Elected officials and organizations across Queens will host backpack giveaways throughout August as children prepare to return to school.
Dozens of events will take place across the borough throughout the month, providing families and children with an opportunity to pick up free backpacks ahead of the new term.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards will collaborate with fellow elected officials and community organizations to host several giveaways throughout August, while Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas is collaborating with city, state and federal elected officials throughout August.
Council Member Vickie Paladino will also be distributing free backpacks later in the month, while Champion Martial Arts in Long Island City is also set to host its own giveaway.
González-Rojas will host events in Corona, Jackson Heights, Astoria, East Elmhurst and Woodside throughout August, beginning with an event at 40-04 National St. in Corona from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 11.
The Corona giveaway, held in collaboration with Richards, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, the Carpenter Contractors Alliance of Metropolitan New York, Laborers’ Local 1010 and the Hispanic Federation, is the first of five events co-hosted by González-Rojas.
González-Rojas, Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez will host another giveaway from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at P.S. 149 on 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights. The event is also co-hosted by Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Carpenter Contractors Alliance of Metropolitan New York, Emblem Health, The Queens Center Mall and the Hispanic Federation.
González-Rojas, Ocasio-Cortez, Council Member Tiffany Cában and the Hispanic Federation will co-host giveaways at Astoria’s Woodtree Playground between 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, and at East Elmhurst’s Gorman Playground at the same time on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
She will host a final giveaway in collaboration with the Hispanic Federation outside the NYCHA Cornerstone Community Center at 50-19 Broadway in Woodside between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22.
Richards, meanwhile, will host or co-host eight giveaways across Queens in August, also beginning with the Corona giveaway on Aug. 11.
The Borough President will host a “Back to School Giveaway and Bike Jamboree” at Queens Borough Hall at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 13 in collaboration with Raising Cane’s, Community Board 6 and Community District 28.
Richards and Assembly Member Steve Raga will host a Maspeth giveaway at 55-19 69th St. at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, with Richards heading straight to a College Point giveaway with Paladino at the St. Fidelis Church parking lot at 11 a.m. on the same day.
Richards, Community Education Council 27, Queens Public Library and the Child Center of New York will host a giveaway at South Ozone Park’s Middle School 226 at 12 noon on Thursday, Aug. 28, with Richards also set to host a giveaway at Jamaica’s Baisley Bond Park at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30.
The Borough President will co-host a giveaway at Hollis Playground at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31, joining Adidas, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, the Jam Master Jay Foundation, the Try Love Foundation and Black Mothers Speak.
The final Richards-hosted giveaway will take place in Flushing from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6 alongside a free basketball clinic. The event, co-presented by Madison Square Garden of Dreams Foundation, the New York Knicks and the International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades, is scheduled to take place at Mauro Playground.
Council Member Julie Won will host a backpack giveaway at Windmuller Park at the intersection of 52nd Street and 39th Avenue between 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20. The event, which is co-hosted by Woodside on the Move, will distribute backpacks to K-5 families on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Meanwhile, Long Island City’s Champion Martial Arts at 49-15 Vernon Blvd. will be giving away 100 free backpacks between 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16.
The backpacks will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis to the first 100 families who register, according to Champion’s Master William Dobie.
Dobie said children do not need to be a member of the martial arts school in order to receive a free backpack and said giving back to the community is a core value of martial arts. He said the school also teaches students about life “off the mat” and said events such as the backpack giveaway can instill a sense of community in young students.
“Life off the mat is about taking the values martial arts teaches you and executing them and following them,” Dobie said. “Giving back is one of those values that we do often, that we encourage our students to always try to do.”
Anyone interest in signing up for a free backpack is encouraged to click here.
