Providing school supplies for bereaved children

Losing a parent or parents at any age can be devastating.

Kristin Maceroni of Royal Oak recalls the week back in 2000 when her husband, Michael, lost his father and mother within days of each other. Kristin and Michael were newly married and in their early thirties at the time.

“I don’t know how we would have gotten through it if it wasn’t for friends who pitched in and fed our dogs and took care of our lawn and basically showered us with love and support,” said Maceroni, whose mother-in-law, Patricia, died from lymphoma, and father-in-law, Louis, died in a car accident a few days earlier on the way to the hospital to see her. “I can’t imagine being a child and having to go through that.” At the time of his death, Louis Maceroni was supervisor of therapy at the Macomb County Youth.

To help ease the burden of parental loss during this hectic, back-to-school season, Maceroni commandeered Yatooma’s Foundation For The Kids’ 150 child backpack and supply campaign.

Just call her shopper extraordinaire.

“The beginning of the school year is an especially important time for these children to have what they need to thrive in school,” said founder and president Norman Yatooma, whose nonprofit foundation was established to help metropolitan Detroit children who have experienced the sudden loss of one or both parents.

“Kristin is the mom of two small kids and a very busy person besides,” said Jennifer Viano, executive director. “She basically took this project by the horns and ran with it. We are so appreciative and grateful.”

“It’s amazing to me how resilient these families are,” Maceroni said. “Some of them have overcome so much. If I could give of my time this year, I was happy to do that.”

Back-to-school isn’t just a tumultuous time for children; parents find the time, effort and expense challenging as well.

“One thing that excites a child about going back to school is new markers and fresh glue sticks,” Maceroni said. “For a parent, not having to go out and do that shopping is so nice, from both a time and expense perspective. Especially for single parents. Especially in this economy.”

Because she used to work in the stationary business, Maceroni was, in her own words, “very familiar with back to school.”

To that end, she started combing the circulars after the Fourth of July in search of the best bargains.

“From 15 cent crayons at Wal-Mart to 19 cent school glue at Meijer’s, there were a lot of really good deals this year,” she said.

Throughout her travels, she met several fellow shoppers on similar quests to find items for children at their schools and churches.

“I was surprised to see that this year the need wasn’t contained to the city, but rampant in the suburbs as well,” said Maceroni, who used computer spread sheets to help track her progress.

“It was an assembly line-like process,” Viano said. “Kristin had everything lined up, and before we knew, she almost single-handedly had them packed and completed.”

Viano recalls the big smile on the face of one little boy who couldn’t wait to get his backpack home to carefully examine the treasures inside.

Contents were based on a cross section of school supply lists, with elementary-age children receiving items such as glue sticks, scissors and crayons, and high school students receiving paper, folders, highlighters and pens.

Yatooma’s Foundation For The Kids offers programs, which help families of kids who have lost a parent, that include grief counseling; needs-based financial assistance that provides help with food, utilities, rent/mortgage payments, transportation and other basic needs; mentorship; educational summer camp experiences for kids; tuition assistance and job placement; family togetherness experiences; and much more.

“I wanted to put my skills to work to provide these children with quality school supplies while keeping in mind a budget to make the most of what we could purchase,” Maceroni said. “Taking care of that for families is so important.”

For more information about Yatooma’s Foundation For The Kids, call (888) 987-KIDS or visit www.forthekidsfoundation.org.