Hundreds of kids are heading into the school year with new backpacks and school supplies, and its thanks to a “no cost” shopping experience at The Olive Branch in Glastonbury.
“Believe In Yourself,” reads a sign hanging on a wall of the store, and it’s just one message of affirmation and support found at The Olive Branch.
“It feels like I won the lottery here,” Ashley May Williams, of Bethel, said.
In the space, teenagers, down to the tiniest shoppers, are picking out free new backpacks, notebooks, rulers, crayons, and whatever else they need to head back to school.
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“It means a lot. They go to school feeling empowered,” Williams said.
Williams is equipping her four kids for the academic year.
“Especially with four kids, it's hundreds of dollars, it's very expensive,” Williams said. “You want to give them a good start at the beginning of the year, it's important. So to be able to come here, grab the things that they need, you can't ask for more.”
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Run by the Department of Children and Families, The Olive Branch is filled with brand new donated items and open to families with DCF cases.
“A couple hundred kids have come through to pick out their backpacks, but hundreds of families throughout the year, because we're open all year long,” said Jacqueline Ford, DCF Community Outreach Coordinator.
Ford is behind the program, that started as a pop-up shop in 2020, and has now been in its brick-and-mortar location for exactly one year.
“The kids are just shopping and looking through everything, and they're so excited. So the energy here is so positive,” Ford said.
Connecticut leaders visited the back to school shopping bonanza on Thursday.
“The Olive Branch is indeed a sanctuary of giving, without asking anyone to feel beholden. It makes kids feel great,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said.
Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon’s office donated 50 backpacks.
“There's more to a backpack than just something that carry your books,” Comptroller Scanlon said. “This is what starts a great day at school. It's full of all the tools the young people in Connecticut need to succeed at the schools.”
Also shopping in the store: one DCF social worker.
“I'm getting some backpacks for my kids on my case load,” Ashley Soler said.
For the mom to twin girls, Ava and Allison, going to The Olive Branch not only means getting a fresh set of school supplies.
“They picked up their own backpacks, which they were excited to do, because they're big girls,” Deborah Franklin, Norwich, said.
The experience also gives Franklin the feeling that someone is in her corner.
“My case is coming to a close, and I'm kind of sad about it,” she said. “I did the work, but they were in my corner. They were my biggest cheerleaders.”
The concept that a little belief, can turn lives around.
“I'm showing my children that you could fall down, right?” Franklin said. “You can lose everything. You can lose your kids to foster care. You can lose your job, your car. You can lose yourself, but you can always get back up.”
Anyone that wants to make a donation to The Olive Branch can email Jacqueline Ford directly at jacqueline.ford@ct.gov. The DCF Commissioner’s Office can also direct donations to the community space.
