Demand Exceeds Supply in Charity Group’s Back-to-School Giveaway
More than 800 families, hundreds more than expected, signed up to get free backpacks and school supplies for their children as part of a giveaway program sponsored by a charitable organization in Bensonhurst on Aug. 23.
Thomas Neve, executive director of Reaching-Out Community Services Inc., said that he and his volunteers were able to purchase supplies for 500 kids as part of the group’s annual backpack giveaway on Thursday, but that more than 800 families registered for the distribution.
“We had to put people on a waiting list,” Neve told this newspaper as the backpack giveaway event was getting started on Thursday afternoon outside the offices of Reaching-Out Community Services at 7708 New Utrecht Ave.