NYCB donates school supplies

New York Community Bank donated school supplies to the children of The Child Center of New York’s Head Start program in Woodside, in honor of the center’s “Moving on Celebration.”
The bank donated 175 marble notebooks, pencils and backpacks with the “NYCB” logo on the front with gold stitching for their hard work throughout the year with the program.
The celebration is an event where the staff members and children come together to show the child’s parents what they learned during their time at the Head Start program.
The children displayed their talents with costume plays, sing-a-longs, ballroom dancing and fitness with a yoga demonstration in one of the classes during the event on Friday, August 5. Afterward the families were treated to cultural food and dessert which were presented by the teachers.
“Public funding is never enough to provide the proper funding that is why the board of directors of Child Center of New York conduct fundraisers for donations and grants to help the agency,” said Marie T. Mason, education director of the Child Center of NY. “Our early childhood programs only serve low-income families.”
The program provides free comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and their families, with special focus on both children and the adults as well.
“Many of the families do not speak English, and most of the parents have a hard time purchasing school supplies so we decided to help out by giving the children the supplies they need for the next grade,” said Rosie Pagan, community relations director at New York Community Bank.
“We work close with families, as well with family services to help the families develop life skills such as new job skills and learning English,” said Mason. “We prepare children for kindergarten and instill confidence in them so they can feel comfortable with other children their age and other basic readiness skills like writing names and problem solving,”