Back to School Ready for 25 Years!

Back to school season can sometimes feel like a holiday. There are moments of anticipation, big transitions, reunions among friends, and sometimes, new clothes, books and school supplies. For a lot of children, this year is an especially big transition after they spent much of last year learning from home. Thanks to the generosity of communities throughout York County, kids of all ages who live in our residences and engage in our programs don’t miss out on the excitement of gearing up for the new school year.

Over the last twenty-five years, a community of churches in Kennebunk has grown a modest school supply drop off into a reliable backpack drive. We cannot thank the communities at St. David’s Church, Kennebunk; Holy Cross Church, Kennebunk; Trinity Chapel, Kennebunk Beach; St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Kennebunkport; and Christ Church, Kennebunk enough for their commitment to this program.

Pamela, a community member and longtime supporter of Caring Unlimited, has worked to coordinate the backpack drive each year since the first; she has been instrumental in the growth of the drive throughout the church communities, and helped facilitate new ways of giving during the pandemic.

“Last year, as schools remained shuttered, we experimented with a request for gift cards in lieu of backpacks, as Caring Unlimited was unsure what sort of supplies would be required for distance learning.”

With students returning to classrooms this fall, traditional school supplies will once again be collected in person this August.

“Still, many people found gift cards a safe and easy option, and those are certainly still welcome this year.  Caring Unlimited suggests Walmart and Target, or other places where families can find school supplies and/or children’s clothing,”

This year, we also received a delightful and spontaneous back to school donation from another community, the Riverbend Woods residential neighborhood in Wells. They provided a generous package of school and craft supplies and a cash donation for us to use as needed. This will ensure that all the kids who are involved in our programs will have hours upon hours of creative and entertaining activities, even when they aren’t at school!

We always accept cash and gift card donations, which allow recipients to choose the items they most need, and ensure we are able to meet the needs of each family we serve. If you have items you would like to donate, please contact mail@caring-unlimited.org.  Due to frequently changing needs and storage capacity we often determine what we are able to accept on a case by case basis.

Gift cards and checks may be sent anytime to our address below.  Secure online donations can be made here.

Caring Unlimited
PO Box 590
Sanford, ME 04073