Nonprofit donates backpacks and clothing items, pledges education programs for local students

Classroom of Change, a national education initiative by the Long Island chapter of international nonprofit Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care (SRLC), was launched at the Roosevelt PAL Center, where nearly 400 community members received more than 3,500 clothing items and over 450 backpacks filled with school supplies on Sunday, August 30.

Lionel J. Chitty, executive director of the Nassau County Office of Minority Affairs, called Sunday “a fantastic event,” adding, “We are proud to collaborate with SRLC USA … to go out into the community and show them the resources that are available to them.”

Students wrote and pinned a personal pledge for the school year on a Wall of Commitments, from reading 10 minutes a day to asking one question in class to thanking a teacher. The initiative, according to SRLC USA, will bring year-round programming to Roosevelt students and families, including reading circles, tutoring, career guidance from local professionals, yoga and mindfulness, video exchanges with students in other countries, and a mid-year supply refresh in the winter.

“Everyone has a start. Someone opened a door for each of us,” said Dave Mehta, lead volunteer, SRLC USA Long Island. “Sunday wasn’t a giveaway. It was day one. Our volunteers will be back in Roosevelt throughout the year, and we’d welcome any school or community organization that wants to be part of it.”

Sunday capped a summer of back-to-school outreach on Long Island by the organization, including a July kit-packing session and a school-kit distribution at Wyandanch’s National Night Out on August 4.