Newark Mayor Cory Booker Welcomes Kars4Kids to Newark to Give Away More Than 1,000 Backpacks to Newark Kids

NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker welcomes Kars4Kids (kars4kids.org), a national car donation charity, to Newark on August 27 at 11 a.m., to give away more than 1,000 backpacks to neighborhood children at the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center on West Kinney Street in Newark.

Newark Deputy Mayor Margarita Muniz will join Kars4Kids at the recreation center to help distribute the backpacks.

The backpack giveaway comes at a time when many families could use help providing their children with new supplies for the upcoming school year. As the U.S. economy continues to struggle, the National Retail Federation has projected that spending on school supplies will drop by an average of almost $50 per family.

This event is the second one in which Kars4Kids will team up with Mayor Booker's office to help out the children of Newark. In December 2011, Mayor Booker joined Kars4Kids for a winter coat distribution at the same John F. Kennedy Recreation Center. The event was a great success with lines forming around the corner and around 1,000 coats distributed. The Mayor, known for his active Twitter account, responded to a Tweet from Kars4Kids requesting his help in arranging the event. Later, he called the event "a story of the power of Twitter" and proclaimed "[I] was thrilled that they wanted to come here to the city of Newark".        

"We're proud to partner again with Mayor Booker, whose leadership has produced benefits for the city of Newark and, specifically, for the children of Newark," said Steven Weldler, a Kars4Kids spokesman. "Kars4Kids shares Mayor Booker's commitment to children and to education."

"I am excited to welcome Kars4Kids back to Newark as a partner committed to advancing the well-being of our city's children and families," said Mayor Cory Booker, "My administration has focused on expanding educational opportunities and ensuring that our children can succeed in the classroom. As kids across our city prepare to head back to school, we appreciate Kars4Kids and their generous donation of backpacks and supplies."

For more information about the event, and for other upcoming Kars4Kids events, follow Kars 4 Kids on Twitter.

WHO: Kars4Kids, a national car donation charity, along with Newark Deputy Mayor Margarita Muniz

WHAT: Donate 1,000 brand new backpacks and school supplies to school aged children in the area

WHERE: John F. Kennedy Recreation Center (211 West Kinney St in Newark, NJ)

WHEN: Tuesday, August 27^th from 11AM-2PM

Kars4Kids is a non-profit organization that works to give back to the community through a variety of education, youth development, family outreach, and faith-based programs. It provides an array of services to children and families including educational programming, school placement, tuition assistance, mentorship programs, cultural activities, religious instruction, recreation and guidance counseling.

SOURCE Kars4Kids