UFT members at the East Elmhurst Community School in Queens organized a “Pump the Pride” community car parade to show off their school spirit and support families on March 12.

Teachers decorated their cars and drove a circuit through the neighborhood. They then parked in the school’s parking lot for a “trunk-or-treat” giveaway for the community. Students and their families gathered there — wearing masks and keeping socially distant — to help themselves to trunks overflowing with donated household goods and school supplies.

“The majority of the community was there,” said Brooke Robinson, a 2nd-grade teacher at the school. “Kids from our school were lining the streets; even kids and families from other schools were coming out and cheering us on.”

The giveaway in the parking lot ran through “hundreds and hundreds” of supplies in about 30 minutes, according to Robinson.

“It was really emotional,” said Chapter Leader Jessica Baity. “Some of the kids had never actually gotten to see their teachers in person” until the event.

Educators at the school had originally thought of holding a car parade before the COVID-19 pandemic sent students and teachers home. After a year of no school activities, they decided to hold the event to bring everyone back together and mark the one-year anniversary of the school shutdown.

Baity said the success of the car parade “shows how schools really are the heart of the community.”