A local “back-to-school angel” has donated enough school supplies to outfit 12 children for the upcoming year through Community Living Huntsville.
For the third year in a row the donor, who wants to remain anonymous, went shopping for backpacks, school supplies, and clothing for 12 local children who needed a little extra support this year, and even customized each box of goodies to the individual kids.
“We are always encouraging the community to reach out and help one another and we really appreciate how supportive they have been of us,” said CLH’s manager of children and youth services, Stacey Bullock. Community Living Huntsville supports and advocates for people with developmental disabilities.
With the majority of schooling conducted online last year, Community Living noticed a lot of anxiety and nervousness with the young kids starting in-person school this year.
“The pandemic has been hard on a lot of the families we support,” said Bullock. “Some families may struggle with buying their kids new shoes so there is the financial aspect but a huge thing we are noticing is the effect on the mental health. These backpacks gave the kids a little extra confidence boost on a day that could be a challenge for them.”
Bullock and her team at Community Living have been working with local schools to set up meetings in order to prepare them for the children that may need extra support.
As COVID has isolated these children more than usual, they are needing some extra support to learn the necessary social skills for school.
“We were sent a photo of one of the kids who received his back-to-school package and it was just so amazing to see the confidence in his smile. It makes me really happy that his life can be made a little easier amidst all of the chaos,” said Bullock.
For more information on Community Living Huntsville’s children and youth services, visit clhuntsville.ca/support-services/for-children.
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