FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 23, 2018 • BACK TO SCHOOL • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
back to school
Photo via Facebook/Materials for the Arts
Materials for the Arts in LIC hold
‘shopping spree’ for educators
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Calling all Queens teachers, educators
and school leaders: Get your hands on
free school supplies from this Long Island
City warehouse starting next week.
From Aug. 20 to the end of September,
Materials for the Arts will be hosting the
fourth annual “Back to School” kickoff
, where public schools and nonprofits
are invited to get free supplies for their
students. On Tuesdays and Th ursdays,
those interested can make appointments
to come to the 35,000 square foot warehouse
(33-00 Northern Blvd.) and “shop”
the materials for up to two hours.
Those interested in participating
in the shopping sprees must be registered
MFTA members, but organizations
that are not can become members if
they fi t all the eligibility requirements.
Existing members can log in and make
an appointment through the MFTA website.
Kaiser encourages teachers to contact
their principals to fi nd out if their
schools are members and to make shopping
appointments.
According to John Kaiser, the director
of education for Materials for the
Arts, supplies range from the ordinary —
stacks of paper, fabric and desks — to the
unique, including props from movie studios
and Broadway shows. Kaiser said
that once they received all the left over
costumes from “Th e Little Mermaid” on
Broadway.
Kaiser highlighted two ways to donate
the materials that the organization distributes.
Th e fi rst way is for individuals
to come down to the warehouse
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
during the day and drop off supplies.
MFTA gives donors tax receipts for their
contributions.
Th e second way to donate is geared
toward companies, where a fl eet of semi
trucks is sent to out to collect the donated
material. Information on how to donate
is available on the MFTA website. Th ere
are also lists of the most wanted items and
items that are not accepted as donations.
For the past 40 years, MFTA has been
the city’s leading creative reuse program,
supporting over 4,300 public schools and
nonprofi ts with free supplies. According
to the organization, which is run by the
NYC Department of Cultural Aff airs with
support from the NYC Department of
Education, over 90 percent of NYCDOE
schools, from elementary to high school,
are MFTA members.
Kaiser said that the purpose of the
MFTA giveaway program is to serve people
who may not have as much arts programming
in their schools. He added that
students have diff erent types of learning
styles, so the hands-on experiences
they receive due to the donated materials
can help them improve their grades and
improve their overall attitudes at school.
Th e director of education said that the
one thing MFTA requires from those who
participate is a thank-you note addressed
to the supply donors. He recalls so many
stories of how the materials were being put
to good use in classrooms across the city.
Appointments can be made on
Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and
Th ursdays from 2 to 6 p.m. For more
information on the upcoming events visit
the MFTA website or email education@
MFTA.nyc.gov.
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