News
September 29, 2016SCAP and SICM Partner to help Schenectady Families
Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SICM) was happy to partner with Schenectady Community Action Program (SCAP) in distributing backpacks to members of the Schenectady community. The back-to-school initiative was funded by a grant which paid for the backpacks and the contents: water bottles, lunch bags, food items, and personal hygiene items. A volunteer/anonymous donor provided $1,000 toward this distribution, as well.
Families met with staff from SCAP to determine eligibility for the backpacks, which were distributed on Tuesday, September 27, at SICM’s Emergency Food Pantry, 839 Albany Street in Schenectady. Backpacks were assembled and handed out by volunteers to 200 families. Volunteers from the SICM Food Pantry worked with SCAP staff to distribute the backpacks.
The purpose of this initiative was to provide relief to low-income families unable to afford the basic items needed for back to school activities. SCAP staff also assisted families with needed children’s school clothing.
Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SICM) is a coalition of 50 congregations founded in 1967 for joint programs of social service and social justice. SICM runs a host of programs serving the city and county of Schenectady, including the SICM Food Program and pantry, the Schenectady Damien Center, Schenectady County Embraces Diversity (SCED), Summer Meals Program and others.
“We so appreciate the partnership offered to us by SICM, which made the distribution so much easier and efficient for families,” said SCAP’s Director of Housing & community Services, Naomi Wood. Schenectady’s Community Action Program (SCAP) assists families and indificuals to meet their basic needs, including housing, food, health, education and employment, while supporting their ifforts to become self-reliant.
For further information, contact Shennan Jarboe, SICM Food Program Director, at 346-4445 or sjarboe@sicm.us, Rev. Phillip Grigsby, Executive Director, at SICM, at 374-2683 or email revphil @sicm.us, or Naomi Wood, Director of Housing and Community Services, at SCAP, at 374-9181 or email nwood@scpny.org.
