While many, if not most, people think of Westchester as an affluent county, there are thousands of youth that suffer from poverty and homelessness. Each year, WJCS-Westchester Jewish Community Services, one of the largest human service organizations in Westchester, partners with county synagogues to provide Westchester children from low-income backgrounds with new backpacks that are filled with supplies and an Old Navy gift card to buy a first day of school outfit.
“For more than 15 years, WJCS has led a Back-to-School Drive to ensure that children, whose parents cannot afford to purchase school clothes and supplies, feel ready to start the school year,” said WJCS CEO Seth Diamond. “This has been a long-term commitment for WJCS. With this season’s drive, we will have provided 10,000 Westchester children with school supplies.”
To help support WJCS, in August, the UJA-Federation of New York in Westchester hosted Supplies for Success: Give Back with a Backpack at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester. Children and adult volunteers assembled backpacks with back-to-school supplies for schoolchildren in grades K-6 from under-resourced communities in Westchester.