School supplies for low-income families in New York

The Sharing Shelf
Port Chester, New York

THE ORGANIZATION

The Sharing Shelf collects new and gently used children’s clothing and supplies. Social workers, therapists, teachers and others working with low-income families submit requests for children in their care and volunteers then create personal packages filled with a week’s worth of clothing and other care and comfort items for the children.

The project

The Sharing Shelf fills and distributes new backpacks at the start of each school year to low-income homes where finding the resources to purchase new school supplies is an added strain as the families struggle to make ends meet. A Fund Their Future grant provided 100 backpacks filled with grade appropriate supplies for elementary school children including notebooks, folders, pencils, erasers, markers, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, colored pencils and a pencil case, allowing the children to start the year off with the basic and necessary supplies for a successful year.

The applicant

Ulrike Heregger, Cultural Care local childcare consultant (LCC) in NY
Ulli regularly donates her children’s outgrown clothing to the Sharing Shelf. She also organizes clothing and supply drives with her host families, volunteers at the Sharing Shelf with her children, and holds an annual community service project for her au pairs at their warehouse.