MetroPlusHealth Teams Up With Community Groups To Gift 30,000 Backpacks To NYC Students

 MetroPlusHealth, NYC’s high-quality and affordable health plan, is pleased to announce a gift of 30,000 backpacks intended to reduce stress on low-income families with children headed back to school across the City. 

In partnership with several other community organizations and elected officials, this effort aims to support families as they prepare for the school year ahead, reaching neighborhoods across all five NYCboroughs and ensuring students have the tools they need to start or continue their academic journey.

Students will benefit from this initiative during 25+ back-to-school and health outreach events through September 26, 2023. These events also serve as an opportunity for attendees to engage with local agencies, encouraging families to discover and access resources available to them throughout the year.

“As we head into a new school year, NYC parents are facing a list of concerns including heightened costs for school supplies and increasing cases of COVID, RSV and flu. At MetroPlusHealth, we not only prioritize providing care in the case of health problems, but also preventing them in the first place,” said Erin M. Drinkwater, Chief of Government Relations & Strategic Partnerships. “We’re elated to assist these families in making sure their children have a strong and healthy start to the school year.”

The school bag giveaway program is just one part of MetroPlusHealth’s ongoing commitment to making New York students happier and healthier. As parents and kids across New York City get ready for the new school year, MetroPlusHealth has released a resource pamphlet reminding New Yorkers to follow tips for back-to-school health and to facilitate access to the plan’s low or no-cost coverage. With MetroPlusHealth’s Child Health Plus Plan, children under the age of 19 can receive care from the plan’s extensive network of 34,000+ of the City’s top doctors, 40+ hospitals including NYU Langone, Mount Sinai, and NY Health + Hospitals, as well as 110+ urgent care sites including CityMD locations.

Please see below for statements from New York City and State officials:

Iwen Chu, New York Senator for District 17:“I’m proud to host a back-to-school book bag and supply giveaway to children of all ages in southern Brooklyn. With school about to be in session, parents are working hard to set their child up for a strong year. I thank MetroPlusHealth for being a partner in distributing essential supplies to our students. The MetroPlusHealth bookbags were a big hit! It brought me so much joy to provide the tools of success to families.”