Edmundite Missions to distribute school supplies Thursday, Friday

Published 12:22 pm Tuesday, January 28, 2020

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Over the course of Thursday and Friday, Edmundite Missions President and CEO Chad McEachern, and other Edmundite Missions staff members, will deliver bags filled with school supplies to every child enrolled at four area schools.

On Thursday, Jan. 30, the Missions will be at Payne Elementary School from 10 – 11 a.m. and at Sophia P. Kingston Elementary School from 1 – 2 p.m.

On Friday, Jan. 31, the Missions will be at Clark Elementary School from 1 – 2 p.m. and at School of Discovery from 2:30 – 4 p.m.

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The Edmundite Missions began delivering school supplies in January after conversations with local educators and administrators.

“We formerly held our school supply event in August like many other organizations,” said McEachern. “What I heard from teachers and principals alike is that while the support at the start of the year is great, by January the classrooms are barren. We’ve delivered these bags to classrooms that didn’t have a single sheet of notebook paper before we arrived. Being able to ensure our children have the supplies they need to be successful academically is extremely important and the Missions will continue to do so. Seeing the looks of relief on then faces of teachers and the excitement on the faces of the students makes it all worth it. One student remarked to me last year, ‘This is like Christmas morning.’”

The school supply bags try to address the needs identified by teachers and administrators,

This year’s bags include: crayons, construction paper, pencils, hand sanitizer, tissues and glue sticks for the Pre-K and crayons, pencils, composition notebooks, wide ruled paper, tissues and glue sticks for the Kindergarteners. Both groups supplies come in Edmundite Missions branded backpacks.

This year is the first year for the School of Discovery to be part of the program.

“We’ve been focusing on the elementary schools but as we continue to build up our youth programs, and our partnerships with [Selma] High School through the Blessing of the Saints program, we don’t want to lose these children in the middle,” said McEachern. “When I heard about the need for supplies at School of Discovery, I knew this was the perfect place for us to expand this program to.”

The supplies for the School of Discovery students will be delivered in clear backpacks and will include: composition notebooks, wide ruled paper, pencils, 3-ring binders, hand sanitizer and tissues.

“This is a program I look forward to every year,” sad McEachern. “I want our kids to know the Missions is always here for them and will do whatever it takes to see them succeed.”