Heroes in action in NYC: the Harlem Children’s Zone

Posted by admin on March 4, 2010 under Active Organizations, General, Resources | Comments are off for this article

I’ve recently learned about Mr. Geoffrey Canada and his work with the Harlem Children’s Zone. The initial connection with Mr. Canada came to me in his words:

“Children need heroes because heroes give hope; without hope they have no future.”

We each have experiences growing up with some sort of fictitious character, possibly a superhero and possibly a symbol of someone who could “save the day.” If you were like me, and as Mr. Canada shares, that symbol became empty. The fiction became real. But my hero didn’t.

I have enjoyed reading about the Harlem Children’s Zone because they have a commitment to being real heroes for the kids, not in a superhuman way but by being the parents and teachers the kids need, today, in their lives. The real impact they are having is evident.

The Harlem Children’s Zone website is: www.hcz.org.

Today I received an announcement I’d like to share:

“During Sunday’s Academy Awards broadcast, the Harlem Children’s Zone is being featured in an ad campaign for the American Express Members Project. The ad features Geoffrey Canada describing the genesis of the HCZ Project – how it grew slowly to 97 blocks as well as talking about the agency’s culture where “failure is not an option.” The 60-second ad was created by Oscar-winning director Scott Hicks and cinematographer Robert Richardson. After the premiere, it will then be part of the Members Project’s on-going ad campaign.

The Academy Awards are set to air at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC. In case you miss it, we will post the ad on our website on Monday.

The Members Project is an innovative online initiative that provides those with an interest in giving back an opportunity to take small steps to make a big difference.”

UPDATE: You can view the ad (for a while I guess) at: http://www.hcz.org/press/news/292-hcz-at-the-oscars