For the many new immigrant families in the City of Newburgh, new toys, food and supplies were all available and offered for English Language Learner families during a welcome event at the Larkin Center in the City of Newburgh. The Family and Community Engagement (FACE) office of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District hosted the event at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center on Tuesday, December 21. The event was originally planned for around Thanksgiving time but was rescheduled for December.

Pamela Peterson, Director of FACE, is grateful for the district in their efforts to support these families. “Many of them are newcomers into our country,” Peterson said. Most of the families that attended were Spanish speakers but there were also Haitian-Creole speakers, who were able to speak with a student who is bilingual in that language, according to Peterson. “That moment where you connect in language is magical,” Peterson said.

She and FACE Coordinator, Antony Roncal, created and coordinated the event for the families. ELL teachers and students, who were bilingual, were able to come and support the event with the families who stopped by. Newburgh Free Academy Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets helped guide families through and distributed school supplies along with the Newburgh Free Library, Operation SMILE, Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Valley and other community organizations. “This is very heartwarming. We want to make sure that we’re creating a welcoming environment for our English language learners, we want to make sure that the families are being received properly and that they know that they have support and they can count on the Newburgh community,” Councilwoman Elect Giselle Martinez said. Martinez is grateful to the community support and the community members being open to the new families.

According to New York Demographics, in 2020, Hispanics were identified as the largest ethnic group in the city at 52.2%. 26.1% are Black and 16.7% are White. Many of the families in the city and school district immigrated to the states from Latin American countries. New York Demographics is an online database created by Cubit that collects information and data and distributes it for public reference. Cubit collects the most recent United States Census Bureau data.

Cadet First Lieutenant Jonathan Ramirez, Cadet Airman Christopher Santos, and Cadet Basic Airman Julian Angel helped guide the ELL families into the venue. All three cadets, who are all bilingual, were able to answer questions and help the families with any concerns. Cadet Ramirez said he was feeling ‘proud’ to be able to help his community. Serving others and helping their community made them all proud and happy to be a part of JROTC.

Cadet/Tech Sergeant Litzy Fuentes and Cadet Staff Sergeant Catherine Joyasaca of the Newburgh JROTC cadets were ready to help the families however they could during the course of the event. They helped prepare the distribution table and distributed materials and school supplies to the families. “I’m really excited to help people,” Fuentes said. Fuentes is a bilingual speaker. She helps her mother, who does not speak English, with conversation or translation. “I also like helping out others in ways that I can,” Joyasaca said. “Treat people with kindness.” Both Fuentes and Joyasaca are also proud to be part of the JROTC program, supporting their communities in their service projects.

Children also had the opportunity to collect a brand new toy on their way out. Tristen Sierra of Coldwell Banker Realty organized the toy drive with the City of Newburgh Police. Police Chief Anthony Geraci and other city officers helped children pick out a toy and wish them a Merry Christmas. Police Commissioner José Gomérez also made a special appearance at the event. Businesses that donated to the toy drive included Coldwell Banker Realty YPN, Greenway Mortgage, Estilo Muñeca, Kabil & Noil, Drone Tech UAS, Blacc Vanilla, Christopher’s Construction, Angels on Earth Salon and Sill Factory.