The clicking of knitting needles don’t usually mean empowerment. But for several students at the Wareham Middle School, it does.

Teacher Janice Barton leads the Youth Empowerment Group during the school’s after school CARE program. The group, which has 12 students between fifth and eighth grade, focuses on helping the community. Barton said the kids decided on three ideas: a backpack program to feed needy students; helping Don’t Trash Wareham pick up litter; and knitting caps and other clothing for homeless individuals in the community.

Barton said the group is “actively working” on picking up litter, and knitting, and that they have “a ton of yarn,” some of which has been donated by the community.

“We have six crates and one basket filled with yarn,” Barton said. “A very nice lady dropped off a couple bags of yarn … it’s a very nice way of making associations in the community with them.”

Of the 12 students, Barton said there are about six to eight students who regularly knit. Others in the group do research into places to donate the knitted goods, and make signs.

“The students are very enthusiastic in wanting to help people, and they are finding knitting a challenge, but it’s something they want to do,” Barton said.

Barton said the group will also focus on putting together backpacks filled with food in the coming semesters. She said it is based on a New Hampshire program called “End 68 hours of hunger” that gives food to children who cannot count on a meal between the free lunch they receive at school Friday, and the free breakfast they receive at school the following Monday.

“What we would do is identify the students discreetly, and we would contact local businesses to donate food, and then we would put together the backpacks every week,” Barton said. “We wouldn’t know whom they went to, and they would bring them back every week.”

Barton said this particular initiative will take a bit longer, because of all the planning it requires.

“You have to stockpile food, before you get it started, because you don’t want to get people into the program, and then run out of food,” Barton said. “There is a perceived need, and that is something we are going to keep working on.”