Christian Action Cmte seeks helpers for local school children!
Quick links for signup: Reduced Contact Backpack Project | Virtual Social Justice Storytime
Help fill a backpack for Hamden children with our Reduced-Contact Back Pack Project
The Christian Action Committee (CAC) is excited to announce our Reduced-Contact Backpack Project using a Target School Supply Registry to heed COVID precautions for shoppers and contact with items. CAC has a long-standing tradition of providing backpacks full of school supplies for children in Hamden Public Schools.
The YMCA has identified 37 children and we’ve updated our supplies list for online learning. You may choose to buy lots of a single item, a variety of items, or a gift card to help us fill in the gaps. Items will be shipped directly to Debby’s house for packing. To allow shipping and packing time, please purchase items by Sunday, August 16. We know many will miss the family experience of back-to-school shopping, but are heeding precaution to continue to provide this important support to local families. THANK YOU for any amount you are able to contribute. If you have any questions or special circumstances, please reach out to Debby or Amanda.
(Note that Target does charge shipping for orders less than $35. To avoid these fees, we suggest buying a gift card in any dollar amount (no fee) and we will combine your funds with others for a single purchase without shipping charges. You can contact Debby if there are specific items you’d like us to use your funds for.)
Read or sponsor social justice virtual read alouds with the CAC's new program!
We are also excited to announce a NEW pilot program: a virtual social justice storytime to share with local schools and friends when classes are back in session to support positive racialized identity and talk about race to help dismantle racism starting at a young age. Michele O'Connell prepared read aloud videos for her students this spring, and is sharing her experience as we create our program, and has confirmed interest with at least one New Haven school that would enthusiastically welcome this enrichment for their students.
We seek individuals to help buy books, read books, film others reading books, or do simple video editing of the read alouds. Honestly, we'll make a role for anyone who's willing to help out! Focusing initially on young readers, Michele is collating a list of recommended books that we plan to purchase locally, supporting People Get Ready, a Black-owned bookstore in New Haven. We envision the read alouds to physically take place outside, maybe on the church lawn or in the memorial garden, or a location of your choice. If you are interested in helping out, please sign up for any of the roles on the Signup website (and you can sign up for more than one). Once we have an idea of the interest, we'll finalize our action plan and move forward on buying and reading books! If you have questions – contact Michele.
We are SO grateful for our SGC community that has so generously supported the projects of CAC, and appreciate any support offered now during these challenging times and circumstances!
Posted Summer 2020
