FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2019
Contact: 
mberger
Non-Profit Supporting Families With Critically-Ill Children Seeks Donations of School Supplies and Gift Cards

NORTH SALEM, NY, July 11, 2019 -- Friends of Karen, the non-profit organization which supports critically-ill children and their families in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, has launched its 2019 Back to School Campaign today. They are seeking donations of school supplies and gift cards.

Why School Supplies and Gift Cards?

Friends of Karen parents often recount the emotional heartbreak of visiting their local stores this time of year and seeing healthy children so excited about the new school year, choosing supplies and new outfits while knowing their own child is in the hospital, uncertain about what the next day will bring.

Parents often agonize between buying new school supplies for their “well” child or paying their ill child’s mounting medical expenses. Imagine being faced with that decision. “When we received the school supplies today, the look on the kids’ faces…the excitement, it brought a little ‘normal’ back to us and for that we will forever be grateful,” said one Friends of Karen mom.

The goal is to fill at least 750 Back to School lists through this vital annual program. New backpacks, notebooks, markers, pencils, erasers, gift cards, and more will enable Friends of Karen children and their well siblings to begin the new school year happily and successfully.

Here’s what is needed:

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$25 gift cards to Target, Amazon, Macy's, Gap, Old Navy and Walmart for new outfits

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3-ring binders, filler paper, subject dividers

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Pencil sharpeners with covers, low odor dry erase markers, retractable pens, thin markers, pre-sharpened #2 pencils

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Flash drives, scientific calculators

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Graph paper, scissors, sticky notes, glue sticks

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Backpacks

All items should be dropped off or mailed to Friends of Karen by August 12: 

(Drop Off and Mail) Friends of Karen, Attention: Denise Tredwell, 118 Titicus Road, North Salem, NY 10560

(Drop Off Only) Friends of Karen, Attention: Rebecca Plant, 21 Perry St., Port Jefferson, NY 11777

To schedule a delivery or to get more information on needed supplies, contact Denise Tredwell at 914-617-4052 or denisetredwell@friendsofkaren.org 

About Friends of Karen: Friends of Karen is a non-profit organization that provides emotional, financial and advocacy support for children with a life-threatening illness and their families in order to keep them stable, functioning, and able to cope. For families living in the New York tri-state region, Friends of Karen gives them more time for what’s most important: each other. The organization helps hundreds of ill children and their families every month, at no cost to them. Friends of Karen has received top ratings from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that evaluates the financial efficiency and responsibility of more than 9,000 U.S. charities.  Friends of Karen also meets the 20 Standards of Charity Accountability of the BBB of Metropolitan New York. Most recently, Friends of Karen earned the Silver Seal of Transparency from Guidestar in 2019.

For more information on Friends of Karen, visit www.friendsofkaren.org or call 914-277-4547.