The Bee’s Knees — Parker Street Furniture and Food Bank

Joel’s girlfriend Leah shares her thoughts on experiencing the joys of buying school supplies after you’ve finished school.

After reading last week’s Wednesday Weeping about the joys and nostalgia of

back-to-school-shopping I got to thinking about my experiences of going back to school as a young girl.

The final haul.

I was extremely lucky to have parents who could afford to take me on back-to-school shopping trips. A new pair of jeans, maybe a pair of new shoes and all the supplies a girl could need for another educational adventure. But I realized then, and appreciate even more now that I’m out on my own, that I was part of a lucky few.

I went to a great elementary school, but it was considered an inner city school. Most of my classmates could not afford new jeans and sneakers each September, and for many if not most, loose leaf and new pencils was a sweet haul for a new year.

Back then, my mum (a teacher) made sure that I had a couple extra packs of loose leaf, pencils and Kleenex boxes for “class supplies”. That simple gesture of ensuring every kid in the class had access to some of the supplies they needed has stayed with me all these years.

So, after reading the back-to-school post last week, I stopped and thought, “yeah, back-to-school shopping is awesome and I can still do it now!”

Tuesday evening, Joel and I set out for Staples. Basket in hand, we frolicked down the aisles, gleefully selecting an array of fun and funky items (and, of course, all the necessary stuff). Twenty minutes and well over $100 later we were done and had five bags brimming with binders, protractor sets, pencils (even the clicky kind), pencil crayons and markers and more duo-tangs than a 4^th grader could handle. We even got wicked Spiderman and Transformers pencil cases (which I’ll admit, I kind of wanted to keep).

Wednesday, we took all those supplies to the Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank – an incredible community centre that offers families in need essential supplies. This year, they’ve got a huge drive on for school supplies. (Many of the families they help are facing the choice between rent or school supplies for their kids.)

The appreciation and love at Parker Street Furniture and Food Bank is incredible. Our small gesture made a real difference to them and to some kids who will now have the necessary tools to succeed this school year.

Best. Feeling. Ever.

So, if you’re like us, and want a chance to do some back-to-school shopping as an adult but don’t have a need for Hilroy notebooks anymore, then I encourage you all to get out there and donate the supplies to kids in need.

The Parker Street Furniture and Food Bank is on Maynard Street in the North End of Halifax. They are accepting school supplies and they told us that they are in real need of backpacks.

So have some fun back-to-school shopping and help a kid experience that joy you felt all those years ago.