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Represent Global: Nelson Mandela’s Hope to Inspire a Generation

December 2, 2018 by Julia Bialek

Nelson Mandela, Kweku Mandela, Chelsea Clinton, and Bill Clinton. Photo by Kweku Mandela

In a world with over seven billion people, it is easy to feel insignificant, like our personal footprints could not possibly be powerful enough to leave a lasting imprint. But Nelson Mandela is one of the notable individuals whose life has shattered this notion. By fighting against injustice and advocating for human rights, freedom, and equality, Nelson Mandela proved that one person does have the power to make a significant impact on our world. And with the fifth anniversary of his death on December 5th, it is important that we not only draw inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life, but also draw inspiration from the legacy he left behind.

Over this past summer, I had the privilege of being a Youth Fellow for Represent Global, a new global foundation and social empowerment platform. Founded by Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Kweku Mandela, Represent aims to activate, educate, and inspire youth all over the world to become changemakers, leaders, and social activists through making humanitarian issues (like opioid addiction and human trafficking) relevant and accessible to my generation. The idea for Represent was conceived out of the desire to transform Nelson Mandela’s legacy into an inspiration, a catalyst for change. Kweku Mandela explains, “My Grandfather did not want his legacy to be represented by an airport, a school, or a simple physical manifestation. Instead, he wanted his actions to act as a model for the next generation to use as a means to make humanity more just and equitable for all. He believed that all it takes is one generation –one generation to end poverty, one generation to end discrimination, and one generation to push the spirit of mankind. Represent’s purpose is to make sure this is that generation.”

Based on my experience this summer, that goal seems more feasible than ever. Through helping to plan Represent’s launch event this summer, which celebrated Nelson Mandela’s centenary with events around the world that raised money and awareness for local causes, I was introduced to the social justice facet of the nonprofit world. Above all, I was astounded by the passion, drive, and talent possessed by all of the young people I was working with, each of whom saw something he or she wanted to change about the world and did something about it, rather than waiting for someone else to act. They are fighting today to make tomorrow better, and it is utterly inspiring.

That experience makes me feel hopeful that we truly do have the potential to be the “one” generation of which Kweku Mandela speaks. Just look around. My generation is overwhelmingly dedicated to social justice, committed to finding issues we care about, learning the facts, and making our voices heard. Whether it is by posting on social media, walking out of school, or marching through the streets of our nation’s capital, my generation shows up and takes a stand against injustice. We are committed to shaping the world into a better place, and I am immensely proud of that. Working with Represent this summer highlighted to me how powerful young people can be when they find a passion, create a vision, and fight to make it a reality. And now more than ever, with this experience to guide me, I feel empowered to do just that.

Even though it has been five years since Nelson Mandela’s death, his influence on our planet has not waned. We remember him as an anti-apartheid activist who stood up against inequality; we remember him as South Africa’s first black president, committed to strengthening the definition of freedom; but most importantly, we remember Nelson Mandela for what he taught us about fighting for our beliefs, and we use his life as a source of inspiration. Each day, if we can overcome apathy and find something to fight for, if we can raise our voices and make ourselves heard, if we can summon the courage to be the change, we can use Nelson Mandela’s legacy as a source of strength. Because the most important thing I took away from my experience this summer with Represent Global is the understanding that we all have the power to make a difference. And if we can transform that understanding into action, we can all live by Nelson Mandela’s legacy, and perhaps even create our own.

Bill Clinton Delivers at Chappaqua Library Signing for ‘The President is Missing’

July 16, 2018 by Inside Press

July 16, 2018, Chappaqua, NY — Is life mirroring art or is art mirroring life, Bill Clinton was asked–his attention diverted ever so briefly in the midst of signing hundreds of copies today of ‘The President is Missing,’ a newly acclaimed and reportedly ‘page turner’ political thriller. (I have not read it yet.)

Bill Clinton signing ‘The President is Missing’ at the Chappaqua Library Photo by Grace Bennett/Inside Press

It is a first novel for Clinton, one that he wrote together with master storyteller James Patterson.*

Clinton didn’t miss a beat: “Well, a lot of people are saying that a lot of what is going on today is more realistic than my book,” in that fact may indeed be stranger than fiction.

While that may be hard to argue, the event was most decidedly not about the most current events. It was instead a chance for many to simply appreciate and support Chappaqua resident Bill Clinton, our nation’s 42nd president, and his latest writing, as he took time out to meet groups of neighbors and out of town fans who had patiently lined up–each excited for their turn to receive a handshake, to exchange a few words, and of course, receive a signed copy.

The Chappaqua Library produced the event in collaboration with Chappaqua’s Scattered Books Bookstore and the Town of New Castle. — Grace Bennett

The Chappaqua Library’s Rebecca Rogan, Joan Kuhn and Larry D’Amico

*The information below was received earlier from the Chappaqua Library:

Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States in 1992. After two successful terms as president, he left the White House and established the Clinton Foundation, which improves lives across the United States and around the world by working together with partners to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service. He is the author of several nonfiction works, including MY LIFE, which was a #1 international bestseller. This is his first novel.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author, best known for his many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, I Funny, and Jacky Ha-Ha. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove to everyone, from children to adults, that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over a million books to schoolkids and over forty million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Think Fit For Kids 2018 Raises Funds for Pediatric Brain Cancer Research

March 8, 2018 by Dana Y. Wu

Jumpy castles, hoop games, Zumba for kids, face painting–the annual Think Fit For Kids (TFFK) Family and Fitness event, generously hosted at Club Fit in Briarcliff, is a community fundraiser that has been going strong for eight years.

As we went to press with this issue, the 2018 TFFK team of volunteers, is ensuring that the event on Sunday, March 4, 2018 meets its goal of raising $250,000 to support state of the art pediatric brain cancer research. Getting ready for TFFK involves the support of corporate sponsors, with more than 75 local merchants all donating the food, DJ music, entertainment and photography.

Since 2011 when Chappaqua’s Kim Gilman and Amy Weinstein approached Club Fit’s owner, Ellen Koelsch to sponsor the TFFK event, $1.5 million has been raised for A Kids’ Brain Tumor Cure Foundation, which currently funds two extremely promising projects at Massachusetts General Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering. Most excitingly, a Phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of combining immunotherapy agents in children with brain tumors has now expanded into a large-scale clinical trial at 58 centers in 13 countries. This study brings new hope to children across the globe who have run out of treatment options and may provide a completely new avenue for battling deadly brain tumors in children.

Cancerous brain tumors have now surpassed leukemia as the leading cause of cancer death in children. There are 28,000 children battling brain tumors in the U.S., including some in our community, and an additional 4,300 will be diagnosed this year.

Through Horace Greeley High School’s club, SHARE (Students Have A Responsibility Everywhere), enthusiastic student volunteers help before, during and after the TFFK event. In addition to manning a booth at Community Day to publicize the event, SHARE hosts a Ben & Jerry’s fundraiser in Mt. Kisco. “It’s great to see many Greeley students come to get ice cream and help out this cause and raise community awareness around the dire need for funding pediatric brain cancer research. Plus, we always have fun scooping ice cream!” says Alice Heyeh, a SHARE Community Partners Executive, HGHS ’18.

It’s not too late to donate to the cause. Visit www.thinkfitforkids.org for additional information.

Chappaqua Cares Third Empty Bowls Event to Fight Hunger & Food Insecurity

November 24, 2017 by Inside Press

Last year’s event raised $100,000 and Helped Feed 17,000 People in Northern Westchester

Celebrity Bowl Auction on Dec. 3 to Include Bowls Signed By Bill and Hillary Clinton & Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda

Chappaqua Cares, an organization dedicated to connecting local residents with philanthropic opportunities for volunteering, fundraising and donating, announces its 3rd annual Empty Bowls Westchester event to fight hunger in Westchester County. The fundraiser, which includes a celebrity bowl auction with bowls signed by President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bette Midler, the cast of Hello, Dolly, Pinkalicious and New York Met’s players, will take place on Sunday, December 3rd at Crabtree’s Kittle House from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

This year’s event will benefit five area nonprofits who help feed families in Northern Westchester county: The Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, The Community Center of Northern Westchester, the Pleasantville Interfaith Emergency Food Pantry, Hillside Food Outreach and the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester. Event tickets are $150 and can be purchased online at http://www.chappaquacares.org/empty-bowls. For more information about sponsorship opportunities and donations, contact Empty Bowls Westchester at chappaquacares@gmail.com or on Facebook at: EmptyBowlsWestchester and Twitter @chappaquacares

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In Two Key Ceremonies, Vets Honored During Chappaqua’s Memorial Day Parade

June 2, 2017 by Inside Press

By Justin Ellick

Despite the rain on Monday, visitors and residents of Chappaqua gathered with great anticipation and excitement along King Street and Greeley Avenue for the annual Memorial Day Parade. The rain worried some parade attendees that the festivities might be cancelled, but after the green light was given, all systems were GO!

The Victory Corners Ceremony kicked off the parade at around 10:45 a.m. from the corner of Ridgewood Terrace and Bedford Road, with Grand Marshal James McCauley calling the attendees to attention followed by Rabbi Maura Linzer’s opening prayer. The Presentation of the Wreath was next, as Girl Scout Troop 2395 came to the podium. The ceremony closed with the playing of “Taps” by the Horace Greeley High School Buglers, along with one final appearance by Reverend Holland for the closing prayer.

Following the closing of the Victory Corners ceremony, the line of March was set and ready to begin its trek down King Street and into the heart of Chappaqua. The question of whether the Clintons would be in attendance had been answered earlier when the Clintons emerged from their limousine for their traditional meet up with the town board and greeting of avid fans and longtime supporters, all pre-March, so as not to upset the parade schedule. The Secret Service and New Castle Police Officers directed the parade past the Chappaqua Fire Department and onto King Street, with former President Clinton–former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton-Governor Andrew Cuomo, and State Assemblyman David Buchwald, Town Supervisor Robert Greenstein, and town board members Lisa Katz and Adam Brodsky.

Grand Marshal James McCauley leading the parade. PHOTO BY Grace Bennett/Inside Press

The parade moved through the middle of town to the delight of everyone along the way, with iPhones and cameras ready to support the marchers in every category, whether they were Brownie Troops, our First Responders, or the Clintons, all along the route leading to the Chappaqua Train Station, the parade’s final stop.

The Marshal then called the parade to attention for the Memorial Plaza Ceremony. Right around noon, the sizeable crowd, still well into the hundreds or more gathered around the Memorial at the Chappaqua train station, where a small podium was set up, along with a few chairs for the parade’s esteemed guests and veterans. Invocation would follow with the help of Reverend Dr. Martha Jacobs from the First Congregational Church.

Next, the students of Horace Greeley High School band flawlessly performed their renditions of the “Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful. Kevin Moore and the Kerry Pipers followed the performance with their rendition of “Amazing Grace,” which acted as an opening for the two readings that would follow, each of which an oral history of a New Castle veteran who had passed.

Samantha Morrison, from Girl Scout Troop 1033, recited the first reading in honor of Gerald Helm who was formerly a part of the U.S. Air Force.

“On November 24^th, 1943, Gerald’s family received word from the Air Force that their son was reported missing after taking off from Shaw Airfield on a basic training mission,” read Morrison. “On September 23^rd, 1946, over two years after Gerald had gone missing, a skeleton was found near Shaw Airfield and it had been identified as Cadet Gerard Helm.”

Following the readings was the traditional Honor Roll of names that were added to the Memorial at the train station, as the Marshal and a few of his fellow veterans recited the additions to the Memorial.

To conclude the festivities, Girl Scout Troop 2320 approached the front of the podium for one final Presentation of the Wreath and the 5^th New York Regiment—Revolutionary War Squad, executed the Musket Volley. It was at this point, after one final rendition of “Taps,” that the Marshal brought the parade back to attention to conclude the ceremony. This marked the end of what was another wildly successful and fun Memorial Day Parade here in Chappaqua.

Greeley grad Justin Ellick, who has completed a junior year majoring in Media and Communications Major at Ursinus College in Philadelphia, joins Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines for a second internship this summer.

For a full gallery of our photos of the 2017 New Castle Memorial Day Parade, please visit us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/theinsidepress/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155358951498669

Prevention Advice Regarding Ticks and Lyme Disease

May 25, 2017 by Inside Press (Edit)

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from a Global Lyme Alliance Forum held at the Chappaqua Library to Spread Awareness

By Justin Ellick

Chappaqua, NY—The Global Lyme Alliance recently held a forum at the Chappaqua Library offering tips to the audience on how to prevent Lyme disease from the get-go. The forum was sponsored by the Town of New Castle’s recently formed Health and Wellness Committee.

The Global Lyme Alliance, which was originally formed by the merger between the Lyme Research Alliance and the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance, is a leading private nonprofit organization across the United States that is dedicated to finding a cure and more accurate testing for the disease. Today, the Global Lyme Alliance has gained national recognition for its commitment to shifting the course of Lyme disease. They’ve accomplished this by funding ground-breaking research, while also expanding education programs for the public and physicians.

While it’s possible to to catch the subtle disease in its early stages,” said Global Lyme Alliance Board Member Derin Walden, “in many cases, the disease can be active for months before it becomes noticeable.”

“Lyme disease wasn’t even a thought,” continued Walden when she spoke at the forum. “There was no tick-bite or rash and it just did not occur to either myself or my doctor. After three to four months of my symptoms just rapidly increasing, with the help of the internet, I finally approached my doctor and asked her to test me for Lyme disease.”

As Walden pointed out when she spoke, there was no rash or infamous bulls-eye mark to provide her with a red flag. As a matter of fact, fewer than half of the people who contract the disease ever develop a rash or a bulls-eye, which has historically served as the universal way to tell whether you’ve caught Lyme or not.

Because of this, it’s important for people to be somewhat educated when it comes to the several possible symptoms of Lyme besides just the rash, as well as adopting safe and efficient techniques to prevent the disease altogether.

The forum was of special import to parents in Chappaqua, as attendees learned from the Global Lyme Alliance presentation that children are at the greatest risk for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The presentation also offered several prevention tips for parents to implement into their daily lives, as ticks can be a problem all year round, not just in the spring and summer months. One technique the Alliance recommended was to apply EPA-approved repellents like DEET or permethrin to clothing, skin, and shoes as directed. One audience member at the forum shared her experience using one of these repellents, which she says works great for her and her kids.

“I spray my kids’ baseball bags, knapsacks, winter coats, basically their entire wardrobe”, said the Chappaqua mother. “Once it’s dry, the repellent can last up to six weeks. It’s really saved me and my family a lot of stress when it comes to ticks and Lyme disease.”

Besides equipping parents with prevention techniques and tips, the Global Lyme Alliance has also developed a curriculum called “It’s Time to Be Lyme Alert” so that kids of all ages can learn about the disease in a fun and interactive way. The curriculum was designed by the Alliance in partnership with educators to be shared with kids while in the classroom, at camp, or any other youth-focused organizations. The program, available in three age-group levels, includes a student workbook that outlines the objectives and key talking points, along with a supporting teachers’ guide.

Parents and children alike need to learn more about Lyme disease, how to recognize early symptoms and how to prevent it, especially because medical professionals are still learning about it themselves; it’s vital to be vigilant or yourself and your children, the speaker urged. “We want people to be able to recognize early symptoms so that they can be their own advocate when it comes to the disease. Medical professionals are now learning more and more about these tick-borne illnesses, but you have to be your own advocate for yourself and for your kids.” For more information, visit www.globallymealliance.org