Generous Donations Help Kids Start the School Year

back-to-school, back pack drive, parish volunteers
Parish volunteers help kids get ready for school

As summer draws to a close and kids head back to school, many of them will be donning new backpacks loaded with all of the supplies necessary to begin the school year thanks to some generous supporters.

Kylie Hays, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church (in Shawnee) parishioner, reached out to her church community to help children served by our Foster Grandparent Program. Together, the congregation collected 167 brand new backpacks filled with school supplies applicable to each grade level.  In addition, they accumulated over $1,000 worth of bulk classroom supplies including tissues, wipes, hand sanitizer and more.

In Leavenworth, another generous donor stepped forward pledging a $1,000 match for school supplies if the community could collectively raise $1,000.  The challenge was accepted and won! As result, more than $2,000 worth of supplies for area children in grades kindergarten through high school were distributed.

Additionally, Nate Lichte, with the help of his colleagues at Townsend Communications, provided numerous backpacks and supplies to be distributed to our rural neighbors via the Catholic Charities Mobile Resource bus.

As you can imagine, the new backpacks filled with notebooks, glue sticks and other items brought much joy to the students.  These supplies, however, brought much relief to their parents who may be struggling to provide even the basics including food, clothing and shelter for their families. Talk about neighbors helping neighbors!

At Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, we are truly blessed to have the support of many volunteers and donors which directly helps the people we serve. This back-to-school donation drive is just one example of the weekly help our generous supporters provide.

Interested in getting involved with us? Please check out all our current opportunities or email our volunteer team for more information!

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