Nursery School Children Donate to Help Local Children in Need

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 charitable giving.

As Anne Liss Johnson, the Managing Director of the nursery school, explains "We try to make tzedakah very concrete and real for the children. We explain to them that not all children are able to receive new sneakers and clothes when school starts. One little girl recently showed us her new sneakers and we explained that there are other children who don’t have new sneakers but the money she puts into the tzedakah box will help Back to School Shop get new sneakers to those children. This is a value we try to instill in our children. 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.”

Back to School Shop, which is preparing for it’s Fifth Anniversary event on July 28, creates a one day pop-up store where economically disadvantaged Stamford elementary school students can shop for brand new back to school clothes, coats, sneakers, backpacks, supplies and books for free. The participating children are chosen by social workers in the Stamford elementary schools, and the items the children can choose from are bought by Back to School Shop with donations raised throughout the year.

Back to School Shop founders and Stamford residents Meryl Japha and Jane Levene attended the ceremony at which the children presented their donations. “It is so inspiring to see the joy on these children’s faces as they present the coins and dollar bills that their class has collected” remarked Levene. “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 and every dollar makes a difference to us. The gifts we receive from the children are significant for us, and will enable us to serve additional very deserving students at our upcoming event. We couldn’t be more grateful to the children, parents, teachers and administrators of the JCC Sara Walker Nursery School!”