Brooklyn's Progress
August 2002

by Wilson Alexander Aguilar

Food stamps can only be used for food items and for plants and seeds used to grow food. Food stamps cannot be used to purchase nonfood items such as pet food, vitamins, and medicine. For the majority of households food stamps make up only a part of their food budgets. Sometimes this reason alone can stand in the way of a child’s experience at school. On walgreens.com, a one-subject notebook with 70 sheets of paper, is listed at 3/$1.00. At the local bodega, a 100 sheet of paper notebook costs $2.89. And at Strand’s bookstore, in Manhattan, a 250 sheet college-ruled bound notebook costs $4.23. All prices seem rather reasonable. But when you take in to account that you can purchase a 48 oz. jar of Mott’s applesauce, with approximately 10 servings, for $2.39, you can see why some parents must choose between feeding their families and children, and providing school supplies. That is why Kids’ Tools For Schools, sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings, is such an amazing and important program. Created in 1999, Kids’ Tools For Schools aims at collecting as many school supplies as possible, and coordinating their delivery to various schools in New York. Last year the program helped to deliver supplies to two schools. And although this was very helpful for those schools, of all the boroughs, Brooklyn collected the smallest amount. “The program began when I learned… that many children would be starting school without new supplies,” says Kids’ Tools For Schools Project Manager, Carolyn Fostel, of Astoria Federal. “One social worker told me of a parent that had to erase everything in her daughter's notebook so she could reuse it the following year.” This year, in addition to Astoria Federal Saving’s collection efforts at every one of their branch locations, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will be taking school supply donations at its Business After Hours this month. And Astoria Federal Savings puts their money where their mouth is! Astoria Federal sponsor this event by not only collecting supplies, but also purchasing $10,000 worth of school supplies that are also distributed to the schools. Together with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Astoria Federal Savings plans to increase the amount of supplies collected and distributed. Also, it is important to note that all supplies collected in Brooklyn remain in the borough. To find out where the nearest Astoria Federal Savings is located, please call 1-800-ASTORIA, or visit www.astoriafederal.com, to learn more about the program and get different branch information. It’s as easy as walking in to an Astoria Federal with pencils, notebooks, filler paper, or crayons, and dropping them off. All supplies must be collected by the end of August to ensure timely delivery to various schools. A simple step for you can be the most rewarding and life enriching experience for our future.