134 Corps Members
Take the Pledge To Serve Miami’s Students!
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Friday, Cctober 14, 2011 at 6 pm
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Opening Day 2011 post coverage:
City Year Miami celebrated its fourth annual Opening Day ceremony on Friday, October 14th at historic Miami Edison Middle School. Sponsored by Comcast, the occasion officially recognized the commitment that 134 young leaders have made to serve as tutors, mentors, and role models in 13 Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Nearly 400 family members, friends, and supporters attended, and for the first time in City Year history, the event was streamed live over the internet for a national audience to witness.
The night began with powerful declarations of service. Viktor Flores, a City Year Miami corps member serving at Homestead Senior High shared,
“I serve because I believe that every life is precious, every individual matters, and everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed. I serve because I grew up in communities where people valued the wrong things and therefore made poor life decisions and I, I cannot passively stand aside as another child or teen is swayed away by ignorance and a lack of better knowledge. I serve because of the encouragements and efforts of family, friends, teachers, and mentors that spoke life into me and paved the way for me to believe in myself.”
World-renowned tennis champion Venus Williams delivered the keynote address, offering the corps a moving message of hope and encouragement, and praising them for their dedication to making a difference.
“I want to thank all the corps members that are part of this program; you are really meeting unmet needs in this community for children, for parents. The work that you are doing is so important; I want to encourage you to keep going and keep preparing young people for success.”
Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism, echoed Venus’ sentiments and inspired the corps and audience with her signature enthusiasm as she led the official recital of the City Year pledge. Following the pledge, Spero Canton, Regional PR Director for Comcast and the host of Comcast Newsmakers in South Florida, kept spirits high as he introduced each school team. He shared, “I’m always thrilled to be here because everybody in this audience wants what you have, and that’s the enthusiasm, the attitude, the amazing giving nature that you have towards other people.”
As the ceremony came to a close, City Year Miami’s own Saif Ishoof, Executive Director, ended the night with a powerful call to service.
“City Year Miami has set an enormous goal over the upcoming years; we seek to reach 50 percent of off-track students in Miami Dade County. So when a student keeps testing you and you think you've had enough, take another step and find the patience to keep going. When a teammate lets you down during an after-school session, keep walking, helping, and forgiving. When you think you can't go further, remember this night and what brought you to City Year…. Join me on this journey and give this experience everything you've got—all your passion, energy, talents, skills—and make the most of it.”
The 1,750 corps members serving in the United States this year follow in the footsteps of the 14,450 City Year alumni who have reached 1.1 million children through more than 23 million hours since 1988.
National Opening Day Sponsor:
