Thanks to your support of the NCJW, West Morris Back 2 School Store, we had another terrific event in August at Morristown Jewish Center–Beit Yisrael (MJCBY). Schoolchildren who live in housing provided by Homeless Solutions, Inc., of Morristown had the opportunity to select back-to-school clothing items free of charge. The younger students selected from items our volunteers purchased with donations from Section members. The older students were given gift cards to Kohl’s and had a great time choosing their own clothing. All students received full outfits for the new school year: pants, shirts, sneakers, sweatshirts, socks and underwear.
The project was coordinated by Kim Ganz, Melanie Levitan, Kay Salzman and Karen Secular, who were supported by a cadre of volunteers from our section (including spouses and children) and from MJCBY. Girl Scouts from Bridgewater Troop 60627 once again provided babysitting and fun arts and crafts projects for younger siblings while the older children shopped. Special thanks to their troop leader, Kim Osborne.
Many of the younger students had a parent with them and we provided snacks and a place for the parents to wait while their students visited our “store” with one of our volunteer personal shoppers. While the parents waited they had an opportunity to select clothing for their children from a table of additional, donated items. It was very gratifying to hear the words of deep appreciation expressed by the parents and staff of Homeless Solutions for our Section’s work.
We once again extend our thanks to Morristown Jewish Center–Beit Yisrael for donating the space to set up the store and to custodian Damonn Brown for setting up the space with skill and a great attitude.
Due to the generosity of our members, this year we also provided hundreds of dollars’ worth of much-needed toiletries for the students and their parents. Melanie and Kay did the shopping and schlepping, delivering the items directly to Homeless Solutions.
