The AFT’s Back to School for All campaign rolled through Perth Amboy on Aug. 11, with AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera and Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso distributing educational books to individuals who received a COVID-19 vaccine that day at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA.
More than 30 people were vaccinated during the three-hour event, according to Rebecca Pauley, the Raritan Bay Area YMCA community health coordinator.
“It was great to be part of an event that promoted vaccinations and literacy,” Chiera said. “The partnership among the YMCA, Visiting Nurses and the Perth Amboy Federation is making a difference, one person at a time. As a retired Perth Amboy teacher, seeing children and young adults asking if they can take more than one book home made me appreciate the success of local educators in nurturing the love of reading and learning.”
Among the books chosen by visitors to the Raritan Bay Area YMCA were “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi and “Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre” by Carole Boston Weatherford and Floyd Cooper.