Really Giving Back
My stepdaughter, Danielle Gura, teaches first grade in an inclusion class (the class is populated with both mainstream and special education children) in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Fifty-five percent of the children live in transitional housing (shelters). Approximately eighty percent of the school’s students qualify for free breakfast and lunch.
As one might expect the school is lacking in financial resources. So Danielle has consistently participated in fundraising on gofundme.com, wherein the amount she raises is matched in grants and she is able to purchase greatly needed supplies for her classroom. My husband and I as well as many of our friends and family have routinely donated to her cause. After each purchase, Danielle has sent us videos to show us how excited her students were-literally screaming- when they opened boxes of items our children take for granted, such as bean bag chairs and color printers. The videos warmed our hearts and we felt good knowing we were giving to these children who so desperately need it.
Last week, Danielle asked us to give back in a different way. Her school was holding its first Career Day and she asked us to participate. Initially, my husband and I were both hesitant as it meant taking significant time from our workday. But when Danielle told us that they were not able to get any of the parents to participate, and were relying on friends and family of the staff, we knew we could not say “no.”
Taking part in Career Day wound up being one of the most fulfilling experiences my husband and I have participated in in a very long time. They absolutely loved seeing him demonstrate what he does with a model skeleton. The children were also so excited to hear about what a lawyer actually does-I brought it down to their level by discussing rules in the classroom-and to tell me about their own experiences with lawyers. Sadly, many of these first and second graders already have had involvement with lawyers, as the victims of neglect and abuse.
The golden moment occurred for me as I was leaving the school. Gabriel, a special needs student-who did not speak at all during my presentation-came running up to me, threw his arms around me and told me that he wants to be a lawyer like me. And he “will study hard like [I] said.” I couldn’t hide my tears.
Throughout my adult life I always felt that giving back was needed and important. Danielle and her students have taught me more about the necessity and rewards for giving back than ever before.
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On their next career day, I'll bet Gothamites will be fighting each other for the opportunity.
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Both my husband and I have had that positive outlook for the 37 past years that we have been in business. We have believed and continue to believe that everyone deserves a second chance and we have made good on that promise to scores of under-served inner city youth, as well as given ex-offenders a second chance.
You can give a young person a fish and feed him for a day, but when you teach a young person HOW to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. We have been teaching young men carpentry and cabinetmaking, skills that last a lifetime, even if one decides not to pursue it as their main career.
Several of our apprentices have been so good that they went on to begin businesses of their own and for a while they were our competition, which is quite a weird feeling!
I truly do love volunteering for Career Day and have done so at my children's schools from Kindergarten all the way up to seniors in high school. My own career path melds several different disciplines which I enjoy and I ended up crafting a quite unique career and business and which utilizes all my skills in which I excel. I have told that story to many students and many times after a presentation they rushed up to me and the relief was palpable in both their faces and voices. Traditional educational models cattle-shoot students into one career, and when they realize that they can craft their own path that employs various things that they enjoy, the expression on their faces are priceless.
I have been volunteering with community, civic, greening and beautification groups in Philadelphia for decades and I derive immense satisfaction from it -- I steward a new generation, get some great exercise and definitely leave the world much better than I found it.
I presently sit on the board of a stately Fairmount Park mansion as our board stewards the 200+ year-ols mansion for future generations to learn from and enjoy.
Now that my two daughters are grown (one is a dentist and the younger one is learning our business), I have decided to volunteer with Big Brother/Big Sister and also to teach reading skills to pre-school and kindergartners at under-served inner-city schools.
In this roiling politically-charged social climate, the best way to make a difference is at a community's micro-level.
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