PEP, March 2008: Focus on the future

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

DC 37 celebrated Family Day on Feb. 9 at the union hall with activities and information to help members prepare their children for a bright future of college, employment and even entrepreneurship.

“Family Day lets members learn about the union and all the wonderful programs available to them,” said DC 37 Black History Committee Chair Kevin A. Smith. “Strong families make for a stronger union and stronger communities.”

Emcee Nola Brooker of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept., who helped plan the annual event, gave the youngsters a lesson in unionism. “We are the architects, the zookeepers, the clerks and the nurses, the librarians and hospital workers. Any job being done for this city, DC 37 members are doing it.” She asked them, “What do you see for your future?”

The Family Day celebration of African culture included the harmonies of the NYCHA Youth Chorus, face painting, bead making, origami and drumming workshops that made young ones excited about learning. Among the DC 37 Karate Club members who demonstrated martial arts moves were 5-year-old Schuyler Johnson and retiree Etta Dixon, 74, who split a wood block with her bare hands.

Invest in the children
Local 436 Nurses screened participants for high blood pressure and provided information on health, nutrition and safe sex. Shakira Nichols of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Foundation explained the qualifications and the application process for the coveted college aid program.

Representatives of the Gotham Career Institute opened the world of computer science to youths, and the Boys Club of New York offered parents helpful information on boarding schools and affordable summer camps. Volunteers from the Harlem Center for Education and the United Negro College Fund introduced teens to the admission process for historically black colleges.

“Eighty-five percent of the nation’s black doctors, lawyers and professionals attended historically black colleges,” said Eileen Frank of the UNCF. “We may buy our children tennis shoes, but why not buy them an education that will prepare them for the future?” Frank said parents should invest in their children by rewarding them for good grades and supporting them with tutors.

Fitness guru Vince Ferguson cautioned families about the growing obesity epidemic. “Obesity will steal three to five years from your child’s life. We need to develop good habits of exercise and nutrition,” he said. “If parents do not take charge of their children’s lives, who will?”