ALLEGANY, N.Y. — Growing up in a family of four children has made Mackenzie Aderman aware of how challenging it can be for some parents to buy back-to-school supplies for their kids.
Aderman and other youngsters with the Allegany Rescue & EMS Junior organization plan to help families in the Allegany-Limestone Central School District with this issue by collecting back-to-school supplies for children in all grades.
The drive kicks off 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Allegany Rescue & EMS station on First Street in the village, next door to the Dollar General store. The collection will continue through Aug. 26, with drop-offs welcome from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. the remaining Saturdays of the month.
Jamie Higley, adviser to the group, said the youngsters collected supplies for care packages that were sent to military troops overseas last year. She said this year’s community service project focuses on helping children in the school district because there is a need.
Items that will be accepted during the collection include tissues, wipes, sanitizers, crayons, paper, notebooks, paper, dry erase markers, highlighters, pens, pencils, erasers, calculators and rulers. New and gently used backpacks and binders are also needed.
Aderman, who will be a junior at Allegany-Limestone, said there are different supply lists provided to students at the three campuses. Therefore, all school supplies for various age groups will be helpful.
“It’s definitely a hard time when you’re buying back-to-school stuff, especially if you have more than one kid in the family,” Aderman said, sounding wise beyond her years. “I come from a family of four kids and buying supplies for all of us really starts adding up.”
Aderman said the purchase of school clothes and shoes for children adds even more of a burden on families.
In commenting on why she is helping with the school collection, Aderman explained her motivation.
“I don’t do this because the school requires it, it’s because I want to help out people in our community,” she said. “We just want to help out however we can.”
Aderman said she volunteers with the Rescue & EMS Junior program for similar reasons.
“I’m here for a lot more than community service,” she continued. “We learn a bunch of different tactics … and medical stuff” along with the compassion needed to help patients through difficult incidents.
“We learn how to deal with patients, especially if they’re not fully aware,” she said. “We learn how to calm (the patients) down if they’re going through something traumatic that has happened.”
Higley said youngsters can join the program at the age of 13, and can ride in the back of ambulances by the age of 16 if they’ve acquired the needed training and skills.
A future EMS & Rescue Junior is Karisa Higley, 7, who is the daughter of Jamie and Ron Higley. Karisa said she plans to help with the collection, as she attends all of the meetings and also wants to help other kids in the community.
Jamie Higley said the supplies will be delivered to campuses in the school district at the start of classes on Sept. 5.
