Community effort gives children a great start at school
Tuesday September 18, 2007, Tallahassee
Students are back in the classrooms, and thanks to a gigantic community effort, part of the 2nd Annual Catholic Charities’ Christmas in July Campaign, hundreds of vulnerable children in Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla have a confident start this year, with all the school supplies they need to earn A’s and 100’s. “In conjunction with the Back to School Drive at Good Shepherd , we were able to raise over $6,000 worth of school supplies,” said Debra Herman, director of Catholic Charities in Tallahassee. Supplies were donated by parishioners from Good Shepherd Parish, Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More, Blessed Sacrament Parish, St. Louis Parish, and St. Eugene Chapel. Community efforts included more than 50 volunteers who drove around town collecting, sorting, packing the back packs and delivering them to children in the communities. “The children were very grateful,” said Herman, “and we are happy that they went back to school with everything they needed. I thank everyone who was involved in this process.” Catholic Charities provides services regardless of religious or social background. Eighty-nine percent of Catholic Charities’ clients are not Catholic.