It’s Back To School Time – Donate School Supplies!

Friends, as a scholarly nerd this is my most wonderful time of the year. I get excited by fresh new school supplies and the prospect of learning and so do many of you.  Please donate to your local Jewish Federation or Jewish Family and Child Services School Supplies Campaigns!

The need is greater than ever before. Please be generous, and let’s make this an all-year-round endeavor in the way that we contribute to food banks and toiletries for the homeless all year round.

We are all facing extraordinary economic challenges, around the world. In Canada, Jewish Boards of Education and Hebrew day schools are struggling to accommodate many new families and students who are fleeing antisemitism in public schools and school boards. We are also accommodating many new immigrants to our communities, who need our support.

As it is, in most Jewish communities of all sizes, about one-fifth of us are living below the poverty line. People don’t like to talk about that too much, because our Jewish community is generally successful and so oriented toward success and ‘naches’ (pride) in our achievements, but it’s a fact. And it’s not their fault. These are structural economic factors.

And, this is an expensive time of year. Many Jewish Federations are launching their campaigns at the same time that Jewish parents are trying to muster the funds for Hebrew school and university tuition for their kids, as well as high holiday seats and memberships at their synagogues. As they say, when it rains, it pours! Guide yourselves accordingly.

I am delighted that my family members have participated actively in Toronto’s UJA Federation ‘We Got Your Back’ school supplies campaign and I am always happy to support these campaigns, whoever is hosting them. I would like to suggest that we ‘aim higher’ in mustering much-needed school supplies for our communities and in mustering contributions particularly from women philanthropists, many of whom are participating actively in the workplace, and often have considerable funds to contribute.

Consider devising the school supplies campaigns to respect the time and needs of  professionals of both sexes, all year round, and allow your campaigns to allow cash donations for the purchase of school supplies and kits, and issue appropriate tax receipts to donors, just as we do for food banks.

Many more professionals like me would be more likely to participate this way, and this would result in far more school supplies kits being issued to needy students.  Our time is valuable, as much as we love to mobilize volunteers. Consider having a drop off box at your local Federation or Synagogue or Hebrew School or JFCS office or JCC for new unused school supplies, all year round! Learning is a life-long endeavor! Everybody wins!

Here are the items most needed, according to Toronto’s UJA  Jewish Federation Women’s Philanthropy campaign. I have added a few more suggestions of my own (because I am the queen of school supplies). They suggest remembering that students of all ages need backpacks and supplies, and suggest tailoring your donations accordingly.

• Backpack
• Water bottle
• Three ring binder with subject dividers and loose leaf paper
• Package of pens (include multiple colours)
• Package of pencils and pencil sharpener or pack of automatic pencils
• Eraser
• Package of colored pencils
• Pack of white computer printer paper
• Pack of graph paper for science classes
• Mathematics / Geometry Set with compasses and rulers
• Duotangs / File Folders for school reports
• Basic or Scientific Calculator
• Scotch tape
• Glue stick
• Mini stapler and staple remover
• Kosher nut free snack bars like granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.
• Hand sanitizer
• Pocket packs of facial tissues
• Face masks
• Menstrual supplies (for junior and high school girls)
• Anything else I forgot? Check with your local Federation/JFCS for more.
• Love and encouragement for all students and teachers!

In the Jewish tradition, we have a special respect for students and teachers and the notion of life long learning for its own sake, especially spiritual learning or Torah learning.

It is said that the spirit of God rests upon those studying, even those studying alone, and that the world is sustained on the breath of little children studying Torah or our spiritual tradition. In the old days, preschool students would be given cards with the Aleph Bet (Hebrew alphabet) with drops of honey over each letter to make learning sweet for them.

Please support learning in all forms, secular and religious (Torah and Derech Eretz) to secure the future success of our community. Let’s empower ourselves and our children with Jewish pride and commit to universal access to Jewish education and the supplies needed to equip our kids to learn.

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and successful back to school season and Jewish New Year.  Shana Tova U’Metuka.

Am Yisrael Chai. We send our love from Canada.