Aug
14
NANUET – The volunteers at People to People are always busy filling grocery bags to provide relief for Rockland County residents struggling to put food on the table.
But come August, the nonprofit also turns its efforts toward stuffing backpacks with school supplies for children from low-income families.
The organization expects to distribute more than 2,200 backpacks this month through its Back to School with Dignity program, according to its executive director, Diane Serratore.
“We’re making a lot of kids happy about going back to school,” Serratore said Thursday. “Seeing these kids put their backpacks on, open them up and look inside, they’re literally so happy.”
Since the program’s inception in 1994, the number of children benefiting from Back to School with Dignity has grown from 35 in 1994 to nearly 2,000 in 2013. The supplies are distributed to the children of the organization’s clients – parents who meet income requirements to use the People to People food pantry.
Financial support for the backpack program has come from Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas Corp., individual donations and a state grant secured by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee.
Pfizer, Tata Beverages, Blue Hill Plaza, the Orangetown Senior Club and Better Homes and Gardens/Rand Realty have held school supply collections.
On Thursday, supporters were on hand to help distribute about 70 backpacks to children.
But Serratore said more donations are needed. People to People is also helping to supply other organizations that provide services to children.
“We still need more binders, two-pocket folders, loose leaf paper, crayons, rulers, marble composition notebooks, pens, pencils and erasers,” she stated.
Donations of school supplies can be dropped off at People to People’s offices at 121 West Nyack Road in Nanuet on Mondays through Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. until Aug. 30.
Buy PhotoSecond-grader Alex Galicia, 7, and sixth-grader Dulce Garcia, 12, look at the supplies in the new backpacks they received from People to People’s Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoPeople to People Executive Director Diane Serratore, left, shows Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee and Mike Donovan of Orange Rockland Utilities the backpacks from the Back to School with Dignity program that they donated to, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoPeople to People volunteers Selena Roberts, 15, left, of Spring Valley, and Kourtney Besley, 16, of Hillcrest load backpacks as part of the Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoSixth-grader Dulce Garcia, 12, receives a backpack from People to People volunteer Kourtney Besley, 16, of Hillcrest as part of the Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoSecond-grader Alex Galicia, 7, tries on his backpack that he received from People to People’s Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoSixth-grader Dulce Garcia, 12, and second-grader Alex Galicia, 7, check out the new backpacks they received from People to People’s Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoSamantha Mazariego, 9, of Pomona and her brother Armando, 4, look inside the new backpacks they received from People to People’s Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoArmando Mazariego, 4, of Pomona wears his backpack that he received from People to People’s Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors. Buy PhotoBuy PhotoSamantha Mazariego, 9, of Pomona and her siblings Cassandra, 6, and Armando, 4, wear the new backpacks they received from People to People’s Back to School with Dignity program, Aug. 14, 2014 in Nanuet. People to People is able to provide over 2,000 backpacks, filled with supplies, to children from low-income families with the help of Orange Rockland Utilities, Flaregas, NY State Dept. of Education and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, among others organizations and individual donors.
For more information, visit www.peopletopeopleinc.org or call Serratore at 845-623-4900, ext. 207.
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