During the most recent Salisbury Township school board curriculum and technology committee meeting, district social worker Jill Williams, MSW, HSV, LCSW presented on a project underway in the district.

The program, dubbed Project Outreach, was born out of the desire to provide support for students and families by making certain basic provisions available. Williams is incredibly passionate about this initiative, and moved to start the program by meeting with local stakeholders, including school resource officers, to identify the greatest needs in the community.

“Working in Salisbury over the last 10 years I grew to know and love this community. I also began to realize that there are gaps in the services offered in this region. With COVID, this magnified the needs of the Salisbury community. Over my time at Salisbury I have worked with families that are experiencing homelessness, struggling with financial hardship, escaping domestic violence, had damage to their homes due to fire or flooding, and so much more. Project Outreach allows the district to support students, families and the community through providing basic necessities, school supplies and warm winter coats,” Williams said.

The foundation of the venture is the concept students can perform better in school when their basic needs are met. Boxes of donations from partners and friends in the Salisbury community have begun to take the shape of a well-organized and systematic approach to connecting Salisbury families with necessities. Shelves in the high school headquarters of Project Outreach are now stocked with school supplies such as notebooks, folders, crayons, highlighters, backpacks, rulers, graph paper and basic calculators.

One of the resources the staff is most excited to offer is brand-new winter coats, in sizes child 5 to adult XL. The project is also a way to offer household and hygiene products to community members in need. Project Outreach has made items like shampoo, soap, feminine products, baby care items and toothbrushes available to families at no cost.

Beyond providing physical goods, the staff working on the project will be able to meet with and connect students and their families with job, health and various other services available in the community.

Students in Salisbury are stepping up to support Project Outreach, too. Salisbury Middle School student Zaira Stokes canvassed the community through her church as part of a service project for her confirmation at St. Thomas Moore. She was able to collect and donate 13 totes full of items to Project Outreach.

Williams wants the public to know there is still a need for items to fill the shelves in the project’s headquarters. She said, “For continued growth, we need the help and support of our community,” and pointed out that due to the current public health situation, only new, unused items can be accepted as donations. One of the items Williams mentioned a need for is new winter coats in adult sizes small through 2XL, appropriate for high school students.

“We are grateful to the following organizations who helped support the foundation of Project Outreach through their generous donations: Salisbury Township Police Department, specifically Officer Nothstein and Officer Laky, Western Salisbury Church, St. Andrews Sunday school, The Knights of Columbus, Zaira Stokes and various other individuals.”

If you are able to donate new, unused items, are a business in the community that would like to get involved or if you know of a family in Salisbury that could use a helping hand, reach out to Jill Williams at jwilliams@salisburysd.org.