Portugal: Coimbra, diocesan Caritas promotes the collection of school supplies to support poor families

The diocesan Caritas agency of Coimbra, Portugal, will be organising a collection of school supplies in the local LIDL supermarkets on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th September.
The initiative will be accomplished with the help of volunteers who are willing to “donate their time to support the collection of these school supplies; volunteers who will be located in different areas of the diocese: Coimbra (Eiras and Santa Clara), Figueira da Foz, Mealhada, Montemor-o-Velho and Pombal”, the diocesan organisation states in a release.
“We want to make sure all young people have a chance to start their school year with the tools they need for learning and studying. We rely on the support of the community to make a difference in the students’ lives”, Ana Paula Cordeiro, director of the social support centre of the diocesan Caritas agency of Coimbra, stated in the release.
“The initiative aims at collecting sportswear, gym shoes, backpacks, pencil cases, notebooks and other school supplies to help students from poor families to start their school year with confidence and dignity”, the note goes on to explain.
Supplies are also directly collected by the Caritas agency of Coimbra in its premises, calling on local organisations and companies to take part too “by donating the required supplies or organising collections in their own facilities themselves”.
The collection of school supplies organised in the diocesan area is part of the “Bright Futures” campaign, aiming to support through multiple initiatives young people and teenagers as they go back to school in September.
Valentina Bombelli