36 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • MAY 21, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
Union donates COVID-19 emergency relief to western Queens students
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
District Council 9 and the International
Union of Painters and Allied Trades are
donating $25,000 in COVID-19 emergency
relief to elementary school families
participating in the NYC Kids RISE Save
for College Program.
Many of these families live in areas
of western Queens that have been most
aff ected by the coronavirus pandemic,
including Corona, Jackson Heights and
East Elmhurst.
“District Council 9 represents over 2,200
members and their families in Queens,
and we are grateful to have the opportunity
to give back to the area during this
troubling time,” DC9 Business Manager/
Secretary Treasurer Joseph Azzopardi
said. “In addition to seeing the highest
number of COVID-19 cases, Queens is
home to a number of families who have
been deemed essential workers and are
putting themselves at risk every day to go
to work and provide for their loved ones.
DC 9 wanted to show our appreciation for
their hard work, acknowledge their struggles,
and help them as much as possible
during this pandemic.”
To date, NYC Kids RISE has raised a
total of $400,000 to provide $150 emergency
disaster cash relief gift cards to
more than 2,500 families enrolled in the
Save for College Program.
Th is represents approximately 25 percent
of all kindergarten, fi rst-grade and
second-grade families in public schools
across District 30 in Queens. District
Council 9’s contribution will provide
emergency cash support to more than 160
families at 11 elementary schools across
three ZIP codes within the school district:
11368, 11373 and 11372.
Other supporters of NYC Kids RISE’s
emergency cash relief initiative include
the Gray Foundation, Robin Hood,
Amalgamated Bank and FIS.
“Especially at this time, it is critical that
we invest directly in families, particularly
the essential workers and communities
who have been hardest hit by this crisis,”
said Dana Zucker, chair of NYC Kids
RISE and executive director of the Gray
Foundation. “Th is contribution from DC
9 is a prime example of the incredible
investment in families that we have seen
across communities in this time of crisis.
We are so grateful for District Council 9
and its membership for their support and
partnership.”
Th e NYC Kids RISE Save for College
Program is a universal, community-driven,
wealth-building platform that provides
families, schools and communities with a
way to work together to save for their children’s
futures. It’s a scholarship and savings
program designed to make college
and career training more accessible and
achievable for all NYC public school students,
regardless of their family’s income
or immigration status, starting with all kindergartners
in School District 30.
“We are seeing an outpouring of support
for our most vulnerable communities,”
Councilman Francisco Moya said.
“New York City is resilient, and we always
come together to get through tough times.
DC 9 and NYC Kids RISE are providing
important resources for families in
Queens and we are thankful for their leadership
and community-focused eff orts
during this time.”
File photo courtesy of NYC Kids RISE
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