Marilyn Mendoza, an education justice organizer with MRNY, pointed out that her community was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic last year and saw a lot of tragedy.

“We saw a lot of members pass away due to COVID. People are still trying to get back on their feet,” Mendoza said. “We want to help relieve some of that stress by providing the essentials so that their children can go back to school without having to think about not having a backpack or whatever other supplies.”