CITY Teen Leader An Ngo holds flag for Hatian National Anthem
Teen Leaders from the Community Improvement Through Youth (CITY) Project in Broome County recently held the Haitian Appreciation, a multicultural celebration and benefit at Binghamton High School, as part of their ongoing disaster relief project for the earthquake victims in Haiti. The project to organize and carry out the event was particularly important to the Binghamton CITY Teen Leaders as three of the teens had family in Haiti at the time of the earthquake.
The CITY Project Teen Leaders along with their Binghamton University Liberty Partnership partners planned and carried out the event to raise awareness about the need to continue supporting relief efforts to earthquake ravaged Haiti. Haitian Appreciation featured CITY Project youth and local talent from area schools, churches and community organizations.
CITY Teen Leader Daphne Marshall briefs the Turkish dancers
The multicultural event began with the singing of both the U.S. National Anthem and the Haitian National Anthem. CITY Teen Leaders Barbyly Noel, Alexis Spight, and John Cifaratta gave a brief overview of the CITY Project in Broome County and then served as the MCs for the event.
The CITY Teen Leaders in Binghamton feel strongly that even though the earthquake isn't in the headlines anymore, the need for help is still great. As Teen Leader Barbyly Noel explains, "Some of my family members are still outside in the streets. There are still people who need food, who need money, who need supplies. So it hasn't disappeared. Haiti is not yet fixed. We definitely need to come together and help out as best we can.”
Over $500 was raised at the event and will be donated by the CITY Teen Leaders to the American Red Cross, Southern Tier Chapter, to support the ongoing Haitian relief efforts.
Performer Jada Spight speaks with Fox 40 TV
Performances included: CITY Teen Leader Quari Pullin’s original CITY Rap; three songs by the Spight Sisters; a Turkish dance performance lead by Afyer Bagsezer; hip-hop dance medley by the Tazama Dancers; performance of We Are the World 25 and Hallelujah, and recitation of an original poem by CITY Project graduate, now college student, Kristopher Barreiro; a lively audience participation performance of the Cha-Cha Slide; a Haitian dance medley by Barbyly Noel and other members of the local Haitian community; and a medley of songs by the B.I.C. Haitian Band.
The Community Improvement Through Youth (CITY) Project uses Cornell Cooperative Extension's 4-H Signature Program, Youth Community Action as a model for promoting civic engagement, workforce preparation, and asset development among at-risk youth (13-18 years old). The CITY Project is a project of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County and Cornell University.
The CITY Project is funded by the Children, Youth and Families At Risk (CYFAR) Program, and is supported by Smith Lever funds from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The CITY Project gratefully acknowledges the support of a number of community partners and collaborators including Binghamton University Liberty Partnership Program; OASIS After School Program, Endicott; Broome County Youth Bureau; City of Binghamton Youth Bureau. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For More Information:
Watch videos of the Haitian Appreciation on the CITY Project’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/thecityproject
Become a fan of the CITY Project at: http://www.facebook.com/cityproject
CITY Project http://media.cce.cornell.edu/hosts/city/
June P. Mead,jm62@cornell.edu, CITY Project Director, Department of Human Development, Cornell University
Victoria Giarratano, vlg4@cornell.edu, CITY Project Community Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension-Broome County
Kelly Mabee, ksm25@cornell.edu, CITY Project Community Coordinator, Cornell Cooperative Extension-Broome County