Elizabeth church helps students get ready to go back to school
Backpacks and other supplies were distributed at First Presbyterian’s fifth annual event.
Backpacks, school supplies and more were donated to several hundred students and families who attended a back-to-school event Monday at the Elizabeth Borough Volunteer Social Hall.
The fifth annual back-to-school event was hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth on Aug. 10, 2026, which handed out about 100 backpacks and school supply kits.
The fifth annual event was hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, which handed out about 100 backpacks and school supply kits.
“We were afraid we wouldn’t get that many people, but we did good,” church secretary Diana Woolf said. “I like to see the kids, and the kids get very excited. We had three tables full of backpacks.”
According to Rev. Benjamin Schneider of First Presbyterian Church, it took since January to organize the event, which cost roughly $3,000.
In addition to donations from its congregation and local businesses, the church held a school supplies drive to be able to provide the items to the kids.
“We started with us, with just the backpacks and the face painting and
The fifth annual back-to-school event was hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth on Aug. 10, 2026, which handed out about 100 backpacks and school supply kits. Sarah Pellis / MVI
some free food,” Schneider said. “Now it has kind of grown with partnerships and other things. We have grown every year, and we love to see the crowd.”
Several other groups were in attendance Monday, including Elizabeth Guardian Angels and Girl Scout Troop 30753, who were also distributing school supplies.
Rev. Scott Lawrence, a volunteer for Elizabeth Guardian Angels and pastor at Greenock United Methodist Church, said the church likes to partner with the Guardian Angels to pool their resources and to bring the church and community members together.
“We basically help with unexpected needs in the Elizabeth Forward district, whether it be utility bills or rent payments,” Lawrence added. “We had done a back-to-school drive last summer, but we knew Pastor
The fifth annual back-to-school event was hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth on Aug. 10, 2026, which handed out about 100 backpacks and school supply kits. Sarah Pellis / MVI
Ben was doing this one, so we wanted to partner up so that it was more unified than doing a lot of little things all over.”
Besides giving out school supplies, the event also featured balloon twisting, a petting zoo, caricatures and face painting.
The Farmhouse Ministry in Smithton, which is also in Elizabeth, gave out hygiene supplies and sneakers from Dick’s Sporting Goods, according to Laurie Gonze of the ministry.
“We’re blessed because hygiene donations are always huge, and we have donation spots at Pastor Ben’s church that people can drop off,” Gonze said. “Everything that is donated to us, we give out.”
YoungYinz in Elizabeth provided the food for the first time this year, including hot dogs, watermelon, chips, drinks and more.
The fifth annual back-to-school event was hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth on Aug. 10, 2026, which handed out about 100 backpacks and school supply kits. Sarah Pellis / MVI
The restaurant was going to give out food at its 312 Market St. location in Elizabeth Borough and provide a bounce house, but food distribution was moved inside the social hall due to the weather, according to owner Josh Young.
“We like Pastor Ben a lot,” Young said. “We wanted to do a kick off the summer event ourselves, to have a picnic kind of day with these kids. We launched our new menu, we had new hires, it wasn’t the right time, and then we decided to do this. There isn’t a lot of family stuff down here. There’s Light Up Night and Riverfest, and there are concerts that aren’t kid friendly.”
Schneider added that part of the reason why the church does an after-school program is because there are not many activities for young people in the area, and not many community gathering spaces.
Teachers and parents are also relieved, according to Schneider, because they do not have to provide the supplies, and there isn’t a need to get extra supplies before school starts.
“The Elizabeth Borough area, in general, has a lot of families in need,” Schneider said. “So we wanted our church to do this as an outreach effort because we know we want the families to be cared for. We aren’t looking for anything for it.
“We just wanted to let them know that we care for them, and want to make sure they are equipped. As long as every year goes well, we’ll keep doing it.”
