Glen Cove students given supplies given for a successful school year

The first day of school can mean a lot of different things to students. There will be the return of homework and the reuniting with old friends. But what some take for granted — buying a backpack and school supplies for children — is too expensive for some families to provide. To help, the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, Glen Cove Police Benevolent Association and Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton handed out free backpacks and school supplies at Glen Cove High School on Aug. 29, to ensure children have a better start at the beginning of the school year.
A consumer sentiment survey by ScoreSense, a credit score-monitoring product, revealed economic inflation is affecting 67 percent of parents with children in grade school through college in their ability to pay for education, school supplies, or extracurricular activities. The survey also found that nearly half of grade school parents plan to use cash and 38 percent plan to use credit cards to pay for back-to-school supplies and clothing. As prices for higher-level education continue to increase, parents are making financial adjustments to their lives to help their children go to college or trade school. The survey found 31 percent of parents are taking on a second job and 20 percent are tapping into their retirement savings.
“People say it’s just one less thing they have to buy for their kids,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “A lot of families are just making ends meet.”
The backpack giveaway and her work with Toys for Tots are some of DeRiggi-Whitton’s favorite events of the year. She said she loves seeing youth come away from events with items they’re excited to have.
Over 650 students are primed to start the school year at the Glen Cove City School District with the tools they will need to learn and thrive. Each bag given to the students was filled with classroom essentials including notebooks, pens and crayons valued at roughly $30. The county PBA purchased 2,400 backpacks and has since donated to schools in Westbury. They will also donate to Island Park, Great Neck, and Manhasset in the coming weeks.
The supply drive initially began in Westbury in 2019, and quickly grew in popularity during the pandemic.
John Paterson, County PBA Corresponding Secretary said the program is a great opportunity for youths to interact with police in a positive way, and that the PBA is always happy to interact with their communities.