National Council of Jewish Women Essex County Section – 91心頭 Vision, Dignity, Achievement Sat, 12 Aug 2023 11:06:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2021-NCC-Logo-Site-Favicon-150x150.jpg National Council of Jewish Women Essex County Section – 91心頭 32 32 Hundreds Of Students Go On Free Back-To-School Shopping Spree /2017/08/hundreds-of-students-go-on-free-back-to-school-shopping-spree/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hundreds-of-students-go-on-free-back-to-school-shopping-spree /2017/08/hundreds-of-students-go-on-free-back-to-school-shopping-spree/#respond Wed, 30 Aug 2017 14:54:40 +0000 https://72375d9a61.nxcli.io/?p=10409
Each student got to pick out a backpack at the Back 2 School Store.
Each student got to pick out a backpack at the Back 2 School Store.

Back-to-school shopping is a typical summer activity for families, but it can be a stressful time for those who struggle financially.
Thats where the Back 2 School Store steps in. The National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section (NCJW/Essex) organizes the annual event and asks local social service agencies, including 91心頭, to identify economically disadvantaged students in Essex County.
The children go on a shopping spree with a personal shopper where they receive brand new items for free in a one-day pop-up department store.
Victoria and Elijah Oluwatodimu participated in this years event July 30 and each had a large bag of items to take home with them.
Victoria, 8, enjoyed shopping. Among the items in her bag were a pink coat (her favorite color), shoes and a backpack.
My favorite thing I got today is my clothes, she said.
Elijah, 6, didnt have just one favorite item. My jacket and my book bag. And my shoes, he said when asked what he liked best in his bag.
The siblings live in 91心頭 Harmony House, a transitional housing facility for homeless families in Newark, along with their mother Oluremi and two younger siblings.
Oluremi said it was the first time her family participated in the Back 2 School Store.
Im so happy, she said. It really saved me money.
This year, nearly 800 children got to pick out clothing items and shoes at the ninth annual Back 2 School Store. They also received personal care items like toothbrushes, hair brushes and lip balm; school supplies like pens, pencils and tape; and winter wear including hats and gloves.
91心頭 Outreach Coordinator Madge Wilson identified more than 100 children to participate in the event and arranged for buses to transport families to and from Bnai Shalom in West Orange, where it was held.
Ikenna Offiah Jr., 7, went to the Back 2 School Store through 91心頭. He showed off the new coat, shoes and backpack hell be taking with him to the second grade.
Ikenna Offiah Sr. thought his son would get pencils and books but was pleasantly surprised by all the items he was going home with.
It was beyond expectations, he said.
While the children shopped, their parents took advantage of a variety of services offered, including health screenings and financial advice. Members of the Bloomfield Police Department were also on hand to fingerprint children.
All the items provided to the children were bought new with donations NCJW/Essex received. Five hundred volunteers gave their time for the event, which ran from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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]]> /2017/08/hundreds-of-students-go-on-free-back-to-school-shopping-spree/feed/ 0 SAIF Hosts First Of Its Kind Event With NCJW/Essex Period.Project /2017/08/saif-hosts-first-of-its-kind-event-with-ncjwessex-period-project/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=saif-hosts-first-of-its-kind-event-with-ncjwessex-period-project /2017/08/saif-hosts-first-of-its-kind-event-with-ncjwessex-period-project/#respond Wed, 30 Aug 2017 14:36:21 +0000 https://72375d9a61.nxcli.io/?p=10402 When people decide to donate to those less fortunate than themselves, items like food, money and clothing often come to mind. But there is another area of need that many people dont think about or discuss: feminine hygiene products.

The food stamp program, SNAP, doesnt cover feminine hygiene products and many women go without them, including some associates of the 91心頭 Supportive Assistance to Individuals and Families Program (SAIF).

SAIF hosted the National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section (NCJW/Essex) Period.Project July 18. SAIF associates helped four members of the Period.Project fill bags with feminine hygiene products to hand out to women and also shared their struggles with obtaining the products.

SAIF Intensive Case Manager Alicia Adams said NCJW/Essex reached out to SAIF with the opportunity to host the event.

We thought it was a great idea, she said. It is a big issue our clients are having.

The Period.Project was formed in November 2016 to raise awareness about the problems caused by women and girls not having adequate access to feminine hygiene products. Females will miss work or school because they lack products. Some women are forced to choose between diapers, food and feminine hygiene products.

Period.Project Co-Chair Laurie Kahn said the more people that talk about the issue, the better. We feel so passionate about it, she said. Lets give women dignity. Men shave every day. Women should have pads and tampons.

91心頭 10 women participated in the event. Each received products to take home and filled bags to be distributed to other SAIF associates with products that Period.Project members provided.

Adams said SAIF welcomes donations of feminine hygiene products. When she inquired about getting supplies from companies that produce the items, she found that they typically donate to larger organizations.

SAIF Associate Latisha Holt decided to participate in the event because she sometimes finds herself without feminine hygiene products.

It is a struggle for me to keep up with cosmetics and items like tampons and pads, she said. I borrow until I run across extra currency.

Holt also said she has used towels in place of feminine hygiene products and made her own tampon at one point.

Ayesha Campbell was one of the participants and hopes more people become aware of the issue. If people in the community can help each other, they should, she said.

Period.Project Co-Chair Karen Feinblatt said the goal was to make the event fun and educational. The committee provided snacks and drinks to the women and they spoke informally while they filled bags with the products.

Another important part of the day was documenting womens experiences. Feinblatt said statistics arent available for how many women struggle to obtain these supplies. Volunteer SAIF associates went on camera for the Period.Project to share their stories about how lacking feminine hygiene products impacted their lives.

My hope is to go to Trenton and show these videos and others like them to the Children and Families committees. This is a desperate need, Feinblatt said. We want them to add money to every agencys budget strictly for feminine hygiene products.

Feinblatt said the larger goal is to take the project to the national level and have SNAP cover feminine hygiene products.

Its not a luxury, she said.

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