Back to school is an exciting time for students and families — and an expensive one. New clothes need to be purchased, new shoes, numerous school supplies and even more groceries to make school lunches. Similarly, the advent of autumn is invigorating with the cooler weather and the numerous harvest and Halloween activities scheduled, but the colder weather also means the purchase of new clothes, heavier jackets and rain and winter boots. It’s this time of year especially where all of us should remember the less fortunate in our community and try to help them as best we can.
Last week, our local food pantry and clothing closet, CazCares, which serves low income residents of the Cazenovia School District and surrounding areas of Madison County, put out a call for donations for their Back to School Program, and we would like to amplify that call and encourage all of our readers to donate.
Caz Cares serves approximately 200 clients who visit each month and need food and clothing and, currently, school supplies. So as you go out to buy supplies for your child’s return to school, grab an extra few items to donate to CazCares. They are in need of backpacks (new or gently used), pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, glue sticks, markers, colored pencils, highlighters, notebook paper, colored folders, large spiral notebooks, composition notebooks and three-ring binders.
Fresh produce is also an important need at the food pantry, and CazCares accepts donations from home gardens. If your garden is overflowing with fall fruits and produce, consider donating some of your surplus; if you go out apple or pumpkin picking, consider grabbing a few extra bags of apples or individual pumpkins and drop them at CazCares.
Lastly, we all know how cold our winters can be, as you are digging out your fall and winter clothing and find gently used or new (particularly children’s coats) and short, easy-to-clean coats, consider donating them as well.
What comes as a small sacrifice, a few extra dollars or an extra car trip to drop off extra clothing for those of us who have enough for our families can make an immense difference in the lives of our neighbors who struggle to get by.
CazCares is located at 101 Nelson St. Contact them at 655-3174 or visit cazcares.org.
