It was almost time ...
A year’s worth of planning complete. A week’s worth of set-up done. The eager faces of a few children peering excitedly through windows in the wooden doors, wondering what awaited them inside.
First, a few words from 2025 Back 2 School Store Co-Chairs, Sherri Fendelman and Paula Green. They addressed volunteers gathered by the check-in tables at Temple Beth Shalom, our wonderful and welcoming host for this year’s Store.
“One of the tenets of the Jewish faith is that we welcome strangers into our homes, show kindness and hospitality, and show compassion for those who may be different and to create community. It is a mitzvah, and by being part of the Back 2 School Store today, everyone is doing a mitzvah.”
With those words of inspiration, the doors swung open, and the 2025 Store had officially begun!
Time to Shop!
Every child who visited the store met their volunteer personal shopper and together they walked the floor. The child chose pants, shirts, socks, a week’s worth of underwear, matching gloves and a hat, and a hygiene kit packed with a toothbrush, soap, deodorant and more — all in the colors and styles they liked best.
Coats and sneakers brought so much joy, as volunteer “fitters” channeled their best retail experiences to ensure perfect selections for the children.
It was easy to see on their faces: a child would slip on a coat, zip it up, turn toward the mirror, and with a slow shake of the head from side-to-side say, “This one isn’t for me.” The next choice would go around their shoulders, hood framing an enormous smile, and everyone knew this was the one!
At the sneaker station, little feet tried on the red ones or the blue ones or the turquoise neon pair, wiggled their toes, tested them out by walking around, then were on their way with a new lightness in their step and a wide grin on their face.
A team of teachers and educators advised the children as they chose two books to add to their libraries, and backpacks full of school supplies in a color of their choice completed a child’s haul.
Packed with Love
Mobile Shopping Goes Big
To meet the needs of as many children as possible, “mobile shopping” became a much bigger part of our efforts this year.
The Agency Relations team worked closely with our partners to get “wish lists” from children, letting us know what sizes, colors and styles they liked, and our personal shoppers kept busy packing large laundry bags with love… and the same awesome package of essential items as the children who attended in person received. More than 500 children can look forward to these special deliveries from the Back 2 School Store!
Resources for Families
As the children shopped, the families, friends and caregivers visited the Gaelen Family Resource Center (GFRC) where exhibitors shared information on vital topics including how to navigate the SNAP process, how to lower energy costs and how to register to vote for the upcoming election. Providers offered vision, blood pressure and diabetes screenings, alongside important information about other health care services. Each family who attended also received menstrual products and a gift card to help with groceries.
A Family Affair
Over the years, the Back 2 School Store has become a family affair. It’s a joy to see familiar faces as volunteers reconnect around the clothing racks, or at the registration and check-out desks, or moving traffic smoothly through the parking lot. The Store often brings families together for a few hours every summer – whether it is kids of NCJW/Essex members home from college helping to unpack boxes, committee members’ spouses measuring for new sneakers, or the whole clan signing up for a shift as personal shoppers and spending time giving back.
Thank You
The Back 2 School Store is an amazing, fulfilling and unforgettable experience that is possible because of the commitment, dedication and full embrace of so many people.
Thank you to the entire Steering Committee, led by co-chairs Sherri Fendelman and Paula Green, and the more than 225 volunteers who enthusiastically showed up and did whatever was asked – they are the heartbeat of our success.
Thank you to our amazing sponsors, a wide range of in-kind donations and an honor roll of individual donors who give their financial support to the Store and to the children year after year. They are the backbone of this project, investing in NCJW/Essex and giving us the ability to do this work. The National Retail Federation estimates that it costs more than $900 to get a child ready for school – and as those costs continue to rise, the Back 2 School Store makes a real difference for these families.
We are grateful to our agency partners, many of whom face untold challenges, yet show up and do the work every day. NCJW/Essex is honored to work alongside them to make an impact for more than 1,000 children through the Back 2 School Store
It is a Mitzvah
Even as the racks are broken down and the boxes sent to storage, thoughts of the Back 2 School Store linger. It is never far away.
We relive the excitement a new book brings to a child and feel the warmth of a child wrapped in a new winter coat as the first snow of the season falls. We reflect in a quiet moment how our volunteer hours played a small part in creating a more just and compassionate world.
And, we can always say of the Back 2 School Store … it is a Mitzvah.
