for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com september 5, 2013 • The Courier SUN 25 THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Play4Autism hosted a fair to provide a day of fun for children. FAIR IS FUN FOR ALL BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] Middle Village-based autism advocacy group Play4Autism hosted a fair on August 31 to spread awareness of the disorder and provide a day of fun for children. The event, Kidz into Action Let’s Play Day, gave children a chance to ride bouncy rides, do arts and crafts, get their faces painted and eat lots of snacks, including cotton candy and popcorn, at St. Margaret’s Church. Retailer Sports Authority donated equipment to the group, allowing children to play hockey, basketball and soccer inside the church’s gym. There was also various party games and live music spun by a DJ. “You definitely have to get kids active,” said Maspeth resident Tina Frodella. “I think that some kids spend way too much time with TV and the computer.” PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR JOSEPH ADDABBO Over 70 veterans came out to enjoy State Senator Joseph Addabbo’s fifth annual Veterans Barbecue lunch. HONORING SERVICE BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] Area veterans were honored during State Senator Joseph Addabbo’s fifth annual Veterans Barbecue on Saturday, August 24. Last year, Addabbo, the ranking Democrat member of the Senate’s Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee, welcomed over 125 veterans and their families to the barbecue outside his Howard Beach district office. This year, the senator brought in and thanked over 70 veterans for their dedicated service. “This is just our small way of saying, ‘Thank you for your service,’ not only to our local veterans, but also to their families,” Addabbo said. “All nobly served our country in years past, and of course, many are currently still doing so in Afghanistan and Iraq.” Addabbo and his staff reached out to various Queens chapters of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Catholic and Jewish War veterans and Vietnam veterans to be their special guests for the outdoor barbecue event. “We should show our veterans that we appreciate their dedication and commitment not just on Veterans Day, but every day of the year,” Addabbo said. COOL SCHOOL Backpack giveaway helps Sandy kids BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] Students in Far Rockaway get to go back to school in style, thanks to a giveaway that doled out more than 1,000 backpacks to the tykes in need. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) teamed up with nonprofit organization Kars4Kids and ventured to the Hammel Houses and Beach 41st Street Houses to help out the families still recovering from Sandy on Thursday, August 29. “The kids were excited and appreciative, the parents were excited and appreciative,” said Peggy Thomas, Resident Council Association President at the Hammel Houses. “It went very well.” Thomas added these types of giveaways are typically held “in the Bronx or Brooklyn or Staten Island, or even the other side of Queens,” but the Hammel Houses has never seen an event such as this one. This is the second year NYCHA and Kars4Kids have collaborated to put on the event. Originally, the crew was supposed to cap the giveaway at 500 backpacks, but upped the ante when they saw the kids’ needs, according to Thomas. “We’re here to send our kids back to school the right way,” said NYCHA Chair John Rhea. More free backpacks are available at kars4kids.org/charity/backpack_giveaway. asp, while supplies last.
SC09052013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above