As you gear up to go back-to-school, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is gearing up for a school supplies drive … and they would like our help! School supplies are super cheap at the beginning of the school year, so Fall is a great time for MCC to gather the supplies they need. For the month of September, MCC is organizing a drive to collect enough supplies for 770 school kits, and we want Westheights children to help!
School kits are MCC’s most-requested item. Notebooks and pencils become treasures to families who struggle to afford basic school supplies. School kits are also given to refugee and displaced children, helping students and teachers add some normalcy to disrupted lives. They are frequently requested after natural disasters. MCC sends school kits to places including Iraq, Nicaragua, North Korea and to poorly funded schools in Canada and the United States.
As students of all ages get excited about going back to school, they will be purchasing a ton of school supplies. Consider picking up a few extra items to share through MCC. Check below for what makes up a complete school kit, but feel free to donate any number of whichever item(s) you like! What a great hands-on learning and serving opportunity for the family! Children (Preschool-Grade 5) and students (Grades 6-12) at Westheights will be working together to collect as many school supplies as possible. As a community we can make a BIG impact!
Parents! Take this “faith-at-home” opportunity to follow Christ as a family as you bring hope, healing and needed supplies to children around the world! Discuss with your children what kind of contribution you want to make together as a family. Challenge your kids to give generously and extravagantly–in honour of our Father, the ultimate Giver! What can each of you–or all of you as a family give up–in order to donate generously to this cause? Heads-up! Coercion, guilt or pressure isn’t appropriate or necessary; instead, make suggestions, be creative, let the kids come up with ideas. Tell them what you personally will do, and model what it means to give! Did you know that the cost of one whole kit of school supplies is equal to one child’s movie pass? Or one small, cheese pizza at Pizza Pizza?
Make time together to pray for the children who will receive these school kits. Pray that their eyes, ears and minds would be open to the presence of God in their lives. Pray together for the work of MCC.
Bring your supplies to Westheights, beginning Sunday, July 22 until Sunday, Sept 16, 2012.
School kit supplies (NEW items of high-quality brands only please):
- 4 spiral or perforated notebooks (about 21.5cm x 27cm / 8.5in x 10.5in and 140 pages)
- 4 unsharpened pencils
- 1 ruler (flat, flexible plastic; indicating both 30cm and 12in)
- 12 colored pencils (in packaging)
- 1 large pencil eraser
Peace and blessings,
— Charlene, Gillian and Tom