Harlem RBI

There is a non-profit organization located not far from where Danie and I live called Harlem RBI, whose objectives since its founding in 1991 have been to educate and empower local youth through after school programs that combine academics and athletics. In total, the organization conducts 6 programs spanning ages 6-8 to 17-21. Its namesake comes from its approach to supplementary education, which fuses learning and college preparation with recreational baseball. The programs offered are free, with registration merely administered on a first-come, first-serve basis. The organization runs summer programs as well as year-round after school programs, in which daily activities are divided between the academic and educational, and the athletic. Far from functioning in its more common and more simple manifestation, the athletic component is consciously utilized to teach socially beneficial lessons in teamwork, mutual support, long-term trust, and community-building. The latter is also pursued through community service programs organized by the older age groups, as well as the organization's leadership. As illustration, the baseball field pictured above is not only one of the primary fields used for the program's athletic component, it is the site at which a formerly garbage-filled empty lot in East Harlem was renovated to its current condition by Harlem RBI. The park has since become a hub for community activities.

One of Harlem RBI's programs is the REAL (Reading and Enrichment Academy for Learning) Kids program for kids ages 9-12. Its goals are to: Improve attitudes toward reading; Maintain or improve reading skills over the summer to avoid summer learning gap; Improve ability to avoid and/or resolve conflict; Improve speaking and listening skills; Gain knowledge about nutritional health; and to Improve physical health and engage in daily physical activity. Its self-pronounced framework is to "use the power of team activity to help youth develop academic, social and emotional skills." The program boasts impressive statistics regarding its successes in improving participants' literacy rates as measured by state and city standards. Programs are administered by dividing participants into "teams," each of which is led by a pair of Harlem RBI staff members dubbed "Learning Coaches." These teams compete in intra-Harlem RBI baseball leagues while also functioning as the educational component's classes. The Learning Coaches similarly function doubly as baseball coach and academic teacher (as well as youth mentor, nutritional advisor, lesson-planner, etc.).

And I'm thrilled to announce that I am the proud S.E. (spousal equivalent) of a recently-hired 2010-2011 Harlem RBI Team Leader. After a rigorous application process requiring a letter of intent/resume/reference list, group interview, individual interview, in-person demonstration of a hypothetical ice-breaking exercise, and written interview examination -- completed by over 100 applicants -- Danie was hired by HRBI for the upcoming school year's REAL kids program. I could not be more excited for, or more proud of her. She is on cloud 9.

For a short video profile of the organization taken from local news coverage, check the 'WHO WE ARE' video on the lower-left part of their homepage.

Mid-September

This image plots all of the trees felled by the storm that blew through last Thursday. In case you didn't hear, Thursday we had a strange and severe, albeit brief, storm that included a couple of tornadoes. As you can tell, Manhattan was largely spared any serious damage, at least vis-a-vis Brooklyn and Queens. Danie and I had walked into our apartment from grocery shopping mere moments before it blew through our neighborhood, which was really lucky for us and for the dryness of our apartment. Thanks to everyone who sent me emails checking on us!

All of a sudden I realized I'm in the third week of the semester and I haven't been blogging much. I'm determined not to slip into that neglectful behavior again this Fall, so a quick update:

School is off to a roaring start. I am enjoying my classes and my course work very much, which is good because it's just about all I do now. I've cut down on working at the restaurant to 2 or 3 shifts a week, but my time still feels pretty constrained. Full time graduate study just really isn't very accommodating when it comes to other activities, be they social or occupational. I've also begun my research project with Third World Network on the G20's impending Seoul Summit Agenda.

Danie has been working quite a bit, and she's also been doing volunteer work at the ASPCA. She's also added bikram yoga to her exercise regimen, and has recently been seen going from yoga to the gym and vice versa. The lady's fitness is impressive.

The city is a veritable beehive of activity this time of year. With the UN back in session and the semester underway, the lineup of speakers and political-cultural events is almost overwhelming. This week Bolivian President Evo Morales is speaking in town, though I won't be attending because I have class. A week from tomorrow former Argentinian President, current Secretary General of MERCOSUR, and current first Gentleman of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, will be speaking at my School, and fortunately Danie and I'll be able to make that discussion. I think one could get a comprehensive education in international affairs by simply attending all of the public lectures, discussions, and conferences being held this time of year. If only I didn't have classes...

WTF Friday*

A fabulously cheeky blog I follow called 'Wronging Rights' has a weekly feature they call 'WTF Fridays', in which they link absurd, bizarre, and opprobrious news stories from the week. Today, I'd like to nominate one story for WTF Friday recognition:

1. With near mind-numbing effrontery, BP tells Congress that if it passes legislation that bars the company from getting new offshore drilling permits, it may not have the money to pay for all the damages caused by its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm actually speechless.