Last Thursday, Newton Neighbors invited the community to The Street in Chestnut Hill to gather — in-person, for the first time in a long time — and celebrate the successful conclusion of this month’s School Supplies Drive conducted in collaboration with The Street and Village Bank. Susan Vaughn, one of the organizers of the drive, said, “We stuffed over a hundred backpacks full of supplies for preschool through high school students, including lunch boxes, water bottles, notebooks, pencils, pens, and more. We send a huge thank you to our fabulous partners, our hard-working volunteers, and our wonderful, supportive community.”
Newton Neighbors also collected gift cards to support individual needs of students — ranging from purchasing snacks for ESL students to new packages of underwear for young students having accidents. The supplies and gift cards will be distributed in coordination with Newton Public Schools social workers.
Newton Neighbors formed in March, 2020 as a community mutual aid network in response to the pandemic and later merged with Welcoming Newton to incorporate as a nonprofit (501c3) “to facilitate community connection, mutual aid, and access to resources and supports” for people in Newton and other local communities.
Newton Neighbors president, Shalini Tendulkar, noted that there are many unseen needs within the Newton community, and as we emerge from the pandemic, those whom Newton Neighbors helped in the early months are now themselves giving back to the community.
