KIND’s New York City office held its annual back-to-school event in a beautiful, spacious conference room at the New York Immigrant Coalition (NYIC), a KIND partner.
As they arrived, clients and families were invited to decorate bookmarks and enjoy snacks. Once everyone was there, kids chose their school supplies: pens, pencils, folders, and new book bags, all donated by our generous partners.
New York City Libraries Donate Books
The New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, and an organization called Reforma supported the event by donating picture and chapter books for the children and youth to take home. Each child received five or six books. Titles included classics such as The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and The Giver by Lois Lowry in Spanish.
Our generous partner The Brooklyn Public Library also donated school supplies, notebooks, backpacks, water bottles, drawstring bags, and chargers.
Mindfulness and Musiquita
After the kids received their books and new school supplies, a new KIND volunteer who is a yoga and mindfulness teacher guided the children and their families through a gentle chair yoga and mindfulness self-relaxation practice. The group breathed together, inhaling as they put their arms up and exhaling and sounding as they put their arms down. The volunteer reminded everyone that they can do this as a family or anytime they need to pause and relax.
Then Musiquita, a NYC-based duo that offers bilingual (English-Spanish) songs, concerts, and parties for children and caregivers, performed. This is the third time KIND has partnered with Musiquita and for the third time, their upbeat participatory concert was a hit! Clients and their families danced and sang along with the songs. Everyone enjoyed the music. One mom in particular seemed to have a great time as she danced and sang joyfully. Even a few teenage boys who initially were too cool to participate by the end were moving along with the beat.
Before leaving, kids took home lots of fresh produce—celery, apples, spinach, and oranges—donated by KIND partner organization Brighter Bites whose mission is provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schools and eliminate food waste. People took as much produce home as they could carry. To end the day, KIND staff raffled off prizes, including toys, games, fidget, activities.
In addition to the social services team, some of our paralegals and lawyers attended the event to help out, giving them the opportunity to interact with the kids in a relaxed, fun environment outside of their cases– a nice change and chance to build rapport.
“The back-to-school event is always a wonderful chance to prepare clients and get them excited for the upcoming school year,” said Hannah Read, a social services coordinator with KIND’s NYC office who led the event. “I loved seeing how excited clients were able to choose their school supplies. The event was a true celebration of the year to come for clients, their families, KIND staff, and our amazing partner organizations.”
Shoutout and thank you to KIND’s New York office’s social services team, our generous partners, and all the volunteers who made this event possible
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