Do you love the thrill of having fresh, brand new school supplies? Collecting bright, colorful markers, smooth new folders and sheets of crisp paper builds excitement for a new school year and brings students the hope of a promising, successful school experience. Unfortunately, there are many children who never get to experience this.

When Freida Rosenberg was thinking about a meaningful way to mark her bat mitzvah celebration, which will take place a week before the start of the school year, she thought of the challenges these children face, and wanted to help them. Having recently read Kate Messner’s novel “The Exact Location of Home,” Freida learned that over two million children experience homelessness in America each year. Besides the anguish of being without a home, these children often have the added embarrassment of not having access to the basic supplies they need for school.

Wanting to help local children with this challenge, Freida decided to raise money and collect supplies to assemble school-supply packages that can be given to the children in Bergen County who find themselves temporarily homeless.

“Not everyone knows how many people suffer each year from being homeless,” said Freida. “As I become a bat mitzvah this summer, I thought it would be a nice idea to spread the word and help. Although school supplies might seem like a normal, regular thing to have, some people can’t afford them, and that might mean they can’t get a proper education. It would mean so much to me if you can donate some money to this cause as a part of my bat mitzvah chesed project.”

Supplies will be sent to Bergen HEARTS, the family shelter in Bergen County. If you would like to donate to this meaningful cause, please visit: https://thechesedfund.com/moishier/schoolsupplies 

If you’d like to arrange drop off of in-kind donations, please email [email protected].