Build-a-Backpack: NJCCA Community Service Project

We are looking for volunteers to help by donating school supplies and building 150 backpacks for inner city elementary school students.  If this is a community service project that you might like to help with, please send Gail Girard an email at NJCCA@comcast.net by July 22nd and she will sign you up.

Please help NJCCA to fill backpacks with the back-to-school supplies for a group of inner city students.  The Kindergarten and 1st Grade classes at McKinley Elementary School in Newark were chosen based upon need and logistics, as the recipients of NJCCA's Build –A-Backpack donation.  We plan to donate 150 backpacks with school supplies and a new book.  Volunteers will be asked to donate school supplies from the attached School Supply List and books from the Suggested Book List and assist with assembling the backpacks at the networking event.  Volunteers will be encouraged to bring their children to help us out with packing the backpacks.  We're planning to complete this project over the next 6-8 weeks, culminating with a small team of volunteers delivering the backpacks during the week of September 7th to McKinley Elementary School in Newark.

If you would like to contribute, please contact Gail Girard (NJCCA@comcast.net or (609) 312-7772) to confirm the item selected remains available and the number you are committing to purchase.  We ask that you also plan to have your donations shipped or delivered by August 7th to: Rebecca Brazzano at Thompson Hine LLP, 335 Madison Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10017 or Valerie Camara at Merck & Co., Inc. (Valerie Camara RY60-30; Merck & Co., Inc., 126 East Lincoln Avenue, Rahway, N.J. 07065).

Building the backpacks with school supplies will be done at a fun-filled event to be held on Thursday, August 19th at the Dolce, 300 North Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, sponsored by Thompson  Hine.  Wine, soda and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Coffee and dessert will be available to encourage in-house counsel to continue to network after all the backpacks are filled.  Details on the networking event will be sent out in a follow up email.

Bret Parker, Chair of NJCCA Pro Bono and Outreach Committee, Evaleon Hill, Chair of NJCCA Women's Networking Committee, Michael Prokop, Chair of the Career Management and Transition Committee, Valerie Camara, NJCCA President and Rebecca Brazzano of Thompson Hine are helping to organize the project.  Rebecca Brazzano of Thompson Hine, Larry Samilow of Update Legal and NJCCA have already offered their generous support by underwriting the cost of the backpacks needed for the project and Axiom has again agreed to provide additional support for our volunteers to commemorate our event.

Backbacks from the 2009 "Build-a-Backpack" campaign.