News

It was Christmas in August for two area schools as St. Joseph’s/Candler Angels of Mercy delivered more than 67,000 individual school supplies on Tuesday, Aug. 30, to Garden City and Spencer elementary schools. The collection was the largest Danny’s Brown Box drive to date, topping 2015’s total of approximately 65,500.

Danny’s Brown Box supplies were collected from July to mid-August. Danny’s Brown Box, named after the former St. Joseph’s/Candler human resources vice president, is an outreach program to help children obtain the supplies they need to excel in the classroom. Boxes were positioned in departments throughout the St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System as co-workers donated book bags, pens, paper, pencils, notebooks, rulers, crayons, markers, glue and much more. Tuesday’s special deliveries certainly brought smiles to many faces.

“I think it’s very generous that (St. Joseph’s/Candler gives) us supplies so we can make better grades on our SRI, math and other tests,” said Garden City fifth grader Tamia Jenkins. “Getting school supplies like this is important because students may not have these supplies to support themselves and their grade levels. With these supplies, we can make better grades.”

Items for Danny’s Brown Box are collected every year in July and August. The outreach program began shortly after Danny Brown’s untimely death in 1998.

“Not everyone is actually able to meet the needs of the children with school supplies,” said Yolanda Kennedy, St. Joseph’s/Candler Coordinator in Nutrition Services and 20 year Angel of Mercy volunteer. “We are always wanting to stand in the gap to help someone. The really important part of the Angels of Mercy project is being able to assist someone and helping and meeting the needs of others.”

To learn more about the Angels of Mercy volunteers, click here.