Schools

Back Pack Drive Needs Donors

The 20th annual Back To School project by the Western Connecticut Business Volunteer Council and The Volunteer Center of United Way of Western Connecticut need some help.

Every year the Western Connecticut Business Volunteer Council and the Volunteer Center work together to provide hundreds of back packs to low-income children, and this year the group is coming up a bit short.

Last year the volunteers gathered and distributed 332 backpacks to children identified by city social service agencies and schools. The children were identified by the state Department of Children and Family, by Danbury Youth Services, by Amos House, by Family and Children Aid and by CACD.

This year, as of Thursday, the group had about 263 backpacks ready around the city. The volunteers want to be closer to the 332 figure.

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Across the city, volunteers in the city's largest and even some of the smaller businesses, have received the first name of a child, their grade level in September, favorite color and favorite sports team. They are collecting age-appropriate school supplies, such as glue sticks, rounded sissors, tissues, pencils, pens, erasers, small pencial sharpenters, crayons, rulers, file folders, marble notebooks, a calculator and a backpack to put it all in.

"They might give us a backpack, they might say, 'Here's $50,' or they might give us a complete backpack," said Betty Batista, a program assistant with the Danbury Volunteer Center, which is now part of the United Way of Western Connecticut.

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On Aug. 24, the backpacks will be distributed to the children. On that day, each child chosen will also be given a $100 gift card for school clothes and supplies. Those cards are carefully guarded and given out to the specific child or that child's parent.

To help this effort, contact Betty Batista at The Volunteer Center (203) 797-1154, or by email at betty.batista@uwwesternct.org .


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