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At Manhattan Star Academy (MSA), Christie Burnham had an idea to honor the memory of her mother, who would have turned 75 on Dec. 19.
"My mother always opened her doors to neighborhood kids," Christie recalled. "She would babysit for parents who couldn't afford a babysitter. My father was the same way as well. I wanted to give back and collect donations instead of exchanging gifts."
MSA staff members Christie Burnham, Gladys Gonzalez, Stephanie Fladger and Alec Yates leaving the school with donations.
So Christie, who started with YAI in 1997 (Community Habilitation, formerly known as Project ASSIST, Nostrand Day Services in 2000, and MSA last year), reached out to her colleagues across the network, family and friends to donate
coats, hats, gloves, socks, blankets, toiletries and non-perishable food for the homeless. She called the initiative "You are Not Alone."
Last week, Christie and her MSA colleagues Stephanie Fladger, Substitute Teaching Assistant, Gladys Gonzalez, Bus Coordinator, and Alec Yates, One-to-One/Artist, roamed the streets around and inside Penn Station to talk to people and see if they could help by giving them items they had collected. She went to Facebook and the response has been overwhelming.
“I felt such joy,” Gladys said. “I even teared up. To walk around NYC and see these faces and when you gave them something...the glow and smile ...it was a wonderful feeling.”
While the MSA staff had participated in similar drives at their churches and other charities, interacting with people in the street was powerful.
“This was up close and personal,” Alec said. “We were asking people how they were doing? It was emotional, straightforward and honest.”
“We could see the joy on their faces,” Stephanie said. “It was wonderful. I was near tears.”you gave them something...the glow and smile ...it was a wonderful feeling."
The group plans to continue providing people living on the street with clothing, toiletries and food after the holiday (Brooklyn on Dec. 26 and back to Penn Station) and try to do this on a quarterly basis.
"There were a lot of tears," Christie said. "They cried, we cried. It was really great. The four of us just gave each other hugs and felt so inspired."
Twenty years after her mother's passing, Christie is continuing her mom's mission and making it her own. Congratulations to everyone who participated in "You are Not Alone."