“For nearly 20 years, [the event] has given us another way to show up for the families we serve, help children feel excited and prepared for school, and connect our neighbors with resources that can support their health and well-being throughout the year,” said Larry K. McReynolds, executive director of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone.
NYU Langone
For nearly two decades, NYU Langone has helped Brooklyn and Long Island families prepare for a new school year through its Back-to-School Drive.
At an August 26 event with the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone in Brooklyn, supported by Healthfirst and JPMorgan Chase, more than 1,000 backpacks and school supplies were distributed to local children while connecting families with healthcare services and other community resources.
The cost of lengthy school supply lists strains many families’ household budgets. The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone surpassed its $128,000 fundraising goal this year, raising more than $138,000 to give children the supplies they need to return to the classroom prepared.
“This drive is about so much more than handing out backpacks,” said Larry K. McReynolds, executive director of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone. “For nearly 20 years, it has given us another way to show up for the families we serve, help children feel excited and prepared for school, and connect our neighbors with resources that can support their health and well-being throughout the year.”
The event brought together NYU Langone leaders, community organizations, local officials, and partners in support of neighborhood families. Along with McReynolds, attendees included Isaac P. Dapkins, MD, chief medical officer of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone; Marilyn Vientos, senior director of ambulatory network operations centers; NYU Langone trustees; Maja Castillo, MD, MHA, pediatric medical director at Healthfirst; Edwin Grospe, MD, managing director and controller at JPMorgan Chase; New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés; New York State Senator Steve Chan; and New York State Assemblymember Lester Chang.
At the event, families could access health screenings and information, demonstrations, children’s entertainment, and activities for adults at nearly 40 booths hosted by the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, community-based organizations, and city agencies, including the New York City Fire Department and Department of Transportation.
The back-to-school effort extended beyond Brooklyn, with NYU Langone distributing backpacks to children at pediatric locations across Long Island, including NYU Langone Huntington Medical Group, NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island Pediatric Center, and NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk.
In Westbury, near NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, NYU Langone also participated in a large back-to-school event in partnership with New York State Senator Siela Bynoe, Nassau County Legislator Viviana L. Russell, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, and the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, providing students with essential school supplies ahead of the new school year. NYU Langone also partnered with Angels of Long Island, a Patchogue-based nonprofit, to provide backpacks and school supplies to families in the communities served by NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk.
“The backpack giveaway has become a tradition that our patients and families truly look forward to each year,” said Gabriela Oliveira, MHA, practice manager at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island Pediatric Center. “This year, we distributed more than 185 backpacks during the event and continued sharing the remaining donated backpacks with patients in the weeks that followed. It’s a meaningful way for our team to support families as they prepare for the school year while strengthening our connection with the community we serve.”
The long-standing effort reflects NYU Langone’s commitment to supporting the health and well-being of the communities it serves. One of the nation’s largest federally qualified health center networks, the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone provides comprehensive primary, specialty, behavioral health, and dental care to adults and children throughout Brooklyn. Through close partnerships with community-based organizations and a range of social services and programs, the centers also connect families with resources that address barriers to care, improve health outcomes, and support needs beyond the exam room.
About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 118 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation four years in a row, and it continues to have the most No. 1– and top 10–ranked specialties among medical centers in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 330 outpatient locations in the New York City area and Florida. The system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.
Media Contact
Gabrielle Messina
Phone: 929-909-6213
Gabrielle.Messina@NYULangone.org
