ASHEVILLE — It is that time of year. Children are returning to school. It is a time of excitement for the students to meet their new teachers and fellow classmates, and reconnect with their school friends after the summer break.
However, it can be a trying time for parents – especially about how to pay for school supplies on a tight budget.
Many parents’ finances have been adversely affected by inflation, higher gas prices, and the pandemic. Parents inherently want their children to succeed, so how can they provide for their children?
The Western Region Office of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte anticipated a greater need to help back in May. Case Management Coordinator Lyndsey Parham and Volunteer Coordinator Hilary Kalisch connected with the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for local elementary and middle school students in early August. Their plan: United Way would provide the backpacks free of charge to Catholic Charities, and Catholic Charities would distribute the backpacks free of charge to families in need.
Catholic Charities volunteers Donna Bange and Susan Loveland picked up the backpacks and delivered them to Catholic Charities’ office in Asheville. Bange recalls, “Picking up 125 backpacks at the Asheville Civic Center felt like being Santa Claus.”
The volunteers sorted and organized 75 backpacks for elementary school students and 50 backpacks for middle/high school students. Catholic Charities staff then delivered them to families and students, so that children could start school this month on an upbeat note.
Lyndsey Parham explained that the 125 backpacks were spread across families who have taken part in a variety of Catholic Charities programs, including case management, counseling and refugee program participants.
Jesse Boeckermann, Catholic Charities’ Western Region Office Director, said the partnership between Catholic Charities and the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County was a wonderful example of working together for the common good and supporting local youth in need, while also increasing awareness of Catholic Charities in western North Carolina.
— Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte