One of the most memorable moments for a child as they prepare for the upcoming school year is that special trip to the store for back-to-school supplies. Picking the perfect folders, the perfect color notebook, and a backpack that fits their style may seem like small feats, but to some children this is what sets the tone for the fresh new school year. Unfortunately, 1 in 20 New York City public school students is currently homeless and may not have fond memories such as this. According to Operation Backpack, “nearly 23,000 children live in New York City’s homeless and domestic violence shelters. One of the most devastating consequences of homelessness is the impact it has on a child’s education.” The goal of this organization is to create excitement and give children living in homelessness the same opportunities as they enter the new school year as their peers.
As part of a hotel-wide initiative, The New York Palace annually takes part in helping to combat this disadvantage by teaming together to collect backpacks and school supplies so these children may have a memorable start to the school year.
This year, we are happy to announce that we were able to collect two large boxes of school supplies and 96 backpacks, 38 of which were completely filled with the entire list of grade-specific supplies for Operation Backpack.
Thank you to The New York Palace team for coming together for such a great cause. We appreciate all that you do! To learn more about Operation Backpack, click here.
