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On Aug. 1, Queens Child Guidance Center kicked off its annual “Back to School Supplies Drive” for local students.

Partnering with Astoria Federal Savings, the drive will benefit more than 700 clients throughout the Queens area. While Astoria Federal’s drive will end Aug 31, QCGC’s drive is on going through late September.

Supplies – including new backpacks, calculators, crayons, markers, pencils, ballpoint pens, round-edge scissors, glue, rulers, notebooks, memo pads, pencil sharpeners, loose-leaf paper, tissues and erasers – may be dropped off at any Astoria Federal branch or directly at QCGC, located at 60-02 Queens Boulevard, Lower Level, Woodside.

“You can’t imagine how wonderful it is to see the smile on a child’s face when he or she has a new backpack and school supplies on the first day of school, especially when they’ve never had these things before,” said Hank Auffarth, President of the Queens Child Guidance Center. “It gives them such self-confidence and a look of pride. It’s a great pathway for them to want to learn.”

Donations, which will be used to purchase new school supplies, will also be accepted at either Astoria Federal branches or at QCGC. A contribution of $35 fills a new backpack for one student. In addition, Astoria Federal will match all donations up to $10,000.

Backpacks for QCGC’s clients will also be provided by High Water Women, an organization that generously donated to QCGC last year. QCGC is a grantee of the Robin Hood Foundation.