Poughkeepsie Students Receive School Supplies

POUGHKEEPSIE – Hundreds of City of Poughkeepsie children are heading back to school with new supplies provided by Rebuilding Our Children and Community (ROCC).

The fifth annual “Back-to-School” event was held last Friday at the Family Partnership Center where ROCC’s Satara Brown brought together numerous community organizations including Hudson River Housing, Family Services, Wellcare, and the Poughkeepsie Library to provide students with backpacks, books, and socks while adults were able to learn about healthcare options and new affordable housing.

Donations came from many sources, said Brown.

The donations for the event came from both community organizations and individuals including Karen Smythe, who is “a big donor.” Brown said Bombas, a sock manufacturer donated 5,000 pairs of socks for ROCC to distribute throughout the year and many were handed out at the event.

Booths were manned by several volunteers and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson spent a few minutes helping distribute backpacks.

“This is a tremendous event for the community” due to the expenses associated with sending the children back to school, Jacobson said.

Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro was at the event and praised Brown for organizing the distribution. “Every child needs to be able to enter school prepared, said Molinaro. The county executive recognized the needs of those in attendance by saying “As a kid who grew up on food stamps myself, I know the importance of getting help when you need it.”