Margaret Pervis said she moved to Derby with three of her kids four years ago to escape the muggings and shootings happening in her New Haven neighborhood.
“My kids couldn’t walk down the block without getting jumped,” she said.
Money is tight in her apartment near the Derby Public Library. Her husband’s hours got cut at his job. She just landed a job after being unemployed.
Some months they can pay their $1,500 rent on time. Other months they can’t.
“It’s tough out there,” Pervis said. “I just want me and my family to stay in Derby, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to. All I have is my faith that everything will turn out OK.”
Meanwhile, the first day of school approaches quickly for Jurnee, Pervis’ 7‑year-old daughter, a second grader at the Irving School.
“Back to school” for the Pervis family means pressure to spend money they just don’t have.
Luckily, the Valley United Way’s Corporate Volunteer Council stepped in.
The Pervis family was one of almost 200 Derby families who came to the Irving School Thursday afternoon to pick up free back-to-school clothes — pants, shirts, jackets, and a backpack filled with school supplies.
The annual event had 46 companies from the lower Naugatuck Valley participate this year. Those volunteers spent about $40,000 on clothes for students attending either Irving School or the Bradley School in Derby.
In about 17 years, volunteers have spent about $500,000 to help more than 2,000 kids, said Patricia Tarasovic, the Valley United Way’s volunteer center director.
“This all started because national statistics showed that parents who couldn’t afford new clothes for their children and the start of the school year tended to keep their kids home the first few days,” Tarasovic said. “That shouldn’t happen.”
School children benefiting from the program change each year. The Valley United Way uses a formula that takes into account data such as the percentage of students receiving help to pay for school lunches.
Data, demographics and dollar amounts didn’t matter all that much to 7‑year-old Jurnee Pervis, who opened a plastic storage bin filled with clothes during an unveiling in the gym at the Irving School Thursday.
Jurnee’s eyes went wide when she saw a pink and blue backpack. After getting a first glance at her new box of stuff, she glanced up at Virginia Dedad, the owner of Royal Service Travel in Shelton.
Dedad’s business filled the container.
Jurnee gave her a big hug.
Dedad has been participating in the event for three years. Watching the kids open the boxes is like Christmas morning, she said.
“It’s just unbelievable. The United Way does a terrific job putting this together,” Dedad said.
As the Pervis family walked away with their new box of back-to-school clothes, Jurnee’s mom wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and bent over to whisper in her ear.
“You see all these people? They helped us,” she said.
The family then went to a table in the cafeteria where Jurnee began writing a thank you note.
Her mom said receiving the clothes through the program freed her from a financial burden that had been weighing on her heart.
“It’s a relief,” Pervis said, smiling. “I hope I can be in the position one day where I’ll be able to give back and help someone.”
