Collaborative Back-to-School Giveaway

The Massillon Museum is partnering for the third year with the Sisterhood of Jewels Community Connections, LLC (SOJCC) on the organization’s Back-to-School Giveaway, which will be held on Sunday, August 7.

The Sisterhood of Jewels is seeking donations of school supplies, which can be dropped off at MassMu between July 26 and August 3. Museum members and the public are encouraged to contribute.  

Supplies needed for elementary students include crayons, glue sticks, scissors, pencils and pens, markers and colored pencils, notebooks, pencil containers, book bags, and folders.  Middle schoolers (grades six through eight) need folders, spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, colored pencils, markers, crayons, and book bags. SOJCC is requesting pens, pencils, loose-leaf notebooks, rulers, protractors, and bookbags for high school students.

Donations may be delivered to the Museum Tuesday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Members of SOJCC will accept contributions through August 5.

The back-to-school event will be held at Shriver Park on Sunday, August 7, from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. Families who wish to receive free school supplies can simply show up; enjoy complimentary hot dogs, chips, and water or juice; and pick up a backpack of school supplies. The event is free and no registration is required, but the supplies and food will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The mission of the Sisterhood of Jewels Community Connections—a group of college-educated, specialist-trained, outcome-driven, goal-focused women—is to create an inclusive community through programs, networking, and partnerships. The women who founded SOJCC formed a relationship with the Massillon Museum as a result of the virtual community conversation initiated by Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry in June 2020. 

SOJCC members were instrumental in helping develop the current Missing History of Massillon: Unheard African American Stories in MassMu’s Aultman Health Foundation Gallery, which received funding from the Fernandez Hilibish Fund at Stark Community Foundation.  That exhibition and 11 others can be seen when dropping off school supplies.

The Massillon Museum receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council and ArtsinStark. This project is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. A visit to the Museum is always free and open to everyone. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots. For more information about the Massillon Museum, call 330-833-4061 or visit massillonmuseum.org.

To learn more about the Sisterhood of Jewels Community Connections, visitsisterhoodofjewelscommunityconnectionsllc.com.