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RT12222016

8 DECEMBER 22, 2016 HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM This M.V. student sets up a coat drive for the needy BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT One young student at a Middle Village elementary school truly exemplifi es the spirit of the holidays, as he set up a coat drive at his school to help the needy. Gabriel Gonzalez, a third-grader at P.S./I.S. 87, was so inspired by the holiday season that he wanted to give back in his very own way. While out coat shopping with his family, Gonzalez approached his mother, Mati, with a novel idea: he asked if she could purchase an extra coat so he could donate it to an organization that gives it to New Yorkers in need of a warm coat during the winter. Gonzalez’s mother agreed, but the student wasn’t satisfi ed. Gonzalez wanted to keep giving and to get his fellow classmates involved, so his mother approached the administrators at P.S./I.S. 87 to see if they could help. Thanks to Gonzalez and his giving spirit, the school is currently hosting a coat drive. “Gabriel is an exceptional boy. I was his kindergarten teacher. In my classroom and in our school we have always tried to teach our students about the power they have to change things for the better,” said Edith Svezia, a teacher at P.S./I.S. 87. “Even though they are young, they have participated in food drives, penny harvests, book drives, pull tab collections to help Ronald McDonald House, and wildlife adoptions. Gabriel has taken these lessons to heart as is evident in his wanting to organize this coat drive. As I said before, I couldn’t be prouder of his kindness and empathetic nature.” Because of Gonzalez’s kindheartedness, the school has been collecting new and gently worn coats since Dec. 9. The coats are being donated to the New York Cares Coat Drive, and collections will continue until the drive ends on Monday, Dec. 26. Gonzalez’s reach, however, goes beyond his school. He also set up a dropoff location for coats at the tae kwon do studio he visits in Middle Village. So far, more than 100 coats have been collected and donated to New York Cares, all thanks to this one student who wanted to give back to those in need. If anyone would like to donate a new or gently worn coat, P.S./I.S. 87 is accepting donations and is located at 67-54 80th St., and New Victory Tae Kwon Do is located at 73-03 Metropolitan Ave. As Gonzalez says, “One coat changes one life.” Photo courtesy of Mati Gonzalez Gabriel Gonzalez, third-grader at P.S./I.S. 87 in Middle Village, set up a coat drive at his school. Teens bring care packages for homeless men living at Maspeth hotel BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT With Maspeth residents still fi ghting to stop the Holiday Inn Express hotel from becoming a full-blown homeless shelter, some teenagers from the neighborhood came together to help out the homeless men currently living there. Together with City Mission — an Elmhurst-based Christian nonprofi t organization that works to meet the basic needs of the city and its people, regardless of religious background — the teens handed out care packages and personal notes to the shelter residents. As previously reported, 78 homeless men live at the Holiday Inn Express hotel on 55th Road, which the city fi rst proposed transforming into a shelter for homeless adults back in August. The city backed off on that plan, but began renting a number of rooms there for homeless men in October. “We just want to show the men at the shelter that there are people that care about them despite the politics of why the community is against it,” said 16-year-old Alfred Chan. The city is in the midst of the worst homeless crisis since the Great Depression, with more than 60,000 New Yorkers without a place to live. These depressing numbers were not lost on the teens of Maspeth. “These numbers are only growing,” Chan said. “I want to be there to help if it’s in my neighborhood.” Residents of the hotel/shelter were more than grateful that the teens thought of them during the holiday season and came up with this idea. “I am in New York by myself, and this is where I grew up,” said Tyshiem Gordon, a 25-year-old shelter resident. “It sucks that I’m in this situation, but it’s hard working night shift s and getting a place to live. These kids thought about me.” Photos courtesy of City Mission Pictured from left to right: Lester Lin, three men from the shelter, Nick Gulotta of the Mayor’s Offi ce and Alfred Chan.


RT12222016
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