The Sharing Shelf addresses growing need for school supplies across Westchester

August 16, 2023 at 10:47 p.m.

Mother and daughter Lisa (right) and Betsy Owens, of Shore Drive, prepare backpacks at The Sharing Shelf’s “Backpacks to School” packing day at their 47 Purdy Ave. headquarters on Saturday, Aug. 12. Volunteers packed 1,500 backpacks this year to supply a growing need for school supplies in Westchester. (Jeffrey Cullen Dean/Westmore News)

Approximately 1,500 backpacks were prepared at The Sharing Shelf for students in need of new school supplies for the upcoming school year.

This is the 13^th year The Sharing Shelf has organized its “Backpacks to School” program, and more than 60 volunteers showed up at the clothing bank at 47 Purdy Ave. in Port Chester during an annual packing day on Saturday, Aug. 12, to contribute to the project.

    Port Chester High School rising senior Valerie Tintaya fills a bag with goods at The Sharing Shelf’s packing day.
 By Jeffrey Cullen Dean   

In an assembly line process, volunteers efficiently filled backpacks by taking a bag and moving between stations manned by other volunteers to stuff them with notebooks, pouches, note cards, pencils and more. A quality assurance table hosted volunteers who served as the last set of eyes on every bag—ensuring each had the proper number of supplies.

The cost of school supplies rose about five percent this past year, said The Sharing Shelf Executive Director Deborah Blatt, and there’s a 50 percent increase in need for back-to-school gear across the county.

    Miguel Alvarez, a Port Chester High School Class of 2023 graduate, unpacks boxes filled with school supplies.
 By Jeffrey Cullen Dean   

The backpacks are solicited by social workers from the Westchester County Department of Social Services and each sac will end up in the hands of an under-resourced student in need of school supplies.

“Last year we packed 1,250 backpacks,” Blatt said. “This year we decided to up the level we were packing. We were very close to receiving all 1,500 requests and we’re not even at the deadline. We’re almost at the point where we cannot meet every need that comes to us.”

    Deborah Blatt, executive director of The Sharing Shelf, thanks the volunteers for their service.
 By Jeffrey Cullen Dean   

Blatt believes the increased need is a result of inflation, which has impacted how families are choosing to spend their money.

“When you have families struggling financially, it’s usually cash-based,” she said. “You can get SNAP benefits to help out with food, but if you don’t have actual physical cash in hand, you’re not going to buy new school supplies. As families struggle to meet inflationary needs or other costs, they’re not going to have dollars that they can allocate to this.”

    Central Avenue resident Roxanne Schulman stacks supplies in The Sharing Shelf’s warehouse as the organization prepares to get backpacks ready for Westchester middle schoolers.
 By Jeffrey Cullen Dean   

Port Chester resident Roxanne Schulman, a regular volunteer at The Sharing Shelf, also noted the need for school supplies this year. She said the 1,500 backpacks prepared for distribution will set a new record for the nonprofit.

“There are just people that are living on the poverty line. There are more people now that are refugees, immigrants or people that need a helping hand,” she said. “When you’re a kid and you’re going back to school and you’re unprepared, it sets the tone for the rest of the school year. But, if you have your backpack and have your supplies, you’re ready to go and it changes the tone for the entire year.”

    Larchmont resident Carolyn Gallagher helps lay out school supplies that will fill bags slated to be distributed to middle school students.
 By Jeffrey Cullen Dean