Nursery School Children Donate to Help Other Children in Stamford

The children of the JCC Sara Walker Nursery School in Stamford, ranging in age from two to four years old, have chosen to donate the money they collected throughout the school year to the local non-profit, Back to School Shop, Inc. Each week the nursery children bring a donation (“tzedakah”) to school, and with the help of their teachers they decide where they would like their accumulated donations to go. Since the inception of Back to School Shop, the children have often chosen the organization as a beneficiary of their donations.

As Anne Liss Johnson, the Associate Executive Director of the JCC explains "We try to make tzedakah very concrete and real for the children. We explain to them that not all the children in our community are able to receive new sneakers and clothes when school starts but the money they put into the tzedakah box will help Back to School Shop get those items and many others to the children who need them. It’s very important to provide them with the understanding that they are helping other children. The entire Sara Walker Nursery School staff strongly believes in the mission of Back to School Shop and we are delighted to be able to support them in this way.”

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Back to School Shop, which will hold its 12^th annual event on July 26, creates a one day pop-up store where elementary school children of low-income families in Stamford can shop for brand new back to school clothes, coats, sneakers, backpacks, supplies and books- all for free. The participating children are chosen by social workers in the Stamford elementary schools, and the items available to the children are bought by Back to School Shop with donations raised throughout the year.

Back to School Shop Co-founder and Stamford resident Meryl Japha attended the ceremony on May 28, at which the children presented their donations. She was able to talk to them about Back to School Shop and thank them personally for their donations. “It was such a joy to see the smiles on these children’s faces as they presented the coins and dollar bills that their class had collected” remarked Japha. “It’s wonderful that they are learning at such a young age how good it feels to help others.”

Japha added, “Back to School Shop is a small, all-volunteer, non-profit organization. This year we hope to welcome over 400 children to our event. Everything we are able to do is thanks to the support of our community. We couldn’t be more grateful to the children, parents, teachers and administrators of the JCC Sara Walker Nursery School!”