“No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you” – Althea Gibson
As we come to the end of 2016, it is natural to reflect back to the accomplishments of the year – and The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation has accomplished a lot this year thanks to its dedicated staff, volunteer committees, devoted supporters and sponsors!
The year started off strong with the foundation receiving a grant from Nature’s Bounty to film the remaining 22 video episodes to round out the free online program available across the globe. The summer kept us busy with the NYC PS summer program, Girl Scout camps and an important lesson developed as a result of Pokémon Go!.
As soon as filming started, courtesy of Nature’s Bounty, the educational committee, under the direction of Pat Chierichella, went to work on 9 new lessons to correspond to the 9 videos being produced by the volunteer cast members. Please put your hands together to applaud Joe Richetti, Giovanna Richetti, Natalie Pisani, Pat Chierichella, Lorcan Phelan, Cheryl Valentine, Mike Pepe, George Lozides, Craig Toman, Kristen Sullivan, Beverly Lee-Wo, Bobby Fagan, Mike Saidens, Nancy Giffone, Kathy Chierichella, Nick LaGrega, and Roni Yadeska for their fine performances in front of the camera. The 9 lesson plans were the foundation’s most ambitious undertaking since they were written not only to NY State standards for health & safety, but also written to common core standards! Special thanks to Dianne Muro, Nicholas LaGrega, Roni Yadeska, Nancy Giffone, Dawn Kollmer, Lisa Eaton, Lori Medina, Gina Heyder, Mike Pepe, Charlie Comstock, Mike Saidens and Dr. Ben Tieniber for all your effort and guidance with this enormous accomplishment!
The foundation’s 6th annual golf outing was a tremendous success. The hard work and dedication of the 2016 Golf Committee was apparent from the 116 golfers and 130 dinner guests who attended. Special thanks to Karen & Tom Brucia, Kathleen & Robert Chierichella, Patrick & Kathy Chierichella, Charlie & Maureen Comstock, Matthew Colson, Joe Coreno, Dr. Frank Favazza, Michael Gagliardi, Nancy Giffone, Rocky Grasso, Gina Heyder, Dan Kresh, Lori Ann LoRocco, Pat Magri, Jessica McAleer-Decatur, Lorcan Phelan, Mike Saidens, Joseph Schwan, Brian Simonetti, Ben Tieniber, Ron Trotta, CJ Twomley, Ray Kaminek , Cheryl Valentine, and last, but never least, Renee Barbis. We thank our sponsors who support the event to help provide funding for The Stranger Safety Awareness Program.
After the golf outing wrapped, preparations immediately went into the 4th Annual Rose Brucia Car Show under the direction of Joe Coreno & Novak Motors. Thank you to each and every Novak employee for donating their time and energy to make the day extra special. Thank you Karen Aiello, Amy Baires, Danielle Barberio, Angela Bekker, Elizabeth Brunner, Jeff Cafaro, Dolores Calleja, Frank Cannizzaro, Nicole Capolongo, Raul Caraballo, Michael Castranuovo, Raymond Clinton, Cristian Conde, Dawn Connor, Ryan Coreno, Steven Davis, Amy Doberman, Miguel Escalante, Alex Felicio, Annalea Ferrari, Nicole Gordon, John Gribbins, Gregory Hampton, Dashawn Hurd, Ana Isaza Duque, Stephen Kundla, Raquel Lally, Joseph Messina, Scott Misino, Crystal Nifong, Krishna Patel, Brandon Paulino, Kayla Prass, Jeffrey Rivas, Melina Rosa, Kevin Schiffbauer, Stephanie Tracy, Christina Veltman and Lashanda White for revving up interest and participation in a great event!
October brought us to our Stranger Safety Awareness Week in New York State. The third week in October brought the foundation to over 2,500 students in five school districts locally, averaging two live performances per day for 7 days. It has become a tradition to present in these districts for the last 12 years and we love visiting the students each year.
The foundation’s main vehicle, the online Stranger Safety Awareness Program, which is available to every elementary school, teacher and family across the globe, was downloaded 3,112 times over the course of the year as of December 13th, 2016. The program is being utilized in over 92 countries across the world and is available in two languages, soon to be expanding to four languages.
A very big thank you goes out to the Executive Director of the foundation, Maryann Brucia-Barbis. Maryann keeps operations running on a day-to-day basis and juggles all the projects of the year along with all the visions, plans and goals of the foundation. She handles and oversees every detail of the golf outing, records and thanks every generous donor for each donation received into the foundation and keeps all committees organized. It is an exceptional job performed by an exceptional person.
Finally, to our family, friends, sponsors and donors: we would never be able to have all these exceptional accomplishments without your generosity. Whether you have donated $10 or $10,000, your kindness and philanthropy allows us to drive the program forward, reaching more and more children. We thank you for your support and renew our commitment to reduce child abductions.
Best wishes for a very Happy & Healthy Holiday Season with positive thoughts for a very Happy & Safe New Year ahead!