By Alyssa Esposito

Staff Writer

Oakland Christian United Church of Christ is making its mark on the Chuckatuck community with a church-wide school supplies drive throughout the month of August.

These supplies will be donated to neighboring Oakland Elementary School after the drive ends on Aug 30. Once the donations have been collected, they will be taken to the school office to be distributed by the school staff.

This ministry has taken place at this church every year for more than five years.

“We want to be a good neighbor,” said Jason Stump, director of Christian education at the church. There are many current and former teachers who attend the church, and he is a former teacher himself.

“There’s nothing more important to the future of our world than the education of the youth,” he said.

Donations include all kinds of school supplies such as glue, pencils, notebooks and paper, and all are brand new. There have even been bookbag donations from time to time. All the donations have come from members of the church, Stump said.

“Every child deserves the possibility of succeeding in life, and education is one of the best ways for children to succeed in life,” the Rev. Gregory Ryan said.

Oakland Christian has been involved in other events with the elementary school in the past, including providing snacks for a field day event last school year and helping the children with the school’s garden.

The church hopes to get more involved in the partnership in the future, and like last year, it will be holding another school supplies drive later on in the school year.

Fourth Friday community dinners, the bread ministry, and Stop Hunger Now are among the many other ministries Oakland Christian Church is currently involved in or will be getting involved with soon.

On the fourth Friday of each month, the church hosts a free dinner for the community. They are also getting their youth involved in the community by joining them in walking around the neighborhood to pass out loaves of bread. The church intends to hold a Stop Hunger Now event in October.