Interfaith Ministries of Greater Queen Anne recently completed its project to provide backpacks and school supplies for children at Mary’s Place, a local non-profit organization, that provides provides day-center services and night shelter for homeless families with children.
The Church of Scientology, St. Anne’s Catholic Church, Queen Anne United Methodist and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church — all members of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Queen Anne — were joined by other local groups who contributed to the drive including Dignity Seattle, Bayview Manor and Brenthaven (who provided 50 top-of-the-line backpacks for the project). At a lunch hosted by the Church of Scientology these groups and other individuals sorted the school supplies and backpacks to get them ready for distribution to the children at Mary’s Place at a special event at their center in north Seattle.
In all, 223 backpacks and school supplies ranging from pens, pencils, paper and erasers to dictionaries, earbuds and flash drives were picked up by Marty Hartman, Executive Director of Mary’s Place and her staff ,who thanked the interfaith group for their contributions to getting the kids off to a great school year.
“It was special to see our churches and the community coming together to support Mary’s Place through this backpack and school supplies drive,” said Ellen Monrad, chair of the interfaith group. “We know that getting children off to a great start in school is so important and we were happy to contribute to Mary’s Place again this year.”
For more information about Mary’s Place go to: www.marysplaceseattle.org
The Rev. Ann Pearce is the Director of Public Affairs for The Church of Scientology of Washington State.