Girl Scouts In Wyckoff Fill 50 Backpacks For Foster Children

WYCKOFF, NJ — A "great school year" awaits the foster children served by Children's Aid and Family Services thanks to a Wyckoff Girl Scout Junior Troop, the social services organization said.

For the organization's foster care program, the Girl Scout troop organized a backpack drive, in which 50 new backpacks filled with clothing, small toiletries, books, stuffed animals and school supplies were collected.

"The backpacks donated by the girl scouts are truly appreciated by the recipients," the organization's Vice President of Development Edith M. Fiato said. "Not only do they provide much needed items for a strong start to a new school year, they let the children know that their community cares."

The decision to host a backpack drive for foster children started when 5th-grade troop leader Cynthia Vander Molen contacted Children's Aid and Family Services earlier this year, and she and the other scouts discussed ways that they could help.

"We are so grateful for (the troop's) support of our annual Back-to-School Drive," the organization said in a Facebook post.