Leave the gun take the cannoli (9)

March winds always signal a serious change in the climate of academic programs for at risk students.  The stress of standardized tests deplete the fun  from every aspect of the school day including recess.  Children of the City is consistent in planning the curriculum for  their Create Success after school program  so that the  delicate  balance of rigor and humor are maintained throughout the year.  In an effort to offset  school related stress, Joyce Mattera and Daniel Ramos organized a few little surprises to keep the  kids on their game and reading.

By recruiting students from Brooklyn Tech and West Brooklyn Community High School,  Children of the City   celebrated  “National Dr. Suess Day”  with an author study and marathon reading  of Theodore Geisel’s  classic rhyming tales.   A few days later Ronald McDonald stopped by to reiterate the importance of reading.   But  the highlight of the month was  when NFL Superbowl champ, David  Tyree and his  family dropped  by for the afternoon.  

 During his visit, Mr. Tyree spent time with every single child in the program.  His sincere interest in their well being and academic progress was evident in the way he  made eye contact and engaged each child in conversation.   Researchers have  not yet  devised a rubric to measure the effects of a little attention from a football hero on a child’s self esteem.   But, a few weeks after Mr. Tyree’s visit,  my  NY Cares crew of  Reading Partners (Alaina, Anne, Caitlin, Galen, Laura, Neal and Phoebe) noticed an  improvement in the  social skills of  the children.   They  were much more out going, made eye contact more frequently  and welcomed all of the  volunteers, not just their reading partner.                 

Changing the culture of poverty takes persistence,  the willingness to listen and the desire to spoil children with the two things they want most; time and attention.   

Operating under the assumption  that  it’s the inalienable right of every child to experience undivided attention from the adult of their choice, my NYCares crew, Casey, Estela, Gaelen, Katie,  Lisa and Melissa spent Saturday morning reading and playing word games with   the kids at Children of the City.

It had been a while since the NYCares volunteers had been at the Children of the City headquarters.  So the kids were   eagar to tell us everything that’s happened in the last month.     

When I went into the kitchen to get some juice,  7 year old Vanessa decided to take a break with me.  She sipped her orange juice  and told me about all the things she was looking forward to doing at Super Saturday.   “My favorite games are hot potato and tag” she said.  Vanessa, learned these classic childhood games from the Children of the City staff.  The daughter of recent immigrants, Vanessa spends all of her free time here, at the Create Succuss after school program and Super Saturday.  Her mom is always busy looking  for odd jobs.  I think  I’ve seen her father  standing in the line for  day  laborers.    Her family’s holiday meals and all the presents under their Christmas tree  last year were  courtesy of Children of the City.  

 “And my most favorite toy is the one I got  at Christmas” Vanessa continued.  ” Don’t get jealous.  Its Hannah Montana.  She’s like a Barbie.  I brush her hair  two times a day.  And I keep her in a safe place when I’m at school  I could show her to you if you promise not to get jealous.”        

We were interrupted by Brian who was holding a book.  “Here it is” he said,  “that’s the kind of lizard I have” he points to a picture.  “That one.   I have two.  Aa big one and a little one.”

“Don’t get jealous,” Vanessa interjected, “you have nice things too!” 

  “They change color from brown to green”,  Brian continued.  “And you can’t find the little one when he climbs on the wall.  How many lizards have you got?” he asked as he began drawing reptiles  in my notebook. “I’m going to be an author and I’m going to write a book about chameleons for you.” 

I walked back to  the reading room checking on my NYCares crew.  Each volunteer had a group of 4 or 5 students engaged in a book or word game.  Galen helped the older boys increase their comprehension skills.   Estela  had her Kindergarten group mesmerized by her story telling skills.     Melissa’s group was playing a game with sight words.   Casey and Lisa were showing the kids strategies for sounding out new words. 

 Giovanni, called me over to look at the  table where he was playing  Sight Word Bingo.   He’s only five but he has already mastered the sounds of the alphabet and can reads simple sentences.   “Look,  that one starts with the same sound as off,” he puts his tiny finger over  the word other.   “But’s it not the right word.   Melissa said ‘off. ‘ Count my squares.   I have 13 and when when I get one more I’ll 14.  And if I put it there,” he points to the word other again, “I’ll say BINGO!”

The Children of the City staff came around to remind the kids that it was almost noon and the Super Saturday activities were starting upstairs.       As my volunteers began putting on their coats, one little boy, Lenny,  began to cry.   He put his hands over his ears and refused to say goodbye to any of us.  When the NYCares crew left, I stayed behind to clean up  and make sure that Lenny was alright.     His Children of the City tutor and mentor sat with him for a while.  Then Lenny’s mentor smiled and told  me that the tears were  a compliment.     Lenny  enjoyed reading with Estela   so much that he didn’t want her to  leave.    I ‘m jealous. 

The kids at Team Green, an environmental project sponsored by New York Cares, are a savvy bunch of 5 th graders.  They’vs decided to  write and illustrate a book on ways to save the earth for their peers in a Sunset Park after school program.   Inevitably,  they’ve decided to devote a few chapters to global warming and the state of the world’s water supply.   Yesterday, they were researching the Arctic Ocean.  

“Is it true that their is no land on the North Pole? asked Jennifer,  as she flipped open several reference books and dropped a soft globe in my lap.    There was a black ink stain on the globe obscuring the North Pole.   Before I had the chance to respond,   Lourdes grabbed a book and read aloud a passage explaining that the North Pole was made up of ice and not land.   

“What does that mean for Santa Claus?’  Lourdes asked.   Jennifer looked dumbfounded.  The girls stared at each other for a second.   Then the girls got back to work.   Five minutes later they handed me the following letter and asked me if I could take care of this for them. 

Dear Santa,

Make sure you encourage people to stop global warming.  Because there is no land on the North Pole and you  are on ice and if it melts you will sink. 

 Santa, you really need to get the word out.

Yours truly,  

Jennifer and Lourdes

As the days grow shorter and darker, its wise to  live by Murphy’s Law.  Children of the City’s annual toy drive made a wrong turn onto an obstacle course last Monday when   scheduling problems caused a benefactor to  push back the delivery date on  a pledge for 300 toys.

Daniel Ramos had expended a considerable amount of energy   orchestrating every aspect of the drive from securing donations to  organizing a series of  gift sorting and wrapping events  starting on Wednesday.      The bulk of the toys were expected on Thursday.  Friday was set aside for a dozen  volunteers from NYCares  and Board Members who were also contributing toys.     Calculating the correct ratio of toys to volunteers, Daniel had everything planned  so that every volunteer would remain busy and engaged for each event.                

Grey skies and storm clouds caused further delays on Thursday, as a stormy mix of  snow, sleet and rain hit the tri-state area.  Less than half  of the projected deliveries made it to our headquaters that night.   Surprisingly, only a few volunteers bailed out of this project.   Since most of them lived just a few subway stops away, 60 willing wrappers from  Volunteer NYC,  Old Navy, and assorted high school students patiently waited  alongside  NYCares members Chris Peterson and Victoria Levin as the toys trickled in at a snails pace.  Suddenly, it dawned on Daniel and I that we had more wrappers  than presents to wrap. 

   We tried to stall by feeding the troops a buffet of buffalo wings, salad and chips.  We told our favorite anecdotes about making home visits.   Things were looking bleak until Board Member Rocco Basile   opened the door and asked “can I get a little help taking something out my car?”     When I started for the door, Rocco smiled and said “guys, I think she’s gonna need a little help here.”  

  The Baisle family car out classed Santa’s sleigh with a dozen  Razor scooters and popular toys  purchased by Rocco’s extremely  generous friends, relatives and business associates.       The volunteers marveled as they  wrapped  Hannah Montana, Barbie  and Bratz dolls.                 

 Rocco’s  impeccable timing and dedication to Children of the City  never cease to amaze me.  

For those  who run in charity circles, the weekend before Thanksgiving  is the start of a marathon.  The race is on to mobilize  volunteers,  solicit donations and confrim the pledges of coats, canned foods, toys and turkeys. This year’s obstacle course comes courtesy of  the recent  recalls on toys made in China.         

Last weekend,  I pulled a double shift at Children of the City, arriving early on Saturday morning to oversee the Reading Partners Program and help out with he paperwork for our annual  “boxes of love” Thanksgiving dinner distribution.    My New York Cares crew,  ( Charity, Evelyn, Estella, Han,  Jennifer and Lauren) where having a great time with the kids while I struggled to help an Asian parent fill out a registration form.   I’d spent four years at NYU learning Mandarin so  I assumed that I could elicit some basic information from the guy.   The poor man was bewildered and frustrated as I rattled on in rusty Chinese until his daughter finally said “My father can’t hear or speak.”  As the weekend progressed. I realized that this guy was the least of my challenges.   Confusion and frustration ensued when a group of volunteers bailed on Saturday and a record number of  teenagers  showed up to help on Sunday.      

My fellow New York Care team leader,  Reine, was the model of composure as she led her team through the paces of greeting clients, taking tickets, translating and handing out “boxes of love” alongside  board member Rocco Basile and his family.     Over 100 families  received a holiday dinner on Sunday.  

Reine was kind enough to let me make a pitch for our annual toy drive and the  Winter Wishes Program at New York Cares.   Winter Wishes  is a project where children’s letters  are given to people  willing to buy a gift for a specific child.   My personal experience with  these letters has been heart wrenching.   Children in need rarely ask for things for themselves.   They usually want a coat for their mother or a toy for a younger  sibling.     It means a great deal  to these kids to get a gift that is wrapped and embellished with   ribbons or stickers.   Sometimes its the only present they get all year.                       

Getting kids to love reading is easier if  they have a partner, someone older and wiser to help decode vocabulary, increase comprehension and convince them that  reading is cool.  New York Cares sent Children of the City five brand new reading partners; Lin, Maria, Sarah, Vanessa and Vincent, to boost the self esteem of struggling, emergent readers.   

The  kids who come to Children of the City’s  Super Saturday events every month live below the poverty line in the up and coming neighborhood of Sunset Park.  In this area of South Brooklyn  the high school  drop out rate remain at 48%.

In an effort to change the culture of poverty, Children of the City provides mentors,  role models, and tutors who foster a positive attitude towards academics.    

When the reading partners arrived the kids were reluctant, but Maria knew how to break the ice.  She formed a special bond with  a seven year old from the guardianship program who needs  some extra TLC. 

Vincent sat down at the table where I had placed a box of new books.  He  looked at the titles and started reading a book.  As soon as he cracked open “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,”  one of  the boys sat down at the table with him.  Vincent read the first line and the next thing I knew two other boys were asking if they could have a turn reading with Vincent.  

Lin was compassionate and patient as she read with a shy older girl.   Vanessa and Sarah  entertained  the kids  with read-a-louds  and a few rounds of  “Sight Word Bingo.”

After the reading partners left I started packing up the books. The boys who were working with Vincent came back to help me.  One of them took a book out of the bag. “Look!” he said as he opened the book and began reading the page aloud.  Then he turned to his friend and said “your turn.”  The other boy read a page then proudly handed the book back to me.   “Does this mean you had fun reading this morning?,”  I  asked.  They smiled and nodded their heads in agreement.  

 The new school semester is my cue to switch to expresso and update the  stories on websites,  polish grant proposals and  subtly beg for donations of toys, books and winter coats for the kids at my two favorite charities, Children of the City  and Magic Hospital.

 Competition for donations is fierce as the days grow shorter and the calender dwindles down to a single page. The high profile charities will kick their fundraising up a notch  soon, so I’ve been hustling to get the  word out about two of the best little non-profits that you’ve probably never heard of.        

 Children of the City has been flying under the radar for about 26 years now.  Founder and Executive Director, Joyce Mattera  is determined to shatter the cycle of poverty by consistently developing programs to meet the needs of children and adolescents in the south Brooklyn  neighborhood of Sunset Park. In the past year she has implemented two new programs designed to help teenage parents cope with stress as they learn both basic and sophisticated parenting skills.  Last year 500 families attended Children of the City’s monthly parenting seminars, GED, ESL and job readiness classes.   Right after Labor day, I started  having  nightmares   about the number of toys they need  this  holiday season   for the 3,000+  kids who faithfully attend their academic and recreational programs.   I wake up in  a sweat worrying that they’ll be one gift short on Christmas Eve.        

Nothing can cure my end of summer blues faster than  an editing assignment from  Claudia Vogg,  the founder  of Magic Hospital an outreach program that services kids in orphanages and hospitals in China .  This summer she launched two new programs , “My Inner Olympics” and “Abracadabra!”  My Inner Olympics acknowledges the courage it takes for these kids  to  fight  their  pain and  chronic illnesses everyday.  Brave little patients are honored with a medal during a private ceremony in their hospital rooms.      Abracadabra! is their wish granting program for critically ill patients.   While we  expect the kids to ask for Bratz dolls and board games, some wishes are less materialistic and more heart wrenching.  Sometimes   children    request a   special visit from  family members who lives far away and can’t afford transportation to the hospital.    Claudia puts her heart and soul into  alleviating the suffering of these kids, even if its only for a single afternoon.      

When September ends I’ll deal with my volunteer fatigue by sleeping 8 hours a night until Halloween and searching for a 12 Step program for espresso addicts.