Hello!  This is Morgan Haber from New York Branch.

SMTB New York Branch (hereinafter called “NYB”) selected three of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a focus area for Fiscal Year 2021: Climate Action, Quality Education, and Gender Equality. It is a goal of the NYB to bring more awareness SDGs and personal actions that an employee can take to make an impact.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education is a “generational catastrophe”. Before the pandemic, progress was already slow and insufficient to achieve the education targets in the UN’s Goals. School closures caused by the pandemic have had devastating consequences for children’s learning and overall well-being. Hundreds of millions of children and young people are falling behind in their learning, which will have long-term impacts. One year into the COVID-19 crisis, two thirds of students worldwide are still affected by full or partial school closures. The most vulnerable children and those that do not have access the supplies they need to keep up with their studies.

As part of the SDGs Efforts for supporting Quality Education the Bank partnered with the Coalition for the Homeless to participate in their Back to School Project. Quality Education means equitable education. Every child deserves to start the school year with everything they need. For every $20 donated, Coalition for the Homeless provided a backpack filled with school supplies to a homeless child in NY. The NYB matched employee donations by doubling the donation!

These donations made a huge difference in providing 315 homeless children with the supplies they need to start the school year out right.