Children and families in Queens participated in a National Coloring Book Day event hosted by the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the FDNY and the Elmhurst Community Partnership (ECP).
Photo courtesy of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
To celebrate National Coloring Book Day, children and families gathered at P.S. 19 Marino Jeantet Elementary School in Corona on Friday, Aug. 7, for an annual coloring event designed to teach fire safety.
Attendees were given summer and fire safety coloring books, information on community resources, and access to a limited food pantry during the event. Moreover, the FDNY’s Fire Safety Education Unit (FSEU) provided an interactive “Smoke House,” which teaches families how to escape a smoke-filled house safely.
“Creating a safer community begins with education,” said Jessica Chacha, director of the Elmhurst Community Partnership. “When families have the knowledge and tools to prevent fires, they are better prepared to protect their loved ones and respond during emergencies.”
Parents and children worked on summer and fire safety coloring books during the event.Photo courtesy of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
The coloring books feature content designed to teach attendees about fire safety.Photo courtesy of the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
The event was a collaboration between the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), and the Elmhurst Community Partnership (ECP), along with several city agencies and local community-based organizations.
ACS has a well-established working relationship with the FDNY, which began training ACS Child Protective Specialists (CPS) in 2018 to identify potential fire hazards in homes and educate families about fire safety.
The Elmhurst Community Partnership is one of the eleven neighborhood coalitions supported by ACS. They work to unite social service providers, community leaders, and residents to share local resources and address community needs. In the process, the partnership helps design and promote strategies to reduce the potential need for child welfare involvement.
“There’s nothing more important than keeping children safe and giving families the tools and knowledge they need to succeed,” said ACS Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston. “Our annual National Coloring Book Day event helps us do just that through the use of coloring books … [helping] spark the imagination, develop fine motor skills, help build confidence, and more.”