If you don’t believe, just go to the two-day Helping Hands School Backpack project next summer in the Resurrection Church basement.
By Robin Jovanovich
If you don’t believe, just go to the two-day Helping Hands School Backpack project next summer in the Resurrection Church basement. The first day, volunteers unload countless cartons of school supplies. The next day, even more volunteers arrive to hand out brand-new backpacks and supplies to an ever-growing number of needy students.
A few years ago, the number was around 1,700. On August 13, Helping Hands provided backpacks to 2,030 students!
“My cohorts are believers,” said Backpack Chair Susan Salice. Her cohorts say, “Susan doesn’t believe in less.”
Providing that many backpacks was especially challenging to fund, said Salice, “because we upgraded to a ‘basic’ scientific calculator, which increased our expenses by a third. But we felt the calculator was an equalizer in the math and science rooms, and therefore a non-negotiable upgrade.”
Helping Hands relies not only on a wonderful army of volunteers but also on many generous donors in the Sound Shore communities, plus several grants. “It helps that we are frugal,” said Salice, who co-chairs the organization.
