Hundreds of Newburgh parents and children gathered recently at the Newburgh Free Library on Grand St. for School Is Cool, a fun-filled afternoon event with free food, music, activities and distributions of school supplies to the children for the upcoming school year.

School Is Cool was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the library, the Newburgh Enlarged City School District [NECSD], the City of Newburgh Recreation Department and We Are Newburgh.

NFL Executive Director Mary Lou Carolan was amazed with the turnout of the families for the back to school event and was grateful for the collaboration between the schools, the library and We Are Newburgh.

Heading into the new school year, Carolan shared that the community can anticipate more musical and cultural celebrations such as a Day of the Dead celebration, educational and civic programming such as a voter registration in September and continued work with the school district in collaboration with Mount Saint Mary College [MSMC] students to help with reading and tutoring.

In addition to the programming, Carolan also highlighted the diversity of the growing Newburgh community through the addition of more Spanish speaking and written materials; and most of the library programming has been translated into both English and Spanish, which allows more accessibility and representation.

As the new school year begins soon, Carolan looks forward to the families who will come and enjoy the library and all that it has to offer. “We are a community centered library. We’re answering the needs of the community. We’re offering some amazing programming,” Carolan said. “I welcome people to come back in to see how vibrant and dynamic we are and to experience it in a new way.”

Over the course of that afternoon, families and parents enjoyed the free food from the grill and from the Salvation Army truck. If you needed some water, the City of Newburgh Water Department had a water truck with bottles ready to go.

Running around and helping as many families as she could was Laura Garcia, Community Engagement Coordinator for the NFL, who was grateful for the turnout and the community support.

“My community amazes me every time we do these sorts of events, just because they are always willing to be part of things. And what I love is the diversity that comes together,“ Garcia said. “We [NFL] want the community to feel that this is a place [the library] where they can find a place for themselves.”

The sounds and movements of African dancing and drumming, along with performances by the Newburgh Armory Unity Center Dance Group, attracted a large crowd to the library courtyard. At around two in the afternoon, Kofi Donkor & the Sankofa Ensemble held a performance for the gathered crowd and welcomed those gathered to participate in singing along with them.

Members of We Are Newburgh, NECSD and student athletes from MSMC helped in the distribution of backpacks with supplies for the children that came by their booths. Pamela Peterson, Director of Family and Community Engagement, was present at the supplies distribution in the NECSD Central Office building and shared her reflections on this day for the community.

“Our district cares about our families,” Peterson said. “It always makes me feel good when we are doing outreach into the community. And we’re helping our families, we’re helping our community members. It’s about building trusting relationships with them, and supporting them and being responsive to their needs.”

Joe Alvarez, President and Founder of We Are Newburgh, along with his volunteers, was also distributing books bags and other supplies to children as they stopped by. Alvarez and We Are Newburgh are committed to supporting and unifying the Newburgh community wherever they go, through events and programming for the community. Alvarez shared his own thoughts on the community celebration as well.

“We make sure that every child in here has the proper supplies to succeed in the school year. It’s very important that we support our community, and especially children. They are the future,” Alvarez said.

Members of the American Red Cross, Newburgh Urban Farm and Food Initiative, the Newburgh Armory Unity Center and other community partners welcomed parents and children to their booths and distributed resources while supplies lasted.

Children and families were also able to stop and play games of chess, take a tour of a school bus provided by George M. Carroll Bus Company to learn about bus safety, received haircuts from a mobile barbershop and were able to visit The Backdoor Bookstore to browse various reading materials for sale.

Families and friends also had the opportunity to take selfies at the event’s Back-To-School display wall, create personalized bookmarks and apply for library cards as the afternoon continued on.