Amazon Hosts Back-To-School Shop At NoVA Affordable Housing Complex

ARLINGTON, VA — Families who live in Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing communities across Northern Virginia received free clothes and other back-to-school supplies on Tuesday at an event co-sponsored by Amazon.

The Back-to-School Shop, at the Queens Court Apartments in Arlington, was held to support underserved and historically underrepresented students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

"Through our partnership with APAH, we’ve been able to offer an opportunity for students and their families to shop for school supplies and other essential items that help eliminate barriers to learning," Cynthia Caglar, senior manager at Amazon, said in a statement Tuesday.

Amazon provided supplies to nearly 600 APAH students at the Back-to-School Shop, helping to ease the financial burden that lower-income families face as students get ready to learn.

Founded in 1989, Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is a nonprofit affordable housing developer that operates in the D.C. area.

APAH’s Queens Court, a 12-story, 249-unit apartment building in the Rosslyn neighborhood, opened to its first residents in April 2021. The apartment complex is open to residents earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, or approximately $77,000 or less.

“Amazon’s philanthropic partnership makes a real difference to families living in our communities,” said Garrett Jackson, Director of Resource Development and Communications at APAH. “Rising back to school costs are a burden for lower income families,” Garrett Jackson, director of resource development and communications at APAH, said in a statement.

“This effort empowers APAH parents and students to start the school year equipped with supplies and resources that they need to thrive,” Jackson added.