Starting the School Year with a Smile

With the 2010-2011 school year just days away, residents gathered at the Community Opportunity Center of Tarrytown on Friday afternoon to give local kids a boost to start the year off right.

The COC gathered around 100 backpacks, filled with new school supplies, to hand out to students kindergarten through grade 12 gearing up for the new year.

"The economy has been extremely tough on families," said Kristin Lanza, the center's director. "We have a lot of parents who ask for bread or a can of soup at the end of the day. If they can't afford food, they can't afford magic markers and other school supplies."

The Westchester Community Opportunity Program, or WestCOP, took over the center earlier this year and has been working to revitalize the venue as a strong community center.

This particular program was funded by WestCOP, as well as the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). Local merchants and residents also made contributions.

"It was something that we really wanted to do," said Lanza. "We just got back into the center and we really want for the kids to start the school year out fresh."

Organizers were unsure as to how many families would come out for the occasion, but were overwhelmed as soon as the doors opened.

Just a half hour into the event, nearly all of the backpacks had been given out, mostly to elementary-aged children.

According to Lanza, younger children were given backpacks filled with age-appropriate supplies like markers and crayons, while older children were equipped with binders and Texas Instruments calculators. The backpacks were also separated on tables by gender.

"You can't anticipate how many people will show up," said Lanza.

In additional to backpacks, staff members also lined up picture books and stuffed animals for younger siblings, and handed out cookies and lollipops to kids while they waited in line.

Also available were lunch bags and notebooks, which were given out throughout the day, once the backpacks ran out.

Layla Adams, a six-year-old Tarrytown resident, was one of the first to receive a backpack. She chose a pink Barbie bookbag, and said she couldn't wait to show it off to her first grade classmates.

"My favorite thing is the hand sanitizer," she poined out. "It's good for your hands."

Jason Zhazpyon will be going into eighth grade this year. He brought his younger brother along for the day, and they both left with their arms full.

"It has binders!" he said as he opened up his new bookbag for the first time.

In all, staffers estimated more than 200 local children came out to COC, and though not all left with a backpack, each child received some new items to help provide a fresh start to the school year.

"I think we'd like to do this annually," said Lanza. "It's part of the rejuvenation."

Lanza added the center is working hard to continue building its programs, starting from the inside out.

On the structural front, they are building two walk-in closets at the facility. One will be a "dress for success" closet with a full dressing room. The other will be a baby closet, filled with everything new parents need, from strollers to bibs.

"Hopefully," said Lanza, "by the first of the year, we will be up and running at 90 percent."