The Marisa Tufaro Foundation donated school supplies to Sai Datta Peetham’s ninth annual drive at the Sri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Edison, where all the collected items will be distributed to students in need from Edison and South Plainfield.
This year’s drive generated hundreds of donations including backpacks, calculators, crayons, folders, notebooks, glue sticks, markers, pencils, scissors, pencil cases, and tissues, all of which will benefit students in Edison and South Plainfield public schools.
Subha Patibandla, who heads the congregation’s charity efforts, thanked all in the community who contributed to the cause.
“Supporting our youth is the most important thing we can do,” Senator Patrick Diegnan said. “The United States of America is known as the ‘Land of Opportunity’ and that’s because we give opportunity to our children to succeed, and the essential part of that opportunity is education.”
Diegnan praised the temple and its congregation for supporting students in need in his legislative district, which includes his hometown of South Plainfield and neighboring Edison.
“I cannot congratulate you enough for what you do,” Diegnan said. “This is terrific. We need to celebrate and encourage more of this.”
Upendra Chivukula, a former State Assemblyman and Commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities who has been instrumental in the annual charity event, said the school supply drive makes a profound impact.
“Today is a special day,” Chivukula said. “Subha Patibandla has done a marvelous job collecting the backpacks. (Having supplies) makes such a difference in a child when they go to school. It brings them smiles when they have a full school bag with all the supplies.”
According to its website, the mission of the Peetham, which Priest Raghu Sankarmanchi founded, is to ensure through its school supply drive that children in need are prepared to learn and succeed.
“Back to school matters to kids,” a message on the Peetham’s website reads. “Having the opportunity to have the same kinds of … supplies as the other kids matters. Fitting in matters.”
Biral Patel, a member of the Edison Township Board of Education, thanked generous donors for putting “a smile on students’ faces” through the temple’s “massive amount of collections.”
He noted the school supply drive lets students know they have the support of the community.