Senior citizens recently reached into their pockets and helped the younger generation, buying non-traditional school supplies for students and teachers at the St. Croix Career and Technical Education Center.
Members of the AARP Chapter 3167 donated vocational school supplies for the annual AARP Day of Service program.
“We at AARP put our heads together and developed the ‘Equipped to Learn’ project, giving our members a meaningful way to inter-generationally make a difference,” said AARP Senior State Director Denyce Singleton.
She said the territory may not be suffering from the same unemployment levels as the mainland, but because of the economic downturn there are budget cuts in education here, especially in the vocational areas.
On Tuesday representatives from CTEC stopped in at the AARP office in Estate Diamond and were presented with boxes full of items to go to each class at the school.
Singleton said over the summer members discussed the differing needs of the vocational students versus mainstream students. She added there are several organizations that donate the usual back-to-school supplies.
“What you see today that we have collected are the nontraditional school items like de-greaser, goggles and dust masks,” Singleton said. “These items are just as critical as pencils and notebooks.”
Myrl Hendricks, CTEC assistant principal, said teachers are always in need of something and they often put their hands in their own pockets.
“This is very unusual for this to happen for the vocational school,” Hendricks said. “The donations are awesome, and the teachers are looking forward to receiving the supplies.”
Ruth Wilson, computer technology teacher and organizer of the donations, asked the teachers to come up with affordable items for the seniors to purchase. The seniors received a letter listing items and where they could be purchased. Gannet Hardware is still honoring a 10-percent discount they gave for supplies bought there.
Hundreds of items, from sandpaper to brooms, have been donated to 14 different vocational classes. Singleton said they wanted to make sure each class got something.
The cosmetology class got items such as latex gloves and soap, while child care management service got Legos and toilet paper. The electricity class got small tools, such as screwdrivers, pliers and tape measures.
Wilson said the donations are a good way for students to learn about giving back and serving the community, too.
People United for a Better Virgin Islands, St. Croix Business Machines, Colorama, and Gannet Hardware helped support the program, which AARP began nationally shortly after September 11, 2001.
“This ended up a well-thought-out project,” Singleton said. “I really hope we can do it again.”
