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Back-to-School Help
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The return to school can be bittersweet for kids -- and for low-income families, this time of year can bring financial worries. Blue jeans, backpacks, sneakers, and haircuts can be costly, but Jim Melchiorre (mel key or ee) found one community that is making the burden easier to bear. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Belfast, New York)
His back-to-school haircut is making kindergarten student Thomas
Whittaker, well, a little nervous.
Stephanie Karcher, Thomas’ Mom: “They needed them, that’s for sure. The
hair’s going crazy on us.”
The haircut is free, along with everything else at the annual
back-to-school clinic at Belfast United Methodist Church in western New
York state.
Stephanie Karcher, Thomas’ Mom: “It’s very stressful, very expensive as
they get older and more and more needs are met and it gets harder for an
average family that’s just barely making it to get everything they’re
required to have for school.”
The Rev. Keith Manry, Pastor, Belfast United Methodist Church: “We felt
this was an extreme need. Sixty percent of the children in our community
are below the poverty level. Allegany County, in which we live, is the
poorest county in New York state.”
Family farms have been disappearing; factory jobs are scarce.
Erica Manry, Clinic Organizer, Belfast United Methodist Church: “A lot
of people are out of work, they have four or five kids each.”
So, for the past four years, parents whose children need clothing can
sign up, and a member of the congregation will buy the jeans and shoes
the child needs.
Erica Manry, Clinic Organizer, Belfast United Methodist Church: “At
least they can go the first day and have a nice pair of jeans and a nice
pair of sneakers and they’re not looking different than any of the other
kids that might have more than them.”
(Clinic helper to child) “What’s your favorite color? Let’s find one on
this table that’s your size.”
The clinic also includes free books, water bottles, and information on
healthier living.
Erica Manry, Clinic Organizer, Belfast United Methodist Church: “The
reason we’ve done this [ministry] is because it’s so true and genuine to
the needs of our community.”
Stephanie Karcher, Thomas’ Mom: “It’s just amazing how people pull
through for each other. It’s definitely a hometown. They’re lifesavers
here.”
TAG:
Just to give you an idea of how necessary this program has become, the
local public school has 370 students, and 85 percent of them come from
families who qualify for free, government-funded lunches.
For more information on the annual back-to-school clinic, contact Pastor
Manry
at 585-365-2529 or you can email him at
Rev_Manry@hotmail.com.