HOLYOKE, Massachusetts (WGGB/WSHM) — In Holyoke, students and their families were treated to fun, food and socializing as children prepare to go back to school in just a few days.
“This is all for the kids,” said Darcelle Clark of Holyoke. “It’s a soirée for students,” she added.
“We’re going to help them succeed. We’re going to lift them out of poverty,” Eddie Caisse, a member of the Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative, told Western Mass News.
The Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative is giving back in a big way by donating backpacks, haircuts, food for thought and meals on Saturday.
Caisse explains the purpose of the annual event.
“We want to have them here so that we can continue to show them that we are here and that they are important to us.”
These helpful handouts end up in lucky hands, parents like Darcelle Clark say this event always comes on time. “At a time like this, I’m struggling financially, so I came to this event, bought some school supplies, and was able to give my son a haircut, which takes a lot of stress off my shoulders.”
The tangible things are great.
“We’ve had brand new clothes donated. One day we had a group of people for seven hours sorting all of these clothes and putting them into packages,” says Caisse. “So if someone comes into our clothing tent and says I’m a 5t boy, they end up getting a package of clothes that are 5t, and there are probably 3 or 4 outfits in there,” he explains.
Come for the backpacks, stay for the community and the right to resources.
“My child is autistic, but in the beginning I didn’t know what the church had to offer him, so it was a struggle,” Jamillete Ramos of Holyoke tells us. “The fact that everyone can be here and have the hands-on experience of the church is great,” he added.
And go knowing that someone is looking after you and your family.
“It makes me feel like people are behind me,” Clark says.
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