POTSDAM -- Omega Delta Phi alumni kicked off their 58th anniversary celebration recently with a school supplies drive for Lawrence Avenue Elementary School.

“With a large number of our alumni involved in education, whether in the classroom or administration, we see the increasing need for school supplies to support our students on a daily basis,” said alumnae Donnalyn E. Shuster, Class of 1978. “We selected the Potsdam Central School District several years ago for our community philanthropy project and are proud to have served all three buildings. As many of our alumni employed in the field of elementary education, our focus continues this year on the needs of the Lawrence Avenue Elementary School students.”

The sisters donated a wide selection of much needed supplies including binders, notebooks, pens, pencils, highlighters, rulers and backpacks making back to school time a little easier for the students and families at Lawrence Avenue.

"For the past three years, Lawrence Avenue students have benefited from the generous donations from the Omega Delta Phi Alumni Association. Their generosity is very much appreciated and will be essential to our student's success in the upcoming school year. We are very grateful for the generosity and support from alumni in our community,” said Jennifer A. Gray, principal.

Many of the items were purchased locally as well, giving the sisters of Omega Delta Phi the opportunity to double their impact on the Potsdam community.

“Each year we really look forward to giving back to a worthy cause in this town that gave us so much when we studied here” said one of the Omega Alumni. “We look forward to doing what we can to make someone’s day a little brighter by helping out where and however we can.”