John Brundage and the Rev. Melanie Duguid-May of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church hand-deliver a check to Jackie Havens and Cari Scott, who run Schylar’s Closet.
Bath, New York: St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church recently made a $500 donation to Schylar’s Closet, which was started several years ago by high school teachers Jackie Havens and Cari Scott.
“We were astonished by the number of students that were going without basic needs,” said Havens. “ We spent our own money the first few years and assembled bags in the back of Cari’s classroom. As the number of students grew, we knew we had to ask for help. Several colleagues and community members started chipping in. Eventually, we started an Amazon Wish List so that people could see and donate needed items. We saw the need to make a difference with high school students, specifically at Christmas time, as a lot of attention seemed to go into making sure younger kids had things for Christmas.”
Havens continued, “Thanks to the monetary donation from St. Thomas this year, we could give more than half of the students a $10 gift card to a local restaurant! This was something above and beyond the hygiene and snack items that we usually are able to give them. It also provides them with a sense of empowerment as they are able to walk into these places and buy something for themselves that might otherwise be a rarity.”
“We are honored to support the work of Schylar’s Closet,” said John Clinton Bradley, chair of the Mission Committee at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church. “John Brundage, who is a school bus driver and one of our parishioners, told us about this incredible ministry.”
Bradley continued, “Our parish sets aside a significant portion of our annual budget for small grants to non-profit organizations that help people locally, nationally, and internationally. During 2023, we distributed $8000 in grants. We invite other local non-profit organizations to apply for grants at https://www.stthomasbath.org/what-we-do/grants.”
About St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church
St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church of Bath, New York, is a welcoming community that witnesses to God’s love and justice in the world and cares for all those in need by following the example of Jesus Christ. We have been active in the Bath community for almost 200 years.
