This year, because of the COVID crisis, Church World Service has postponed its annual trip around the Northeast to pick up hygiene, school, and clean-up kits from Spring to Fall. We have served as a kit depot for over a decade and will continue to serve in that capacity this year during the week of September 15 – 18.  Churches from across the northern tier of Vermont will be making kits of various sorts and dropping them off at our church for pick-up by the CWS semi-truck later in September. 

For our part, we will not only host the kit depot,  but contribute some kits to the cause as well.  We are asking you to help us by making a school kit this year. School kits give children in impoverished schools, refugee camps, or other difficult settings some of the basic tools for learning.  All of the supplies are easy to purchase locally.  One of our board members put together a complete school kit at Shaws.  Each kit costs $12 – $13.

Here’s what you need to purchase:

• One pair of blunt scissors removed from the package (rounded tip, only)
• Three 70-count bound notebooks or notebooks totaling 200-210 pages (no loose-leaf or filler paper)
• One 30-centimeter / 12” ruler
• One hand-held pencil sharpener removed from the package
• One large eraser (no pencil cap erasers)
• Six new, unsharpened pencils with erasers (please remove pencils from the package)
• One box of 24 crayons (only 24)

Put it all in a tied shut shopping bag (1 kit per bag, please) or other type of sealable bag, and bring it to the church starting September 1.  The board of outreach will assemble all the kits that arrive by the end of the day, Wednesday, September 9.

Thank you!