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Are you looking for help for the Christmas holiday? If you live in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan or Statin Island, you may qualify for help from a Christmas assistance program like Toys for Tots, Catholic Charities New York and more. The Holiday season is such a special time to spend with family and friends. Yet, many poor people can’t experience the joys of Christmas, because they literally have nothing.
Read More to learn more about what the above Christmas assistance programs do
There will be no food service available on the following dates. December 25th (Christmas Day) and January 1st (New Year’s Day)
There will be food service available on the following dates from 12pm to 3pm only. December 24th (Christmas Eve) and December 28th-31st (Including New Year’s Eve) HEAP helps eligible households meet the cost of heating their homes. The benefit can pay for fuel, your utility source, heating equipment replacement and repairs. The benefit is paid either directly to the heating vendor or utility company. You can apply for HEAP every year when the program is open.
Starting Thursday, November 19, 2020 New York City is committed to making free meals available daily for all New Yorkers. While school buildings are closed, students and families can go to nearby school buildings for takeout meals. Additionally, any New Yorker can receive free meals available at locations across the city. Use the search link below to find a location online or Text “NYC FOOD” or “NYC COMIDA” to 877-877 (text messaging and data rates may apply)
Psychiatric medications are an important part of treatment for many people who live with a mental illness. They can improve symptoms and help promote recovery and wellness, but the price for medication can often be an obstacle. Luckily, there are some options you have for reducing the price of your medication.
Health Insurance Health insurance can help protect you from high medical costs. Health insurance provided through work, through a family member or privately purchased, may offer discounts on mental health medication. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that your health plan cover mental health equally to other treatments—this is called mental health parity. The ACA also puts into place comprehensive health insurance reforms that provide more choices, improve quality, lower costs and hold insurance companies more accountable. The act is designed to help you find health insurance that is affordable and offers comprehensive coverage, from doctors to medications to hospitalizations. Talk With Your Doctor If you don’t have insurance, the first thing you should is speak with your doctor if you are having trouble affording your medication. They may be able to provide you with free samples for a period of time. It may also be possible to switch to a less expensive brand-name medication or the generic form of your medication. Prescription Assistance Programs Government Prescription Assistance Programs Many states and counties offer prescription assistance programs. Contact your NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate for information about programs in your area. www.needhelppayingbills.com is a website that also lists state and local assistance programs that you may qualify for. Your state’s Medicaid office may have information about prescription assistance and discount programs. If you participate in Medicare Part D and need financial assistance you may be qualified for the federal benefit program called Extra Help. The Medicare Rights Center—1-800-333-4114—can let you know if you qualify. Nonprofit Prescription Assistance Programs
By Robert Pozarycki & Jacob Kaye AMNY The candidates
In addition to the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, a handful of other races will appear on your ballot. Here is a full list of every candidate running for office in Manhattan on Nov. 3. Congressional races All four Members of Congress representing Manhattan have opponents, but are expected to easily win re-election in this heavily Democratic borough. Democratic/Working Families Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez is seeking her 15th term on Capitol Hill and another two years representing much of Chinatown and the Lower East Side, along with parts of Brooklyn and Queens, in the 7th Congressional District. She’ll be facing Republican/Conservative challenger Brian Kelly of Brooklyn and Libertarian nominee Gilbert Midonnet, also of Brooklyn. Likewise, Democratic/Working Families Congressman Jerry Nadler is also seeking a return trip to Congress for the 10th District, which covers much of the West Side south of 122nd Street as well as Chelsea, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca and Lower Manhattan. His opponents are Republican/Conservative nominee Cathy Bernstein, a financial consultant from the Upper West Side, and Libertarian nominee Michael Madrid, a systems manager from Midtown. After winning a hard-fought primary, Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is expected to easily secure re-election to the 12th District seat, which includes parts of western Brooklyn and Queens and covers much of the East Side south of 98th Street and extends into Midtown, the East Village and the Lower East Side. Her opponents in the general election are Republican/Conservative candidate Carlos Santiago-Cano, a small business owner from Astoria, Queens, and Libertarian Steven Kolln, a software engineer from the Upper East Side. Finally, Democratic/Working Families Congressman Adriano Espaillat seeks another term in office as representative of the 13th Congressional District, which includes Harlem, Upper Manhattan and parts of western Bronx. He’s facing challenges from Republican nominee Lovelynn Gwynn, an entrepreneur from Harlem, and Conservative candidate Christopher Morris-Perry of Harlem. State Senate contests Incumbent state senators representing Manhattan are also expected to win re-election on Nov. 3. One candidate for re-election, Democratic/Working Families state Senator Brad Hoylman, doesn’t have an opponent at all. He’ll serve another term in the 27th Senatorial District, which covers a large chunk of Midtown Manhattan as well as the East Village, Chelsea, SoHo, Tribeca, Hell’s Kitchen and parts of the Upper West Side. Democratic state Senator Brian Kavanagh does have a challenger for his 26th District seat in Republican/Conservative nominee Lester Chang, a logistical consultant from SoHo. The 26th District covers much of Lower Manhattan (including the areas of SoHo, NoHo, East Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, Battery Park City, Tribeca and the Financial District) and hops over the East River to include parts of northern Brooklyn. In the 28th District, Democratic/Working Families state Senator Liz Krueger seeks another term in office against Republican/Independence candidate Michael Zumbluskas, a resource management analyst for the city’s Department of Transportation. The 28th District includes the Flatiron District, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Midtown and the Upper East Side. Further north, Democratic state Senator Jose Serrano is seeking re-election to the 29th District seat covering parts of the Upper East and West Sides, Roosevelt Island, East Harlem, Randall’s and Wards Islands, and the South Bronx. Challenging him for the seat is Republican nominee Jose Colon of the Bronx. Democratic state Senator Brian Benjamin may have his sights set on the 2021 City Comptroller’s race, but first, he’s running for re-election to the 30th District seat representing much of Upper Manhattan, Harlem, East Harlem, and the Upper East and West Sides. He’ll face Republican challenger Oz Sultan, a district leader from Harlem. Staying in northern Manhattan, Democratic/Working Families state Senator Robert Jackson will seek another term in Albany representing the 31st District against Republican candidate Melinda Crump, a public relations specialist from the Upper West Side. The district covers Inwood, Upper Manhattan, Washington Heights and the Hudson River waterfront down to the Lincoln Tunnel. Assembly races Of the 12 Manhattan Assembly seats up for grabs on Election Day, the most interesting contest centers on a seat held by an incumbent who missed qualifying for the Democratic nomination and is now running on a third-party ballot line. Incumbent Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, of the 76th District, is seeking another term in office on the Rise and Unite ballot line. In May, she was knocked off the June 23 primary ballot due to a filing snafu. As a result, the Democratic Party isn’t technically fielding a candidate in the general election against Seawright, with her third-party ballot line, or the other challenger in the race, Republican/Liberal candidate Louis Puliafito, a union steward and doorman from the Upper East Side. The 76th Assembly District covers much of the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island. Just four other Manhattan Assembly races on the ballot are competitive. Democratic Assemblywoman Deborah Glick is facing a challenge from Republican Tamara Lashchyk, a career coach from SoHo, for the 66th District seat covering much of the West Village, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca and Lower Manhattan. In northern Manhattan, Democratic Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez seeks another term in office representing the 68th District against Republican challenger Daby Benjamine Carreras, a capital investment manager. The 68th District covers much of East Harlem and the Upper East Side, and includes Randall’s and Wards Islands. Democratic Assemblywoman Inez Dickens is seeking re-election to the 70th District seat covering Harlem and West Harlem. Her opponent in the general election is Craig Schley, who’s running on his own ballot line, Schley for 70 Assy. Finally, Democratic/Working Families Assemblyman Dan Quart is vying for another term in Albany as the 73rd District’s voice. He’s facing Republican candidate Judy Graham, an entrepreneur from Midtown. The district covers much of the Upper East Side and Midtown. The other incumbent Assembly Members representing Manhattan are running unopposed:
By Ally Noel MommyPoppins Virtual Learning for Kids of All Ages
1. PBS Learning Media These interactive lesson plans are curricular-aligned to meet standards from preschool all the way through high school. FREE 2. Museums with Virtual Tours Through Google Arts and Culture Google Arts and Culture allows children to access world-renowned museums from home. You can tour the collections of more than 1,200 museums online through its catalog. 3. Khan Academy Khan Academy is always free and provides high-quality content for kids (and adults) of all ages. Make sure to check out Khan Kids for the littlest of learners. FREE 4. Code.org Since 2013, Code.org has been providing free online coding classes for students of all ages. Learn how to think like a programmer while completing online modules. FREE 5. Scholastic Learn From Home The K-12 education powerhouse that is Scholastic has you at-home learning needs covered with lessons for kids from pre-K through sixth grade and up. Kids can dive into topics like the future of zoos and life science. It's all divided by age and grade level. Requires small monthly fee. 6. ReadWriteThink Printing Press If your kids want to create newsletters, newspapers, brochures, or any other printable, then check out the Printing Press fro ReadWriteThink. They provide engaging lesson plans for kids in K-12 to bring the printed word to life. FREE Preschool Online and Remote Learning 7. Starfall Education This bright and colorful website will appeal to preschoolers and those in the early elementary years, from pre-K through third grade. The activities are easy to find and arranged by discipline, season, or curricular topic. (Some FREE options, also membership options for more content.) 8. The Cat in the Hat Invents Everyone’s favorite Cat is the start of this STEM-based website that challenges kids to be engineers and problem-solvers. FREE 9. Cosmic Kids Yoga The Cosmic Kids YouTube channel will get your kids moving for a little post- or pre-study yoga break. Kids follow the poses that also help to tell a story in these short (roughly 10 to 15 minute) yoga sessions. (It also streams on Prime.) FREE 10. Highlights This popular kids’ magazine provides interactive through its wide variety of websites and apps. Play endless rounds of hidden picture puzzles, learn about shapes, listen to stories, and more. FREE Elementary School Online Learning Options 11. Wow in the World Wow in the World is a podcast for curious kids and their grown-ups brought to you by the folks at Tinkercast. These 20-30 minute episodes investigate factual real-world stories. FREE 12. Mystery Science Mystery Science has opened up its most popular science lessons for FREE and easy for remote learning during the coronavirus crisis. Topics range from weather to who invented pizza. Head to your child's grade level for age-appropriate learning. FREE (as of publication) 13. DIY.org Kids can watch videos and learn how to make something all on their own with DIY.org. Older kids will love creating their own videos to upload and share on the platform. A free 14-day trial is available. 14. Cool Math Games This site offers tons of games that incorporate math into the strategy, from virtual Chess to more video-game like math games. Search by skill or take a break with some math trivia. FREE 15. National Geographic Kids Explore the world through games and videos on National Geographic Kids. Take a quiz about Mars or explore current topics like Kids vs. Plastic. FREE 16. Rivet Rivet is a free reading app that has over 3500 leveled books for kids. FREE 17. Dance Mat Typing There is nothing all that exciting about learning how to type, but Dance Mat Typing somehow manages to make this tedious task fun! Four levels of play will have you typing like a pro in no time. FREE Middle School Online Education 18. BrainPop BrainPop began as a collection of short cartoons that taught students about difficult topics. Over the years, it added a number of interactive features, such as games and quizzes. Teachers can request free access to gain to BrainPop’s entire catalog of educational videos, and there is some FREE access to all during the coronavirus outbreak. 19. Minecraft Education Minecraft Education is so much more than "just a game." This learning platform promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. 20. Scratch Program your own interactive stories with Scratch. This free learning tool develops important skills like problem-solving, creative thinking, and collaboration. FREE 21. Prodigy Math Sign up for a free account and start playing these standards-based math activities. FREE 22. Funbrain Funbrain provides hundreds of free games, videos, and books that help kids develop their literacy, math, and problem-solving skills. FREE 23. Kodable Type your first lines of code, learn javascript, and other programming concepts with this online computer science platform. Starting with basic drag and drop coding, Kodable provides lessons that will foster creativity and critical thinking. FREE 24. NaNoWriMo Encourage creative writing with the NaNoWriMo 30-day writing challenge. Kids create a profile and will receive a variety of writing challenges as they work toward completing a novel! FREE High School Online Education Resources 25. Ken Burns in the Classroom Ken Burns has been making historical documentaries for nearly half a century. These thoughtfully developed lesson plans truly bring history to life. FREE 26. Desmos This is the modern-day version of the good ol' graphing calculator. The free app will let you graph all the parabolas you want! FREE 27. TED Talks Watch a thought-provoking TED Talk on just about any device. This nonprofit provides free access to thousands of inspirational, motivational, educational, and instructional talks. These top 25 TED Talks are a great place to start. FREE 28. Quizlet This mobile and web-enabled app lets users create and use virtual flashcards that cover a variety of topics. Set up a virtual study session with friends over video or among the family. FREE 29. How Stuff Works This website explains how just about any and everything works. With topics that range from science to entertainment and lifestyle, How Stuff Works takes challenging concepts and breaks them down into language that is easy to understand. FREE 30. Nova Nova is the nation’s top watched science series, so it should come as no surprise that its website is filled with original award-winning content from journalists, scientists, and engineers. FREE |
