Every year Gloria Dei CARES Committee runs a Tools for Schools donation drive and chooses two needy schools to donate school supplies. Over the last couple of months Gloria Dei staff members and senior residents from Gloria Dei’s Independent Living Communities – The Plaza, Towers, Manor, Farms and Estates, along with Gloria Dei Personal and Memory Care at The Park, have been busy donating school supplies and raising money totaling $600 to purchase additional needed supplies! The donations yielded a total of 30 boxes — 15 boxes for each school!

On September 11th the Cares Committee – consisting of Gloria Dei staff members, plus some of the Gloria Dei’s senior residents headed to Kenderton Elementary School in North Philadelphia to deliver the boxes. They were welcomed by Principal Victoria Pressley and several classes of grade-schoolers. After interacting together, the children and teachers then thanked everyone from Gloria Dei for the valuable classroom supplies! The boxes contained much needed classroom items such as pencils, composition books, markers, over 48 book bags, and more; or it was filled with recreational items like basketballs, jump ropes, and soccer balls.

However, the giving didn’t end there. On Monday September 18th, the CARES Committee and residents loaded up the Gloria Dei bus and hit the road again. This time they stopped at Juniata Park Academy and met with Principal Marisol Rivera Rodriguez. She graciously accepted each donated box and gave the CARES Committee and senior residents a wonderful tour around the school, even letting the whole group stop into a couple of classrooms to read some stories to the children! The kids really appreciated the story time and the donated items.

Once again, we’re so proud of all of the senior residents and staff of Gloria Dei for generously donating money and supplies, and for journeying to the schools to handout the Tools for Schools supplies. This fundraiser is 100% resident driven, giving us more reason to truly believe that we have THE best residents!