Sydney, Australia, Jun 12, 2008 / 18:26 pm
Over 2,500 high school student volunteers are packing more than 275,000 backpacks for World Youth Day pilgrims at a packing center near Sydney. So far, over 200,000 have already been packed.
The backpacks contain items such as World Youth Day 2008 books, a pen, a bandana, a ‘Pilgrim Passport’ containing vouchers for McDonald’s and stores at Sydney Airport, a clip-on koala, tattoos, a poncho, a kinetic flashlight and a thermal blanket.
Each backpack also contains a set of rosary beads.
Upon arrival at the center, student volunteers are provided with a brief history of World Youth Day, undergo a short training session in safety procedures, and watch a demonstration of a backpack being packed.