The PS/ IS 102Q Parent Association (Q102PA) planted daffodil bulbs with the students and staff of PS/IS 102Q to honor the victims of 9/ 11 and Covid-19, on Tuesday, November 29th. The bulbs were generously donated by New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P), an independent non- profit organization that protects and promotes open space across the city. Established in 2001, NY4P’s Daffodil Project is the largest volunteer effort in NYC history. PS/IS 102Q, a Title I public school in District 24 of New York City, is located in Elmhurst, and serves children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. 81% of the students at this Title I school receive a free or reduced price lunch.
The Parent Association provided light refreshments and gave a brief demonstration on how to plant the daffodil bulbs. Then the volunteer group started planting in the front yard of the school facing Van Horn Street. This event also marks a special occasion – school construction was recently completed and the awning and scaffolding were finally removed. Now the building is on full display.
Special guests included NY4P’s Adam Ganser, Executive Director; and Sherrise Palomino, Director of Advocacy and Programs; and James Leahy from Community School District 24. The students also received assistance planting daffodil bulbs from New York City Council Member Shekar Krishnan (District 25).
According to NY4P’s website, “New Yorkers for Parks’ Daffodil Project is the largest annual volunteer effort in NYC history. Since the Daffodil Project’s inception in 2002, over nine million daffodil bulbs have been distributed for free, planted by thousands of volunteers in the fall, and celebrated as some of the first flowers to bloom come spring… Throughout twenty years of bulb distributions, plantings, and perennial blooms, the Daffodil Project’s mission has grown. Today, the project serves as a catalyst for citywide parks stewardship and civic engagement, advancing NY4P’s call for 1% of the city budget for NYC Parks, a celebration of the New Yorkers championing parks equity and resilience in their communities, and a memorial for the victims of September 11 and the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Q102PA looks forward to offering additional family- friendly community-building events in keeping with their motto, “Together We Soar!”
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