ROCKLAND — For the second year in a row, students at the Rockland-based Hebrew school have organized a volunteer outreach project to support clients of Knox County Homeless Coalition. 

In previous years, the students have put together cleaning kits for clients who were in the agency’s Aftercare program, or super hero capes for children living at the family shelter on Old County Road.

This year, the students collected items for and assembled “Welcome Home Kits” complete with everything someone might need when moving into their first place including but not limited to paper towels and toilet paper, cleaning supplies, toilet brushes, shampoo and toothpaste, laundry detergent, pasta and sauce for a quick meal on moving day.

The children also included a hand-decorated candle and picture frame to make any house or apartment immediately feel like a “home” and let the clients know they are valued by members of the community.  

Eileen McGuigan, Volunteer and Donation Center coordinator, said in a news release: “We couldn’t be more proud of these young citizens in our community for doing this kind and thoughtful outreach project. The clients preparing to move into new housing this past week have been so touched by their generosity. Seeing this kind of connection between the community and our clients is part of what makes this work so rewarding.”

To find out more about how you can make a difference with those who are homeless in our area, contact the Knox County Homeless Coalition at 207-593-8151 or info@homehelphope.org.

About Knox County Homeless Coalition

Knox County Homeless Coalition, founded in 2014, is the only dedicated homeless organization serving Knox, Waldo and part of Lincoln counties offering comprehensive case management to an active client base of about 300. They also manage the Hospitality House family shelter—a live-in facility for up to 23 in Rockport. Their mission is to break the cycles of poverty and homelessness in Mid-coast Maine, offering a holistic wraparound approach to helping vulnerable people build productive and self-sustaining lives. Everything they do is delivered with respect, dignity and genuine caring, delivering on the promise of home, help, and hope.

Since opening their doors in 2014 KCHC has achieved a 90-95% success rate for sustainable independence for clients who remain active through the entire program. The transportation program, added in 2015, helps remove one of the most critical barriers to rural independence. The newest program of KCHC, The Landing Place, is a highly-relational, low-barrier, comprehensive, safe haven for unaccompanied and at-risk teens located on Park St. in downtown Rockland.

About the Hebrew school at Adas Yoshurn Synagogue, Rockland

The Adas Yoshuron Hebrew school welcomes students from age 7 through Bar/Bat Mitzvah. The program teaches basic Hebrew reading, prayer, and Jewish ritual and holidays, as well as subjects such as Jewish history, values, and Torah study. The students participate in several Shabbat services each year, and also engage in a variety of mitzvah projects.  

Our Hebrew school meets once each week on Thursdays from 4-6pm. Our teacher, Elizabeth Siegel, leads the class on a weekly basis along with volunteers from the congregation.  Meyer Drapkin joins the class once a month to work more closely on learning Torah trope and prayers.

For more information visit http://www.adasyoshuron.org