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JUNE
NY Sun Works Teacher Conference
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers
When: TBD
Where: TBD
Overview: Current school partners – join us for our final full-day NY Sun Works professional learning session of the school year! We are rounding out the year with a round table discussion and share-outs of best practices from exemplary teachers. There will be opportunities to hear from veteran NYSW teachers, connect with one another, share ideas, and brainstorm for future activities and practices for your Hydroponic Classrooms.
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MAY
Advanced Practices in the Hydroponic Classroom PD
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers
When:
Monday, April 7 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Wednesday, April 9 | 12pm-1pm | Register Here
Where: Virtual/Zoom
Overview: NY Sun Works partner teachers will learn and share advanced Hydroponic Classroom practices along with our Grow Support Team experts! Participants will come away from the session with new strategies to facilitate student-led investigations and experiments, grow unique and challenging new crops, and support students in designing their own hydroponic systems!
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STEM Hydroponic Kit Info Sessions
We’re excited to share that we will be offering our STEM Hydroponic Kits again this fall! If your school is interested in requesting STEM Kits for the 2024-2025 school year (they will be available for delivery starting in Fall 2024), please complete this form.
The education team will be hosting several virtual information sessions to share with teachers the goals of our STEM kits as well as ideas for how to utilize them and the associated curriculum in the classroom. Please sign up for one of the STEM Kit Info Sessions below!
Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2025 | 3:30PM-4:30PM | Register Here
Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | 3:00PM-4:00 PM | Register Here
Thursday, March 20, 2025 | 11:00AM-12:00 AM | Register Here
Monday, March 24, 2025 | 3:00PM-4:00 PM | Register Here
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NY Sun Works Partnership Info Sessions
Are you interested in bringing a NY Sun Works Hydroponic Classroom to your school? Join us for an information session to learn more about our program, hear about grants available for Hydroponic Classrooms including capital funding, and ask our team any questions you may have. Registration is now available for Zoom information sessions, please spread the word!
Thursday, March 13, 2025 | 10-11 AM | Register Here
Tuesday, March 18 | 3-4 PM | Register Here
Wednesday, April 9 | 10-11 AM | Register Here
Monday, April 28 | 3-4 PM | Register Here
Friday, May 23 | 10-11 AM | Register Here
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APRIL
Youth Conference Workshops
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers presenting at this year’s Youth Conference
When:
Monday, April 7 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Wednesday, April 9 | 12pm-1pm | Register Here
Monday, April 21 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Wednesday, April 23 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Where: Virtual/Zoom
Overview: Feel free to join this workshop if you are a partner teacher whose students are participating in this year’s annual Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference! In this workshop, we will help you plan for your students’ investigations and answer any questions that you have about the event.
Climate Action Day Workshop PD: Water
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers
When:
Monday, April 28 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Wednesday, April 30 | 12pm-1pm | Register Here
Where: Virtual/Zoom
Overview: Join us in a NYSW Professional Learning session to prepare for your last NYC Climate Action Day! The Climate Action Day focused on Water will take place on Wednesday, May 21. This session will give you time to plan! We will share NY Sun Works learning resources, lessons, and units related to engaging students in water and ocean conservation and action projects. You and your fellow partner teachers will brainstorm and come up with the plans to implement this in your hydroponic classrooms and schools!
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MARCH
Youth Conference Info Sessions
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers interested in attending or participating in this year’s 14th annual Youth Conference
When:
All sessions for this year’s conference have been completed.
Schools already registered for the event can attend our Youth Conference Workshops beginning April 7 (See below for details).
Please reach out to Liz@nysunworks.org if you have questions.
Where: Virtual/Zoom
Overview: If you are interested in learning more about our 14th annual New York Sun Works Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference, please join us at one of our information sessions. Our annual conference brings together students in person from hundreds of partner classrooms across the five boroughs of NYC to share students’ own investigations and action projects through student-led presentations!
Climate Action Day Workshop PD: Health, Wellness, & Green Space
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers
When:
Monday, March 17 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Wednesday, March 19 | 12pm-1pm | Register Here
Where: Virtual/Zoom
Overview: Join us in a NYSW Professional Learning session to prepare for your next NYC Climate Action Day! The Climate Action Day focused on Health, Wellness, & Green Space will take place on Wednesday, April 9. This session will give you time to plan! We will share NY Sun Works learning resources, lessons, and units related to engaging students in green spaces and environmental action. You and your fellow partner teachers will brainstorm and come up with the plans to implement this in your hydroponic classrooms and schools!
ASPDP Course – Climate Education: Integrating Themes of Energy, Water, Waste into your Classroom
Who: Any educator or school staff member
When: March 15, 22, April 5 & 26. Registration opens 1/27/25
Where: Mix of in person, remote synchronous, and asynchronous. In person sessions will be held at 154 West 93rd Street
Overview: This course on simple sustainability with students offers K-12 teachers the unique opportunity to delve deeper into global environmental issues on a local level. Situated within the setting of a sustainable hydroponic greenhouse, this course focuses on the themes of water, waste and energy to help teachers learn more about current environmental concerns through a blend of technology, discussion, self-reflection, and hands-on projects. In addition, guest speakers, informative tours, videos and educational games offer a holistic approach to learning about real world environmental problems and how they affect different cultures, especially in terms of environmental racism. Participants will learn to question the presence of food deserts and inequities of the urban heat island effect in NYC. Climate education also involves studying how global populations are affected, with minority and indigenous peoples receiving the fewest resources and the largest impact on their communities. This six day hybrid course will consist of four in person morning sessions (9:00am-2:00pm) at 154 West 93rd Street (sessions 1,2,4, March 1, 8, 22 and April 5) followed by weekly 2.5 hours of independent asynchronous. Sessions 3 and 6 (March 15 and April 26) consist of remote synchronous (9:00am-2:00pm) and asynchronous instruction as participants apply their knowledge of water, energy, and waste to demonstrate their designs of lessons, games, and interactive activities about environmental justice for their students. All asynchronous assignments must be submitted by May 9, 2025 in order to receive full credit. This course has been approved by the DOE After School Professional Development Program (ASPDP) and may be counted for three P or A+ CREDITS/45 hours CTLE.
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FEBRUARY
Youth Conference Info Sessions
Who: All NYSW Partner Teachers interested in attending or participating in this year’s 14th annual Youth Conference
When:
Monday, February 24 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Wednesday, February 26 | 3pm-4pm | Register Here
Where: Virtual/Zoom
Overview: If you are interested in learning more about our 14th annual NY Sun Works Discovering Sustainability Science Youth Conference, please join us at one of our information sessions. Our annual conference brings together students from hundreds of partner classrooms across the five boroughs of NYC to share students’ own investigations and action projects through student-led presentations!
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Vertical Farm Daily: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries Partners with NY Sun Works to Bring Climate Education to Coney Island Schools
Brooklyn students at select schools will be seeing a lot more green on their campuses, as one congressman joined kids at a Coney Island school to present funds for teaching students about urban farming and planting. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was at Rachel Carson High School to present $500,000 in federal money to New York Sun Works, the organization providing the hydroponic farms to the schools.
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PIX 11: US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Visits NY Sun Works Hydroponic Classroom, Sees Opportunities for Students
US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona made the rounds in New York City on Tuesday, touting investments for teachers and students, as schools get ready for the upcoming academic year. He toured schools in Queens and Brooklyn alongside Congress members Grace Meng and Nydia Velazquez.
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BK Reader: Brooklyn and Queens Schools Get STEM and Sustainability Curriculum Thanks to Rep. Nydia Velázquez
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez recently presented a check worth $800,000 in funding to NY Sun Works — a New York-based nonprofit that delivers science and sustainability education through urban farming to K-12 students — to provide schools in Brooklyn and Queens with hydroponic farm technology to enhance each school’s science curriculum.
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Harlem World: New York Students Visit Albany To Advocate For Climate Education Access To Climate Education
A dedicated group of high school and college students from New York City and upstate New York traveled to Albany to meet with legislators to encourage support for climate education.
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Queens Gazette: NY Sun Works Opens New Hydroponic Farm At PS 144Q
NY Sun Works gathered with elected officials, school leaders, teachers, parents and students at PS 144Q Col. Jeromus Remsen Elementary School in Forest Hills for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Hydroponic Classroom designed to foster a love of science, nature and gardening among students.
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Can Project Based Learning Reduce Chronic Absenteeism?
It is a valid question that teachers across New York are asking: How can we as educators improve the lives of children if they are not attending class?
In the 2022-2023 school year, approximately 1 in 3 students across New York State were chronically absent from school.1 Shocking as this number sounds, the picture emerging from schools in our city is worse, with chronic absenteeism rates of 43.1 percent, an increase of almost 10% from the previous year.2
Looking outside of New York to the country at large, a recent study claims that about one in ten districts reported chronic absenteeism levels of 30 percent or more and another two in ten districts reported rates between 20 and 30 percent in the 2023–2024 school year.
The drivers of this worrying phenomenon are far from straightforward. Scholars cite the legacy of COVID, before which absenteeism rates were falling throughout NYC public schools. “If the pandemic was an earthquake, the subsequent rise in absenteeism has been a tsunami that is continuing to disrupt learning,”3 said Thomas Kane, a Professor of Education at Harvard University.
Structural factors, such as historical segregation, poverty, unpredictable work schedules, and interactions with the justice system also take much of the blame.4 Given this reality, the challenge for schools is that much of the work to help address chronic absenteeism falls outside of their purview.
“If the pandemic was an earthquake, the subsequent rise in absenteeism has been a tsunami that is continuing to disrupt learning.”
– Thomas Kane, Professor of Education at Harvard University
The impacts are severe and well documented: A recent study in California found that only 17 percent of students chronically absent in both kindergarten and 1st grade were proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade compared to 64 percent of their peers. When children from marginalized families, (those most likely to be chronically absent) fall behind, they are less likely to have the resources to make up for lost time.5 Students who are chronically absent in early years of school tend to remain chronically absent and perform less well on test scores in later years.6 Clearly, absenteeism leaves a legacy that is hard to address.
Why is Chronic Absenteeism so Hard to Tackle?
It all begins with how we measure school attendance; the most common measure is Daily Attendance. This approach, while crucial, often fails to reveal important absenteeism related issues. It is easiest to illustrate this point using a real world example: If you have a school of 200 students with 95 percent average daily attendance, 30 percent (or 60) of the students could be missing nearly a month of school over the course of the school year. In other words, relying exclusively on Average Daily Attendance rates prevents school staff from determining whether that 5% average absence rate is due to many students missing a few days (normal) OR a small but still significant minority of students missing many days7 (cause for concern).
While solutions exist to solving the absenteeism crisis, often they require community-wide solutions to address other pressing problems such as access to transport, healthcare, and fresh food.8 School staff may be left with the sense that there is little they can do, removing the agency of one of the primary interest groups trying to address chronic absenteeism.
What Actions can Schools Take?
Despite the challenges noted above, educators are far from powerless in confronting this reality. A recent article on Chalkbeat lays out a number of approaches which schools across the city are piloting. These center around better data collection, early intervention and peer to peer support. Beyond these measures, research suggests that Project Based Learning (PBL) curricula can also raise attendance across all ages and socioeconomic levels.9
Recent studies show a direct correlation between project-based learning and higher attendance levels. PBL also leads to higher test scores and develops social and emotional faculties. Intuitively, these findings make sense; PBL tends to be more applicable and relatable, bridging a student’s outside life with what they are learning in school. A report by the University of Michigan supports this claim, citing the ease of engaging students with PBL.10
Furthermore, another study showed a direct correlation between PBL and positive attendance trends, particularly in economically disadvantaged communities.11
How can Hydroponic Classrooms Help?
At NY Sun Works, we bring a hydroponic and aquaponic PBL curriculum for schools to implement in their STEM classes. Lessons include our Farming Foundations curriculum, offered from K-12, through which students learn the science behind hydroponics and how to grow their own food from seed to harvest in the classroom. What really highlights NYSW’s PBL curriculum as a chronic attendance preventive measure is the presence of living, growing plants in the classroom.
The Yale Ledger recently published an extensive list of benefits of green spaces in schools, including the improvement of cognitive and learning development, social emotional development, memory, and concentration.12 But green spaces in classrooms are also beneficial to attendance. A study found that greener schools not only have better academic outcomes, they also have higher attendance rates.13 Our partner schools’ Hydroponic Classrooms can and should play a role in helping address chronic absenteeism.
Students at August Martin High School in Queens, NY harvest cucumbers from a vine crop system.
Policymakers and educators seeking to improve chronic absenteeism in NYC can look at the addition of Hydroponic Classrooms in schools as not only a way to strengthen STEM education, but to provide tools and agency to schools addressing chronic absenteeism. By providing schools with a hydroponic and aquaponic project-based learning curriculum, our work can aid in solving the chronic absenteeism crisis NYC public schools have been experiencing and help reverse the troubling trend post-COVID.
Author: Ganesh Mejia-Ospina
Author Bio: Ganesh Mejia is a third year undergraduate studying Mathematics and Philosophy at the University of Chicago. He interned for NY Sun Works in the summer of 2024, where he researched and wrote articles on climate policy, the impact of chronic absenteeism, and food insecurity on youth education outcomes. In his free time, Ganesh is a passionate soccer fan and player. He also likes birding, reading, and film.
- https://www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/missing-school-ny-chronic-absenteeism.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/missing-school-ny-chronic-absenteeism.pdf ↩︎
- https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/02/u-s-students-need-to-start-showing-up-pandemic-covid-learning-loss/ ↩︎
- https://www.cityhealthdashboard.com/blog-media/chronic-absenteeism-trends ↩︎
- https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chronic-Elementary-Absenteeism-A-Problem-Hidden-in-Plain-Sight.pdf ↩︎
- http://www.nccp.org/publication/present-engaged-and-accounted-for-the-critical-importance-of-addressing-chronic-absence-in-the-early-grades/ ↩︎
- https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Chronic-Elementary-Absenteeism-A-Problem-Hidden-in-Plain-Sight.pdf ↩︎
- https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/ ↩︎
- https://www.lucasedresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MLPBL-Research-Brief-1.pdf ↩︎
- https://record.umich.edu/articles/project-based-learning-yields-better-student-outcomes-studies-show/ ↩︎
- https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/ijpbl/article/view/28336 ↩︎
- https://campuspress.yale.edu/ledger/thinking-green-why-schools-should-have-natural-spaces/ ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6388261/ ↩︎
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Vertical Farm Daily: Senator, US Representative attend ribbon-cutting for hydroponic classroom
On February 14th, NY Sun Works gathered with Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, school leaders, teachers, parents and students at Thomas Edison High School in Queens for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a new hydroponic classroom designed to foster a love of science, nature and gardening among students. U.S. Representative Grace Meng and a representative for Assembly Member David Weprin also joined the celebration of this new resource in their community.
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PIX 11 News: South Bronx School Celebrates Opening of Hydroponic Classroom
The benefits of a Hydroponic Classrooms are wide-ranging. The students learn about science, healthy eating, and life skills.
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LIC: Long Island City School Celebrates Launch of Hydroponic Farm for STEM and Sustainability Education
Long Island City’s PS/IS 78Q has unveiled a new hydroponic classroom farm designed to foster a love of science, gardening and nature among students at the school.
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NY SUN WORKS OPENS NEW HYDROPONIC FARM AT PS/IS 78Q FUNDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE WON
Students Enrolled in the NY Sun Works Program Receive Quality Climate Education and Fresh Food From Cutting-Edge Hydroponic Farming Technology.
QUEENS, NY [January 16, 2024] – NY Sun Works gathered with New York City Council Member Julie Won, school leaders, teachers, parents and students at PS/IS 78Q in Queens for the ribbon cutting ceremony of a new hydroponic classroom designed to foster a love of science, nature and gardening among students.
Rich, bountiful greens sprout upwards from grow trays. The only sounds are the ethereal hum of LED panels and the light trickle of running water. The aroma of fresh basil, lettuce and tomatoes lingers in the air. A group of students hover around the four different hydroponic systems on display, examining each plant’s growth before selecting and cutting the ripest leaves to share with their guests. The nexus of benefits from these classrooms is clear; they bring access to fresh food, draw students more deeply into their STEM curricula and build an awareness of the connections between farming and climate change.
“At NY Sun Works, we are committed to ensuring that every public school child in New York City, no matter where they were born or where they go to school, receives a high-quality science education. Today, we get one lab closer to that goal,” said NY Sun Works Executive Director Manuela Zamora. “As we face climate disasters from California to the Carolinas, many many leaders will talk about the importance of protecting the climate. I can tell you, proudly, that these leaders here with us today do more than just talk. They take action.”
“Today as we cut the ribbon, we are not just opening the doors to a new lab. We are unlocking a future full of innovation, learning and opportunity,” said PS/IS 78Q Principal Deana Rombone.
“As a longtime proponent of hydroponics in schools, I am thrilled to see the opening of this new hydroponics classroom at PS/IS 78Q. This classroom will help students learn valuable lessons about bioscience and agriculture, allowing them to improve their overall understanding of the STEM fields,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “As we face climate change and many other serious environmental challenges, it’s never been more important for our students to receive a solid STEM education. I’m proud to have allocated millions of dollars to build more than two dozen hydroponics labs in schools across Queens since taking office, and I look forward to working with NY Sun Works to construct many more in the years to come.”
“I’m happy that I provided $75,000 in capital funding for the new hydroponics classroom at PS/IS 78Q that teaches our students how to sustainably grow food in our city,” said New York City Council Member Julie Won. “Thank you to PS/IS 78Q and NY Sun Works for helping us to create climate-friendly education in our schools. The ongoing climate crisis means that we must continue supporting programs that give students the tools to be sustainable and create young leaders that care about the future of our planet.”
“PS/IS 78Q is incredibly grateful to Council Member Julie Won for her commitment to schools and the education of children in Western Queens. Without her help and dedication we could not provide children with the opportunities that she has enabled us to produce,” said PTA President Kelly Craig. “We are also grateful for our partnership with NY Sun Works and the environmental education and awareness they bring to our children’s classroom. Children learn best by being able to be hands-on during lessons. We value the lessons that our children are now being taught on climate change and sustainability. And all the other tangible STEM lessons yet to come.”
In Queens, NY Sun Works has 52 partner schools, with another 28 labs at new schools to be installed this year. The nonprofit opened its first lab in 2010 and has grown today to serve more than 140,000 students across over 350 public schools in the New York City metro area. NY Sun Works delivers inquiry-based K-12 science and sustainability education through the lens of urban farming. The goals are to support each school’s long-term capacity to deliver a high-quality science program; optimize students’ learning experience in the hydroponic classroom; and expand access to fresh produce for students and their families, while preparing students to exceed NYC’s science standards. Hydroponic technology is farming that enables the cultivation of plants in an indoor environment. Rather than from the sun, plants receive energy from LED lighting that is tailored specifically to the energy needs of the plants. Instead of using soil, seeds are planted in soil-free growth mediums.
Partner schools like PS/IS 78Q will receive ongoing professional development training for science educators and weekly visits from a hydroponic specialist to guide teachers in hydroponic systems maintenance, provide planting, harvest, and produce distribution support; and clean, prep, and troubleshoot systems.
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NY SUN WORKS RECEIVES $26,000 GRANT FROM THE AMAZIN’ METS FOUNDATION
Grant to provide state-of-the-art hydroponic technology and STEM+ curriculum to over 1,000 K-12 public school students in Queens.
QUEENS, NY – NY Sun Works, a New York-based nonprofit that delivers science and sustainability education through urban farming to K-12 students, today announced a $26,000 grant from the Amazin’ Mets Foundation. The grant will provide high-quality climate and environmental science education through hydroponic farming at International High School at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City and PS 223 Lyndon B. Johnson in Jamaica, Queens.
NY Sun Works brings hydroponic farming technology and a comprehensive STEM +
sustainability curriculum to public schools to engage students in a hands-on exploration of
climate, environmental, and mandated science content through the lens of urban farming.
With a focus on reaching students in disadvantaged communities, the program addresses the
need for solution-oriented climate education and the issue of historic underinvestment in
STEM education in low-income and minority neighborhoods. Both schools supported by the
grant serve low-income populations (91% poverty rate) and are located in federally
designated disadvantaged communities.
“We are thrilled to be the recipient of a grant from the Amazin’ Mets Foundation to expand
our efforts to bring climate and sustainability education to public schools in under-resourced
communities in Queens,” said Manuela Zamora, NY Sun Works Executive Director. “Our
hands-on sustainability science curriculum and state-of-the-art Hydroponic Classrooms give
students the opportunity to experience science through a different lens – one that empowers
them to be part of the solution to global environmental challenges and supports access to
healthy food for their families and school community.”
“The Amazin’ Mets Foundation is committed to opening doors for New Yorkers,” said Alex
Cohen, Owner of the New York Mets and President of the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.
“We are proud to support innovative environmental science programs and the next generation
of STEM leaders in our Queens community.” The grant will provide resources to maintain hydroponic farming technology, purchase farming supplies for the classroom, and train and mentor science educators on implementing an innovative curriculum that uses the hydroponics systems as instructional tools.
During weekly instruction in their Hydroponic Classroom, students will explore science and
sustainability topics; participate in seed-to-harvest hydroponic farming; and share the produce
grown with their families and school communities.
NY Sun Works delivers inquiry-based K-12 science and sustainability education through
urban farming, while covering the Common Core, Scope and Sequence, and EfS science
standards. Hydroponic technology is indoor vertical farming that enables the cultivation of
plants in an indoor environment. Rather than from the sun, plants receive energy from LED
lighting that is tailored specifically to the energy needs of the plants. Instead of using soil,
seeds are planted in soil-free growth mediums.
The Amazin’ Mets Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the New York Mets. The
Foundation is committed to providing needed services and opportunities to children, families,
and underserved groups. Since its inception in 2021, the Amazin’ Mets Foundation has
awarded over $13 million in grants to more than 180 organizations in its community,
including the communities surrounding affiliate teams.