Stephanie Janasiewicz
7/5/2012
Purchase, NY (July 5, 2012) – Forget trick plays, or a new formation, community service is the best kept secret for the Purchase College athletic department.
Athletes, along with coaches and staff participate in youth service projects, with the help and guidance of community “hero,” Danny Bernstein.
“It was a partnership that started back in 2006,” said Chris Bisignano, Purchase College Interim Athletic Director. “Danny has been with us since day one.”
Bernstein founded the youth organization, Backyard Sports, in 2005. The program provides high quality sports programs to kids with limited access to community sports. “Our goals are to give them a lifetime devotion to sports, enhance social leadership skills, and to provide a community building experience that will have an enduring impact on their life as well as the playing field,” Bernstein said.
These sports programs host kids from local schools, as well as the White Plains Youth Bureau.
“Sports capture the kids,” Bernstein said. “And through our relationship with Purchase College, we are able to use their facilities and support to run the programs.”
Programs range from tennis and swim lessons to soccer and basketball clinics. Purchase also invited community members to join their Division III Appreciation Day in April of this year. Kids from Carver Center in Port Chester and Edward Williams School in Mount Vernon did a meet and greet with Purchase baseball players, got autographs, and cheered the team on in their doubleheader against The College of Mount St. Vincent.
“You would have thought it was the New York Yankees by the expressions on their faces,” said Bisignano That day was so nice to be a part of.”
Frank Williams, director of the White Plains Youth Bureau, noted, that for these kids, the programs go beyond just sports. “It is about leadership, resource, exposure and opportunity,” said Williams, who has been with the bureau for 25 years. “It is putting kids on a college campus, many who have never seen one before. It provides them the experience of knowing the world has a lot of opportunity out there if they work hard.”
Williams along with his assistant, Martin Rudow, have been working with the college and Backyard Sports for the past five years. Bernstein works as the middle man by bringing kids from the bureau to the facilities offered at the College.
“Both have been very innovative and creative, bringing a lot of opportunity to the community,” said Rudow. “And there is so much potential still left for the relationship between Backyard Sports, the college and the community.”
The future for this relationship is ever expanding with plans to incorporate more local schools and organizations, as well as the Performing Arts programs at Purchase College.
