Stories from the Shelter: Making a Difference, One Pencil at a Time

When we opened the two boxes, we discovered they were filled to the brim with brand new school supplies. It was a donation - a very generous donation - sent to Laurel House last week from the employees of Horsham, PA based Catalyst360 (formerly The Hartford).

Notebooks, crayons, pencils, and glue sticks were piled on the conference room table. Moms, all of whom are currently living in our shelter, transitional housing program, or clients of our community counseling program, came by to select the necessary items to send their kids back to school.

The kids' eyes lit up - from gratitude, yes, but also because the Catalyst360 donation was filled with name-brand stuff. Crayolas. Elmers. The stuff of childhood, and the stuff that makes a child living in a domestic violence shelter fit in just a little bit more with his or her peers.

While the kids' eyes were lighting up, one mom's eyes started filling with tears.

"I didn't know how I was going to afford school supplies this year," she confessed.

Even though Back-to-School Sales are abundant, funds to buy needed clothing, backpacks, and - yes, even two notebooks at 2 for $1.00 can present a hardship for families in crisis. This can be difficult to fathom, difficult to imagine for those of us for whom buying a box of crayons or two notebooks is almost an after-thought. With the current economic climate, more and more Laurel House families in our counseling programs and housing programs are feeling the pinch.

We are feeling so grateful today to the kind people at Catalyst360, and other community groups and businesses, for helping out our families with their school supplies. If you'd like to help out too, consider making a monetary donation to help provide nutritious breakfasts for kids as they go off to school, clothes for the rest of the school year (they'll likely grow!) or contribute to our Family Fund which will directly help families throughout the year with unexpected expenses.

We thank you, for helping the kids of Laurel House step forward towards success in this new school year.

posted by Melissa Firman, Director of Development and PR, Laurel House