With the new school year around the corner, Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) will host a back-to-school event in Jackson Heights on Saturday, Aug. 20.
The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 34th Avenue and 93rd Street.
AAFE will give away new backpacks and other school supplies, as well as free diapers, makeup, and hair products. There will be free snacks, music, and games and the Jr. Knicks and Junior Rangers will offer basketball and ball hockey clinics.
“We know that so many of the immigrant and low-income families throughout Northern Queens are struggling with rising prices, the lingering impacts of the pandemic, and growing housing insecurity,” said Emily Rios, AAFE’s managing director of Community Services. “Our Back to School event in Jackson Heights is meant to relieve some of the financial pressure on our families by providing free school supplies while offering an opportunity for the community to come together for an end-of-summer celebration. This is an ideal time to re-establish connections that may have been lost during the pandemic.”
This year’s back-to-school event will celebrate the decision to include Asian American and Pacific Islander history in the curriculum of the New York City public schools. There will be a lion dance performance by the Chinese Freemason Club.
AAFE is partnering with many community partners for the upcoming event, including: Apicha Community Health Center, 34th Avenue Open Streets, Glam4Good, and Little Essentials. Sponsors include Chase, the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden, and Flushing Bank.
AAFE is a community development organization with offices in lower Manhattan, Flushing, and Jackson Heights.
From its office in Jackson Heights, AAFE also serves Asian language and Spanish language communities in Elmhurst and Corona with housing counseling, access to government entitlement programs, immigration counseling, self-defense/hate crime reporting, and small business funding and education.
