she first hopes to sponsor the 15 children on the waiting list who need supplies.

“My policy from the beginning was I don’t want to turn anybody down. I want to sponsor these kids,” Steiner said. “My husband is terrified I’ll do it myself. Hopefully that won’t be the case.”