The Salvation Army helps kids go back to school with annual supply distribution
More than 200 children arrived at Halifax Community Family Services on Gottingen Street today to pick up new backpacks filled with supplies for the upcoming school year. The back-to-school initiative, now in its 8th year, has grown exponentially to serve families in need throughout the Halifax and Spryfield areas.
Kristine Cameron, Season Programs & Volunteer Coordinator at Halifax Community and Family Services, says that although the number of families in need of assistance hasn’t risen greatly, the rising price of school supplies has made back-to-school a costly venture.
“When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, coming up with money for back-to-school can be incredibly difficult,” Cameron says. “A good, quality backpack itself costs at least $30, and if you have more than one child it really adds up. This year, we were able to provide the children with $20 Wal-Mart gift cards to purchase new shoes, and we hope to continue to add to this.”
The back-to-school program at Halifax Community and Family Services is made possible by the work of volunteer Linda Elliott. Ms. Elliott launched the program herself eight years ago and partnered with The Salvation Army four years ago. In the event’s first year, she was able to round up 12 backpacks and it has grown ever since. This year’s total is still growing, with an additional 30 backpacks yet to arrive, bringing the grand total to more than 250.
After getting backpacks filled with everything needed to start the school year right, children and caregivers browsed clothing and snacked on a late summer barbecue lunch of hotdogs, chips and drinks. This year, the program was able to serve students up to Grade 12, and hopes to expand to helping parents who plan to return to school themselves.
“Basically, we provide assistance to anyone who comes to us,” Cameron says. “We’ve never turned anyone away, but we do have a pre-screening process that we follow. We’ve had many parents ask for help, so once we ensure all the children have received assistance we hope to be able to provide some help to parents, too. We often see clients who we serve here at CFS or through programs in Spryfield, but other families hear about the program and come to us for some help, too.”
The program is supported by a number of donors and partners including the Capital Inter-District Soccer Association, Staples and Bell/Aliant, who all donated supplies with monies raised by Ms. Elliot going towards providing families with gift cards. Donations of school supplies are gratefully accepted year-round. Interested donors can contact Halifax Community Family Services at (902) 422-1598.
