 For most students, back-to-school means new clothes, new shoes, and a backpack full of school supplies. Moms and dads take their children shopping, and students are excited about the start of a new school year.
But for unemployed parents and families living paycheck to paycheck, September is a time of increased anxiety and stress. Some parents cannot afford to send their kids back to school with even the most basic items. For others, the choice will be between buying groceries, paying rent, or buying school clothes and supplies.
Every fall, families struggling to make ends meet turn to Jewish Family & Child Service (JFCS) for help to cover their children’s back-to-school needs—including obvious needs like school supplies, clothing, shoes, and backpacks, and less obvious needs like haircuts, personal grooming supplies, glasses, bus passes, and money for field trips & school activities.
For the past few years, JFCS has been fortunate to have sufficient grant funding to address these requests. Regrettably, the economic recession has taken its toll on their funders and their back-to-school funding has been slashed by almost 60%.
To fill this funding gap and ensure JFCS won’t have to turn away families in need, JFCS is launching its first ever “Kids 4 Kids” Back-to-School Drive, asking the kids in our community to donate up to $10 each to provide other kids (ages 5-18) with the back-to-school help they need.
JFCS is requesting a monetary donations (rather than a donation of school supplies or clothing) to be able to buy the specific sizes and types of shoes, clothing, and other supplies that are needed for each of these kids. And they are limiting the amount they request to only $10, in order to make it possible for this to really be a “kids giving to kids” donation.
In addition to addressing a critical need, the JFCS “Kids 4 Kids” Back-to-School Drive helps teach our children that there are people who need their support right here in Portland. Many of the children in our community have everything they need to go back to school in style. But it is important for them to learn that there are other children—perhaps even in their own school—who are in need of their help, while at the same time preserving the dignity of the tzedakah recipients.
Pictured above: Ruthie Zeidman, Youth co-chair of the "Kids4Kids" Back-to-School Drive
The two volunteer chairs for the JFCS “Kids 4 Kids” Back-to-School Drive are Carol Danish, grandmother and community volunteer extraordinaire, and 5-year-old Ruthie Zeidman, daughter of Ken and JFCS Board Member Jennifer Zeidman.
To learn more or get involved, please contact JFCS Marketing & Development Director Chana Andler at 503-226-7079 x116 or chana@jfcs-portland.org.
Select this link to donate to Kids 4 Kids now . . .
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