Backpacks Donated for Distribution to Youth in Need

GOSHEN – Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange and Sullivan received a donation of 65 backpacks from the parishioners of St. Stephen’s Church in Warwick. Using the donation guidelines available through Operation Backpack, parishioners prepared backpacks generously filled with grade-appropriate school supplies for pre-kindergarten, grades 1 – 4, grades 5-8, and grades 9-12.
Supplies included basic items like facial tissues, hand sanitizer, pencils, and paper for all ages. Packs prepared for high school students included specialty items including calculators, USB flash drives, and assignment planners.

Lydia vanDuynhoven, Director of Religious Education at St. Stephen’s, and colleague Marla Silbernagel, organized the backpack drive and delivered the packs to Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange and Sullivan’s Goshen location.

“We are so grateful for the generous donation from our friends at Warwick’s St. Stephen’s Church,” said Dr. Dean Scher, Executive Director, Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange and Sullivan. “These backpacks will help students who might otherwise have gone without thrive and succeed this school year. This is a wonderful example of neighbor helping neighbor in our community,” added Dr. Scher.

Anyone interested in donating school supplies to Catholic Charities Community Services of Orange and Sullivan for distribution to youth in the agency’s two county service area may do so by contacting Kristin Jensen at 845.294.5124, ext. 303 or kristin.jensen@archny.org, or by stopping by Catholic Charities’ administrative offices at 27 Matthews Street in Goshen between the hours of 9 am – 5 pm.

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