1,000 free school backpacks for needy in Hempstead Village

More than 1,000 backpacks filled with free school supplies will be donated to students in need from Hempstead Village on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.

The ABBA (Able Bodies of Believer’s Alliance) Leadership Center, in partnership with Judea United Baptist Church and Hempstead Promise Neighborhoods, will be giving away the backpacks during its eighth annual back-to-school backpack drive for disadvantaged children in and around the village.

The nonprofit faith and community-based groups in Hempstead will host the back-to-school event at the Judea United Baptist Church, 83 Greenwich St. in Hempstead.

The annual event will provide supplies such as pens, pencils, sharpeners, highlighters, rulers, calculators, binders, folders, notebooks and paper. The celebration will also include refreshments and other activities.

Children must be registered by Friday and must be accompanied by their parents to pick up the backpacks. For more information, call the Rev. Reginald Benjamin from the center at 516-398-7484.