WVCSD receives school supply donations from St. Anthony Community Hospital

WMCHealth member hospital collects and distributes everyday items to help local students

Warwick Valley Central Schools extends its heartfelt gratitude to the thoughtful staff and administrators of St. Anthony Community Hospital, a member of WMCHealth, for their generous donation of school supplies to the District. The donations – everything from pencils and notebooks to highlighters, glue sticks, and much more – were collected by hospital staff and distributed to each of our District’s elementary schools prior to the start of school on September 2, 2021.

“We are fortunate to be part of a community with neighbors who understand that what benefits our students, benefits all of us,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Leach. “Thank you to the staff of St. Anthony Community Hospital for all of your thoughtful and generous donations. When our students are prepared to learn, they can achieve and excel in incredible ways. These supplies will help that happen.”   

The WMCHealth Network put out a call to its member hospitals to organize school supply drives that benefit the districts in the communities they serve. St. Anthony immediately reached out to Warwick Valley Schools and began making arrangements for collection and delivery. Their goal: to help build a bank of school supplies at each school for children in need prior to the launch of the school year.

“As a part of the Warwick community, we wanted to help ensure that children in our area are provided for during the 2021-22 scholastic year,” said St. Anthony Community Hospital Vice President/Hospital Administrator Anita Volpe, DNP, MHA, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC. “This was our first time conducting a school supply drive and we’re happy that so many of our employees contributed to this effort.” 

Joy Housberg, Administrative Assistant to Ms. Volpe, looked over each elementary webpage on the District site to see what sort of supplies each school needed, and created “wish list” flyers to post around the hospital. Within a day, supplies began arriving at the hospital’s Administration Office by the bagful. Staff also made considerable cash donations, which were used to fund two shopping trips.

The school supplies were then parceled out based on the size of the student bodies at each school and delivered by St. Anthony staff on September 1, 2021. 

Joy Housberg (center), Administrative Assistant at St. Anthony Community Hospital, delivers school supplies donated by hospital staff to Sanfordville Elementary School the day before school. St. Anthony also donated supplies to Pine Island and Park Avenue Elementary, as well as elementary schools in Florida and Greenwood Lake.