Joe DiMaggio Still Supports Students with Learning Disabilities

Joe DiMaggio was a friend and generous supporter of Xaverian High School and was the first person to ever receive Xaverian's highest honor, the Concordia Award, in 1997. DiMaggio died on March 8, 1999, with the honor of being known as "the greatest living baseball player."

Joe played for the New York Yankees baseball team and his nickname was the "Yankee Clipper." How did he get this nickname? In the game of baseball, to 'clip' the ball means 'hit' the ball. everyone knows that Joe DiMaggio was a great hitter! But 'Yankee Clipper' is also the name of a beautiful sailing ship. To the people who watching him play baseball, DiMaggio played as like a sailing clipper ship -- gracefully.

Xaverian's Concordia Award was renamed the Joe DiMaggio Award to memorialize DiMaggio's life-long commitment to the health, educaiton and the well being of America's youth. Dimaggio has an annual award gala in his memory - The Joe DiMaggio Award Gala - a fundraiser for Xaverian High. This is a special program for students with learning disabilities.

The Joe DiMaggio Award's mission, established in 1999, is to memorialize his "lifelong commitment to the health, education and well being of America's youth."

More than 100 young men have graduated from this special initiative and all have gone on to four-year colleges. Because Xaverian is private and tuition driven, all proceeds from the annual Gala benefit its many students. the evening usually always includes a silent auction of rare Joe DiMaggio memorabilia donated by the DiMaggio Estate and Morris Engelberg, Esq.

Earning the Bay Ridge school's highest honor, formerly called the Concordia Award, DiMaggio won it in 1997. The award has since been presented to Dr. Henry Kissinger, Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, former mayor and current presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani, television personality Regis Philbin, singer/songwriter Paul Simon, Sopranos star James Gandolfini, CBS Sports commentator Boomer Esiason and NBC Emmy-Award winning sports broadcaster Bob Costas.

This year's May 2009 Joe DiMaggio Award Gala honors Reggie Jackson. This year's Master of Ceremonies is Jim Ryan, the Legendary Television Reporter and Anchorman.

--Rocco Basile

Have you heard About the Developmentally Appropriate Practice Video?

I just discovered the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a group that has been a leading voice in defining, disseminating, and recognizing the best practices in the care and education of children. iot deals with kids that are up to age 8. As you kbnow I review all the latest informaiton on the education of children and put muh of this reearc on my website http://www.roccobasile.net/.

The NAEYC recently released the third edition of its principles and guidelines for teachers and others in the field of early childhood education in 2009. It describes the “Developmentally Appropriate Practice” — that is, teaching practices that ensure that young children learn and develop to their fullest potential.

To listen to the video, click the link below.http://www.naeyc.org/dap/resources1.asp.

In addition, you may want to review Young Children, an award winning peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly by the NAEYC. The magazine's issues are organized around topical clusters that devote attention to issues in the field of early childhood education. The practitioner-based nature of Young Children makes it unique among journals and its award winning status testifies to the publication's excellence.

--Rocco Basile

The Mother Teresa of Sunset Park is Honored

On March 25 Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes honored Children of the City's Joyce Mattera at his third annual Extraordinary Women’s event. In honor of Women’s History Month, Joyce Mattera was recognized for her accomplishments and contribution to the Sunset Park community. As you know, I am on the Board of this fine organization, and my website is devoted to the betterment of children's education.

District Attorney Hynes unveiled a huge calendar, in the lobby of 350 Jay Street, for the month of March with each day dedicated to one of the extraordinary women who were nominated by Brooklyn residents. Hynes bestowed the title of Special Ambassador to Joyce Mattera, formally acknowledged at a ceremony on March 25 in the Ceremonial Court Room at Brooklyn Borough Hall, along with other women.

Children of the City's Executive Director and Founder Joyce Mattera, is lovingly referred to by many as the "Mother Teresa of Sunset Park." She has devoted herself to helping others through service to children and the families of Sunset Park, Brooklyn since 1981. --Rocco Basile

Support for Children of the City's Children

Back in December, on the the 20th, the charity that I so fondly support - Children of the City - facilitated a very special Christmas for one unfortunate little girl and her family.600 children and 100 adults were invited to the headquarters of Children of the City located where hundreds of toys and gifts were distributed. There were dozens of volunteers during the entire week of December 15-19 who helped wrap gifts that were donated as well as funds.

Joyce Mattera, Founder and Executive Director said, "Children of the City was glad to facilitate receiving the donations because our partners knew we could get it into the hands of the neediest children.”

Earlier that same week, a young girl named Angela was undergoing some difficult times. Through the Winter Wishes Project facilitated by New York Cares and Morgan Stanley, Angela had not gotten her wish list in on time to receive any gifts.

“When we read her letter we all were moved" Mattera said. Angel's father had recently passed away and her mother said they couldn't afford Christmas this year.

Children of the City was able to confirm the details of their situation, then asked its partner Morgan Stanley to help us facilitate fulfilling this little girl's Christmas wish. One of their employees, George A., generously purchased clothes, other items, and assembled a brand-new bicycle for her just two days before the event. Angela exclaimed, through her tears, that this was the "best Christmas ever!"

Christmas toys and gifts were donated by several partners of Children of the City, including my family's business, Basile Builders, St. John's Bread and Life, Brianna's Hair Salon, NYCRC, Hamption Christian School in Virginia, Payless Shoe Source, New York Cares/Morgan Stanley, and many others.

"We know these are tough economic times and we are glad for the opportunity to show that we care about the children and families in the community we serve" said Mattera. "We are glad that Angela was able to enjoy Christmas this year."-- -- Rocco Basile

The New Obama Administration and Education

Prior to his election to President of the United States, Barack Obama said he will reform the No Child Left Behind, invest in early childhood education: implement a comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan to provide support to young children and their parents, and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.

Obama and Biden also said they will create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 in exchange for community service, covering two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university. They also said they would make community college tuition completely free for most students.

As many of you know, my website http://www.roccobasile.net/, shares news and the statistics on the state of education in the country - so any new improvements to our ailing education system is music to my ears.

At his inaugural speech at the U.S. Capitol President Obama mentioned that, "our schools fail too many." Now that they are settled into their new posts, President Barack Obama and the new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have set a tone of bipartisan cooperation on challenges that are facing our country's schools.

Despite the prospect of cutbacks in school budgets nationwide, the education community in Washington is optimistic about the future according to Jack Jennings, the president of the Center for Education Policy, an advocacy organization.

President Obama believes that giving money to education will stimulate the economy but his opponents believe that he is trying to increase long term funding to schools. He has proposed doubling federal funding for charter schools, who can apply for up to $600,000 in start up money from the federal government.

As a Board member for programs like the Joe DiMaggio Awards Committee at Xaverian High School, (my alma mater), we have long known how financial assistance helps the quality of education that the school can provides its students. Xaverian offers the very best in secondary education by serving young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, including learning disabilities and students in financial need. In fact, if it were not for the generosity of alumni, parents and friends, many of these students would not be able to afford the quality, college-preparatory education our school offers.

In fact, the Joe DiMaggio Award Gala is the major fundraiser for Xaverian, and since the inception of the program in 1994 more than 100 young men have graduated from this special initiative and all have gone on to four-year colleges. Every year the DiMaggio Award outdoes the previous in money raised and national media attention.

-- Rocco Basile

Trends in 2009: Multicultural Education

Did you know that currently 70 percent of the population that is online are white? The trend is that in 2009 more and more African-Americans and Hispanics are going to go online via their PCs and or mobile telephones. Marketers will follow to target multicultural audiences with more culture-specific messages and languages.

In fact, multicultural education is a more recent field of study aiming to create equal educational opportunities for students from diverse ethnic, social-class, and cultural and racial groups. The goal is to help all students acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society.

All people have the right to learn and communicate with people from diverse groups around the globe in order to create a moral community that works for worldwide peace and the common good of everyone. Multicultural education draws content, concepts and theories from specialized fields including history, ethnic and women studies, as well as from social and behavioral sciences. Multicultural education applies content from these fields and disciplines to challenge curriculum development in educational.

I am very encouraged to see these kinds of trends in education today. My website http://www.roccobasile.net/ has been focused on trends in education and my charities over the last year, and I am seeing tremendous results from my charities including Children of the City.

As evidenced in December during the Christmas holidays, 600 children and 100 adults were invited to the headquarters of Children of the City located in Brooklyn, New York, where hundreds of toys and gifts were distributed to needy kids. Dozens of volunteers wrapped the donations of toys that were received, then distributed them to neediest children from all walks of life.

The non-profit's educational programs have helped thousands of at-risk inner-city children and youth with hope, and resources to positively affect their lives via after school programs, and by connecting them and their families to resources. The goal is to educate and empower them to break the negative and destructive cycles they’ve grown up.

The result is multicultural community where people have learned to take responsibility to bring lasting change to themselves and their environment.

--Rocco Basile

Food Drive Feeds Hundreds; Christmas Drive is On!

One of the charities that I support, among others listed on my website http://www.roccobasile.net/, is - Children of the City - who rounded up 100 volunteers from all over New York to give away Thanksgiving meals to needy families this last November. Over 700 adults and children, about 119 families in all, got a 25-lb box of food to feed a family of six. They either received a turkey or ham.

America's Second Harvest stated that, "one in five people standing in line at a soup kitchen this Thanksgiving was a child." And it is sad to say that one in four children in New York City live in poverty. More than 16,000 homeless children sleep in the New York City shelter system each night.

My family and I helped again this year, and as always, it's truly rewarding.

****

Christmas without a gift is the reality for many of these children living in poverty. I would like to encourage you to put a smile on a child's face this year via a tax-deductible gift to the Children of the City's 2008 Christmas Project. This year we are partnering with New York Cares and St. John's Bread and Life. Since 1981, thousands of children have received a Christmas present thanks to these folks who know the true meaning of Christmas is giving ...

To donate simply click this link. Happy holidays! -- Rocco Basile