Niskayuna Teachers Give Back to the Community

by Amira Salem

Towards the beginning of the pandemic last year, the Niskayuna Teachers Association (NTA) formed a group called the NTA Heroes Committee. Mrs. Rickert, one of our math teachers and a chair of the committee, states that the group was formed “with the intention of bringing the Niskayuna community together by harnessing the strength and community connections of our membership.” The committee of around twenty teachers buys things like meals, baked goods, or even gift cards from local businesses and restaurants and donates them to frontline and essential workers, and sometimes even our own Niskayuna families who are in need of a little assistance. Some committee members are more active than others, but they all try to help out as much as possible with their schedules. Mrs. Rickert says, “It has been a priority to the committee that our efforts are a two-pronged donation; we order goods from Niskayuna businesses to support them, to then donate to frontline, essential workers as well as Niskayuna families in need.”

The committee members reached out to the NTA membership asking for donations in late April 2020, and in just a few days they raised over $10,000 in funding from both donations and from the NTA. Their first delivery was on April 30th, 2020 to Ellis Hospital, where they gave 65 meals from Union Café, Mario’s, and Tara Kitchen to three shifts of healthcare workers. Their most recent delivery was February 11th where they donated 445 treats from Blue Rose Bakery and Union Café to our own Niskayuna teachers.

Other donations given were to places such as Schenectady County Jail, Niskayuna Police Department, Schenectady City Mission, Sunnyview Rehabilitation, Bellevue Hospital, Glendale Nursing Home, Niskayuna, Schenectady, Glenville, and Rexford post offices, and more, as well as our own Niskayuna Central School District teachers, custodians, teaching assistants, and nurses. Three Niskayuna families in need have been given gift cards from local businesses to try and help them out during this tough time. The committee has also given monetary donations to the Foundation for Ellis Medicine and City Mission. Some other businesses they’ve supported are Scotti’s, Villa Italia, Homestyle, and Pauly’s Pizzeria. In total, they’ve donated over 1300 meals and baked goods to essential workers. The Heroes Committee has also gotten gift cards from local businesses (such as Hair Razor’s Salon and Zach’s Duo Barber Shop) and attached them to bags of food handed out from the Nisky NOW (Nutrition On Weekends) program.

It’s really wonderful to see members of our community coming together to give back in such thoughtful ways, especially in these trying times. The NTA Heroes Committee’s outstanding work in giving back to both our local essential workers and businesses should inspire us all. We’ve all been hit hard from this pandemic, and it’s nice to try and do things that will put smiles on people’s faces. Mrs. Rickert says, “We are proud of the efforts made by our NTA members and the feedback from the community has been overwhelming. The work of our committee has continued into the new year as our community is still in need.” They have three deliveries lined up for the next few weeks, so stay tuned! I know we all can’t wait to see what more this committee is able to accomplish. As always, we’re so proud of our Niskayuna teachers and community members.