Main Line Students Collect School Supplies for Needy Families

Sept. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- As the summer came to an end children throughout the Delaware Valley began to prepare for the new school year. However, in this difficult economy “Back to School” shopping was tough for some families.

For nearly 200 families in North Philadelphia getting the necessary school supplies was made a little easier with help from Devon Preparatory School’s Christian Action Program (C.A.P.).

Throughout the summer C.A.P. collected over 4300 items from Devon Prep families for St. Elizabeth’s Community Center in North Philadelphia. Among the items were notebooks, pencils, crayons, pens, folders, backpacks, copybooks, scissors, rulers, glue sticks, index cards and just about anything else needed to start school.

According to Ms. Elizabeth Eshleman, C.A.P. Moderator, timing is everything.  “I thought that at this time of the year there are terrific “back to school” sales and that while our families were shopping for their own children, they might buy a few extra supplies to donate to the children and families of St. Elizabeth’s Community Center,” she explained.

The supplies were sorted, counted, boxed and delivered to St. Elizabeth’s by several members of C.A.P. including Juniors Matthew Swatski of Narberth, Joseph Geiger of Malvern, Benjamin Senss of Havertown and Matthew Kramer of Chester Springs.  

Mrs. Helen Brown of St. Elizabeth’s Community Center gratefully received the supplies and hugged each of the Devon Prep students who delivered them. “These boys can never really know how much all their hard work and kindness means to us,” she said. The donations were to be distributed to families with school age children during a community block party.

The Christian Action Program is a student-run organization dedicated to improving the surrounding community through ongoing acts of service. One of the most active programs at Devon Prep, C.A.P consists of students from grades six to twelve. The club serves several purposes; while attending to the spiritual and physical needs of those in the area, it also offers students a unique opportunity to take roles of responsibility and use their skills to accomplish meaningful work.   In addition to the School Supplies Drive C.A.P. also sponsors a Thanksgiving Food Drive to benefit St. Elizabeth’s Community Center, a lock-in event to raise funds for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a Blood Drive in partnership with the American Red Cross, several Clothing Drives, and a Christmas party for residents of St. Edmond’s Home.

Devon Prep is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades six to 12 conducted by the Piarist Fathers. Nearly 300 students from the five county Philadelphia area attend Devon Prep which is located on a 20 acre campus in Devon, PA. Devon Prep’s Fall Open House is scheduled for Sunday, October 10 from 1 to 4 PM. Scholarship / Entrance Exams will be administered on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 beginning at 8:30 AM. For more information call 610-688-7337, email admissions@devonprep.com, visit www.devonprep.com or www.facebook.com/devonprep.