When the Franklin County Transition from Jail to Community Task Force invited the community to help provide “Love in a Backpack” to people being released from the Franklin County Jail, the community said, “We’re on it!” The TJC Task Force was thrilled to receive the many donations of backpacks, basic supplies, and funds to purchase supplies for the packs and is truly grateful for the community’s generosity!
Donation bins placed around Greenfield were filled to overflowing and over $1,600 was donated by folks throughout Franklin County. TJC Task Force members and RSVP volunteers and supportive community members gathered on May 11 to fill 85 backpacks with supplies and words of encouragement. Over the coming months, the packs and supplies will be distributed by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office re-entry team staff to women and men leaving the Franklin County Jail.
For the third year, the TJC Task Force supported the “Love in a Backpack” project of St. John’s Church in Ashfield. This is truly a “Welcome Wagon in a Backpack” for folks re-entering the community and the community showed their welcoming support through their many donations. We are grateful for the many individual donors, community organizations, and businesses that came together to provide “Love in a Backpack” including hosting collection bin sites, donating supplies and funds to buy supplies for the packs, and helping to fill the 85 backpacks.
To learn more about the Love in a Backpack project, visit www.stjohnsashfield.org/love-in-a-backpack/. To learn more about the Task Force, contact Mary McClintock, fcrn@communityaction.us. With gratitude, Ed Hayes and Mary McClintock, TJC Task Force Co-Chairs Mary Link, Love in a Backpack coordinator, St John’s Episcopal Church in Ashfield.
Mary McClintock
Greenfield