ENSURING EACH CHILD STARTS YEAR ON EQUAL FOOTING

Students in Family & Children’s Agency’s (FCA) programs will start the school year well-prepared thanks to the generosity of corporate and community partners who donated a record 370 filled, high-quality backpacks. The bags are being distributed to students in FCA’s Early Childhood Home Visiting, Foster Care, ASPIRE after-school, Adoption, DCF Involved Family Support, and Housing Retention programs.

Each backpack was tailored to the age of the recipient and stocked with essential school supplies. The high-quality backpacks are not only durable, hopefully lasting for multiple school years, but they also help students feel confident and excited about their supplies.

This effort was supported by a diverse group of donors, including Chase Bank in Bridgeport, Carry Me Comfort in Westport, and NORD/LB NYC, employees from Claritas, FactSet in Norwalk, OperationsInc. In Norwalk, members at Rumble Boxing SoNo, Norwalk, parents from Carousel Preschool, Norwalk, the Service League of Boys (SLOBS) of New Canaan and Wilton, members of FCA’s Board of Directors and Junior Board of Advisors and individual donors. Volunteers from Albourne in Stamford helped assemble some of the bags.

“As the new school year approaches, we understand the financial burden that school supplies can place on families. We are incredibly thankful to our donors who have stepped up to ensure that every child in our programs starts the year on equal footing,” said Robert F. Cashel, president and CEO, Family & Children’s Agency. “This outpouring of support shows just how much our community cares about giving our students the tools they need to succeed.”

Family & Children’s Agency is a nonprofit human services organization with programs for community members of all ages, including behavioral and mental health, addiction recovery services, after-school programs, parenting education, housing retention services, family counseling, specialized foster care, senior services, and more.