Competition Honors Harlem Youth Who "Dare to Dream"

October 4, 2005

Contact:
Ellen Lubell (o) 212-949-4938, (c) 917-854-6864,
Emily Crossan (o) 917-286-1548, (c) 201-344-5742

Brainstorm USA to Present Awards at Special Ceremony

When:
Wednesday, October 5, 2005
Noon – 12:30 p.m.

Where:
The Children’s Aid Society’s Frederick Douglass Center
885 Columbus Avenue at 104th Street

NEW YORK – Maureen Chery, currently an eleventh-grader at the Coalition School of Social Change in Manhattan and participant at The Children’s Aid Society’s Frederick Douglass Center in Harlem, has won a $5,000 college scholarship from BrainstormUSA, an Atlanta-based marketer of educational software, videos and computers. The award is presented as part of the company’s second quarter 2005 “Dare to Dream…Expect to Succeed” scholarship program.

Maureen drew a self-portrait to convey her dream of becoming an artist. To win, students are asked to describe a personal goal and how he or she hopes to achieve it. Any medium may be used – such as prose, poetry, photography, collage or drawing – depending on the child’s interests. In addition, parents are asked to describe how they will support their child’s efforts to realize his or her dreams. The competition is open to students across the nation, from kindergarten to high school.

Four other Children’s Aid Society youth won prizes in the “Dare to Dream” competition. Wendy Flores, currently a freshman at City College majoring in Biology and a participant in Children’s Aid’s Hope Leadership Academy, won a personal computer with educational software for her brochures conveying her dream to become a pediatrician. Tania Vivas, currently a senior at the High School of Arts & Design and a member of CAS’ East Harlem Center, also won a personal computer with educational software for her drawing portraying her dream of becoming a veterinarian. Tranazia Graham, now a tenth-grader at the Frederick Douglass Academy and another Hope Leadership Academy participant, and Cid Rivera, a Beacon High School graduate currently away at college who was affiliated with Children’s Aid’s program at I.S. 218, each won a bundle of educational software. Tranazia created a teacher’s guide expressing her dream to become a teacher and Cid submitted a collection of drawings conveying his dream to become a cartoonist.

Philip Coltoff, The Children’s Aid Society’s CEO, says, “We are very proud that youth in Children’s Aid’s programs have done so well in the ‘Dare to Dream’ competition and are grateful to BrainstormUSA for giving them this wonderful opportunity to obtain scholarships, computers and software.”

“We are especially pleased there were five second quarter winners associated with The Children’s Aid Society, an organization that provides so many worthwhile services to deserving children in New York City,” says Joe Galluccio, President and CEO of BrainstormUSA. Since its inception in 1999, the “Dare to Dream…Expect to Succeed” program has awarded over $2 million in scholarships, computers and educational software to students, teachers and schools. For more information on BrainstormUSA and entry into the “Dare to Dream” competition, visit the company’s website at www.brainstormusa.com.

The Children’s Aid Society was founded in 1853. It is one of the nation’s largest and most innovative non-sectarian agencies, serving more than 150,000 of New York’s neediest children and their families with a network of services that includes community schools, neighborhood centers, camps, adoption and foster care services, teen pregnancy prevention, education, health and recreation. For additional information, visit www.childrensaidsociety.org.