Tom and Diana: East Coast Life

Well, sort of. We were near him and then had the opportunity to hear him speak at a fundraising dinner for an organization that is important to him as well as Tom and me: City Year.

Tom and I headed into mid-town last night for the annual honoree dinner. Our good friends Chris and Clare were there with us as Chris is very involved in City Year here in NYC (They are all over the country). You may recall past posts mentioning our attendance at these dinners--it is something we look forward to each year. This organization's core is focused on under-privileged kids in our inner city public schools that often fall between the cracks due to the lack of personal attention they need (whether that be at home or school) to excel in their classes.

Young adults apply to be a City Year Corp Member for a 10 month stint. They are assigned to schools all over the city from elementary schools to high school. These Core members spend one on one time with specific students for extended periods and measurable results that are tracked are amazing and uplifting. So many children in our country will not graduate high school let alone even pass to the next grade. Self esteem, poor home life conditions or just not getting enough positive attention are what City Year helps with by getting to know them, supporting them in their individual challenges, building mutual respect as well as the tutoring assistance in all subjects.

From the website, City Year sums up their focus in these points:

City Year seeks to:

Help students and schools succeed
Build stronger communities
Break down social barriers
Develop young leaders
Foster active citizenship

Corp Members and their touching stories of seeing a child change and grow from the practices of City Year touched me personally. I coached basketball for 5th grade boys in an underprivileged neighborhood for 5 years while living in Seattle. It is still one of my greatest joys to recall these boys' faces when something would click within them-- and not just basketball skills or in City Year's case-- educational skills-- but to see a child realize that someone thinks he/she is important, talented and has a purpose. It is very powerful feeling.

Another speaker during the evening was the Mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg. He is a great advocate of the school systems as well as City Year and it was a treat to hear him speak about his interest and involvement in this great organization.

City Year's link is here. If you have a moment, please take a look at what they do and do so well.