The 21st Annual Back-To-School Supply Giveaways; there will be backpacks, school supplies and of course, the barbeque. This year’s event will be held at the corner of S. Salina & Wood Ave. August 20, 2022, 11 am until 6 pm.
Mary Nelson organized the first Back-to-School Barbeque as part of an effort to reduce violence in this Syracuse neighborhood. In addition to school supplies, The Mary Nelson Youth Center hosts children, and their families to a full-scale outdoor barbeque. In 2002, the first year the event was held, there were 850 youth and their parents in attendance.
Every year thereafter, the event has grown. Every year under the leadership of Mary Nelson, the community comes together to make sure our children were ready for the upcoming school year; the center has collected backpacks and school supplies. However, this is more than a Back-to-School event, as representatives from various groups and organizations attend to increase community awareness of programs. There are Health related services offered on-site, the Upstate Medical Hospital’s Mammogram Initiative along with other needed services.
Mary Nelson’s Youth Center has been a leading force in the greater Syracuse area – according to their website, “inspiring youth to embrace their true identity while unleashing their inner potential. Their programs help our youth shape their own values, while providing them with all the tools, resources and support they need in order to evolve into confident leaders tomorrow.
On Saturday August 20th the community is welcome to learn more about how the Mary Nelson Youth Center makes a difference in children’s lives.
There’s a lot going on all-day at what will be a festive occasion with entertainment, food, fun and people from the greater Syracuse Community gathering on the corner of S. Salina and Wood Ave.
Mary wanted to do something about the violence affecting children in the community. This is just one of many things the Mary nelson Youth Center does to have an impact of people’s lives. Year-round the center is open to the community as it has been equipped with a Computer Lab in addition to a totally renovated center thanks to donations from Lowe’s, the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation, Wegmans, The Hartford, Upstate Medical Hospital and many more. The event is also given an assist by Abundant Life which handles logistics, as you will find the method of supply distribution is quick and efficient, they have things organized right down to the last pencil.
When Nelson began more than two decades ago, there was little attention given to the needs of children returning to school. In many cases children began the school year with few supplies if any. Since then, other organizations have begun doing similar activities in an effort to help students returning to school.
But this is special, it’s more than a giveaway, it’s more than a barbeque; the Mary Nelson Supply Giveaway is about embracing the entire community and its needs that extend far beyond back-to-school. You’ll see the Center in operation when everyone has gone home, as the newly renovated space has so much to offer the community. Their expanded kitchen, their capacity to handle food distribution with commercial refrigeration, space for meetings, an area where young people who may not have access to a computer or the internet, now have a gateway to the world.
Scenes from the Mary Nelson Supply Givaway from August 2019
The community is invited to the event, which promises to be a good time as people gather to celebrate not only the giveaway, but rekindling the spirit of neighborhood and helping each other, in the city of Syracuse.
