In a four-hour We Feed NYC telethon on Feb. 13, the UFT raised more than $310,000 from its members and corporate donors to feed New York families struggling with food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. 

The diversity of Irish Americans and Ireland was the focus of the UFT Irish American Committee’s first virtual meeting on Feb. 25. 

Meisha Ross Porter, the new schools chancellor, gave closing remarks at the UFT HERstory celebration on March 26, with the theme of Ceiling Smashing: Honoring Women’s History Month 2021.

Early childhood educators have always strived to find the joy in learning. So it’s no surprise that even in this difficult school year, the more than 300 educators who attended the UFT’s annual Early Childhood Conference remotely on March 13 treasured the time they spent improving their practice and connecting with colleagues.

The 2021 UFT Career and Technical Education Awards recognized educators who have shown great ingenuity and perseverance while facing the unprecedented challenges created by the pandemic.

The UFT organized four virtual mayoral town halls in February and March to give union members the opportunity to hear from 12 contenders to succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio, who cannot run for re-election.

The UFT held a virtual legislative reception on March 11 to press Albany lawmakers for a large increase in education funding in the state budget to help city public schools address the needs of students recovering from the trauma of the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic couldn’t stop 430 UFT members from virtually joining the union’s annual Lobby Day to advocate for funding for public schools and the union’s own education initiatives in the state budget.

More than a year ago, the School Counselors Conference was the last UFT conference held before COVID-19 shut down school buildings. This year’s event, held on March 20 on Zoom, found school counselors grappling with a new set of challenges as the end of the pandemic slowly comes into view.

Children benefited from a robust spirit of giving during the December holidays. The union’s Elementary Schools Division collected nearly $22,000 to spend on thousands of toys while UFT members donated hundreds more that were distributed to children in need. Meanwhile, the UFT’s Brooklyn borough office teamed up with First Book to give away about 4,000 books to 200 families.