WATERTOWN– With the first day of school only a week away, Watertown’s Urban Mission has made going back to school much easier for 850 local students.
“Last year, we served about 550 students on the first day and around 850 total,” said Joanna Fassett, Critical Needs Coordinator. “This year, the community has stepped up with more supplies than ever and the timing is amazing, because we’ve seen even more young people come to us in need than ever before.”
Increased donations from churches, individuals, businesses and the “Tunes Tools for School Program” from Tunes 92.5 and Jreck Subs, provided enough supplies to meet the need for the first day of distribution and bags will still be available in the second day.
Backpacks are tailored for different age groups so that pre-K, K through 3rd, 4th through 6th, and 7th to 12th grade students receive supplies appropriate for their needs. This program depends entirely on donations
To donate your backpack or other school supplies to the Critical Needs Program, simply bring them to the drop off zone behind the Watertown Urban Mission and Impossible Dream Thrift Store at 247 Factory St., Watertown, or contact Joanna Fassett at 315-782-8440.
In addition to backpacks, the items needed to fill these bags include 1” Binders, pocket folders, dry erase markers, pencil boxes, highlighters, rulers, pens, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, calculators, index cards, rulers and blunt tipped scissors.
