While the last day of school has barely passed, Southbury Women’s Club’s Operation Backpack committee is already hard at work behind the scenes fundraising and sales to prepare for the first day of school.
In partnership with Southbury Social Services, Operation Backpack has annually provided school supplies for the children of needy Southbury families since 2004. In order to maintain their privacy, the backpack committee is provided with only the school and grade level of each student. Items are purchased based upon each teacher’s supply list and the filled backpacks are delivered to Mary Silverman, Director of Southbury Social Services, in time to be distributed before the first day of school. Last year, the number of students in the program jumped substantially from 74 students in 2021 to 107 students in 2022. The group is purchasing 97 backpacks this year.
“Because of generous grants, business sponsorships, and donations from our community, we are able to assist these families to ensure their children start the school year ready to succeed.” says Sue Grom, Southbury Women’s Club member and co-chair of Operation Backpack.
We wish to extend special thanks to Connecticut Community Foundation, American Savings Foundation, Petit Family Foundation and Midd-South Mustard Seed Fund for their generous grants, and to our Platinum Sponsor, Chatfield True Value.
Local businesses and members of the community are invited to join us in our efforts to fund this important initiative. Donations can be either mailed to Southbury Women’s Club P.O. Box 195 Southbury, CT 06488, or made online at https://southburywomensclub.org/operation-backpack. Follow the project’s progress on Facebook by visiting https://www.facebook.com/operationbackpacksouthbury/
