The first day of school looms large in a child's life, and we all want to see kids head back to school with a smile and ready to learn. Which is why Project GRACE and its partners come together in the waning days of summer to help families who might otherwise go without. This year we gave away a whopping 190 school backpacks!! We are very thankful for all who volunteered their time, brought in a full pack, gave supplies, sponsored a child's backpack, or hosted a collection drive or drop-off site. We also wanted to offer a special thank you to Abbott, Scarborough Dems, and Landry/French who contributed dozens and dozens of full packs, and to our friends at Scarborough Public Library, Katahdin Trust, cPort Credit Union, Gorham Savings Bank, Biddeford Savings who graciously received so many donations on our behalf. And to Staples who featured us in their back to school drive, too! Also a very hearty thank you to St. Max for inviting us to use their hall. Thank you, one and all.
Each and every backpack gave a child a fresh start to the new school year. We are grateful, and so are the parents and kids. One parent told us, the packs 'had everything they needed, and more" and a mom said, "I can't tell you how thankful we are; as a single parent, I couldn't have done this myself." And another said, “A backpack is simple but yet makes my heart happy that they got one with all they need, and the choices were great and well packed. The ease of getting them without feeling like a loser as a parent was good too. The volunteers were very friendly and as excited as I to give the bags. Thank you.”
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