Rise and Shine! Time to Package
May 22nd was no lazy Saturday morning. The Forming Futures team was already set to work with a benevolent leader to guide them - our own Victoria Buendia-Serrano.
For those who do not know and accidentally stumbled across this wonderful little blog post, ‘Forming Futures’ is a non profit organization founded by Victoria Buendia-Serrano.
’Forming Futures’ is run exclusively by high-school students (Victoria, Matthew Archer-Nieto, Zoe Droulias, Baya Jaiswal, Mica Quelle, Xuan Stabb and myself Allegra Masterson), and it is dedicated to helping low-income families in New York City recover from the pandemic.
Ava Kimmel, Victoria Buendia-Serrano and Ben Novak sort and organize school supplies
For newcomers like myself, listening to Victoria passionately explain the purpose behind ‘Forming Futures’ was uplifting as well as eye-opening. Everyone was enthusiastic about helping the cause as we worked together while smiling through our masks.
There were multiple tasks to complete: writing the notes for the packages, sorting through supplies, and of course, packaging it.
Each package included: 2 notebooks, a couple pencils or pens, and an eraser. If we were making a package for younger children, there would be some kind of small puzzle or toy in each package. Regardless of what age group the package was designed for, each one came with a personalized note in both English and Spanish.
Allegra and Baya write personal notes while Matthew and Elizabeth package school supplies kits
As the hours went by, more and more beautifully assembled packages piled up on the couch and the table, until at last with no supplies to spare, there were 109. It’s time to bag them… watch the video!
However, it wasn’t until the last of the supplies was gone that we realized just how big this problem was. New York City has around 8.4 million people and as of 2019, 56% of children come from low-income families (a number that has now increased due to the pandemic). I think we were all blindsided by this fact, but instead of going back to ignoring the problem, Victoria and her team decided to do something about it. I was only a volunteer during this process but the reason I decided to be a part of this event was because I trust Victoria, and I promise, the ‘Forming Futures’ website stays true to its word, for I don’t think I have ever known anyone who is as passionate and empathetic as she is. ‘Forming Futures’ is a loving, and strongly dedicated organization.
Corporate donors include ‘Staples’, ‘Dude Wipes,’ ‘Smarty Pits,’ ‘The Humble Co.,’ and ‘Little Seed Farm.’
If you would like to learn more about ‘Forming Futures’ please visit our website at formingfutures.org (where you can also donate, and become a donor/partner). ‘Forming Futures’ also has various social media accounts (Instagram @formingfuturesnyc) and more!
Next we will personally donate the school supplies kits to children in Queens with the help of Father Fabian Arias. Stay tuned for our next blog telling all about it.