Thousands of runners and walkers you and old cane out to Prospect Park to raise money for the city’s oldest mentoring program. NY1′s Bree Driscoll filed the following report.
Eighteen-year-old Derek Nasoff has been part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program for seven years.
“I had two older brothers. Well two other brothers and it didn’t work out,” says Nasoff.
Then he met College Professor John Frank.
“This guy was twelve. We would be walking around and everywhere he would go—he would be like, ‘Can I climb on that tree? Can I climb on this?’ And then I was like, ‘This guy likes to climb,’” says Frank.
Frank says he started taking Nasoff rock climbing. The two also went biking even took a pottery class. Seven years later, though, Nasoff says one of the biggest lessons he’s learned from Frank has been how to get over his shyness.
“He is an extrovert. He taught me how to socialize with people in public and that kind of thing. He is also a college professor. He taught me how to speak well. He gave me a good sense of oratory,” Nasoff says.
This is just one of hundreds of success stories of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program of New York City. Saturday, the organization held its 10th annual RBC Race for the Kids—raising more than a million dollars.
“You are giving back to the youngsters and they are going to grow up and hopefully help the community as they mature,” says Michael Meyer of RBC Capital Markets.
Officials say the money raised will go towards continuing the mentoring program they say it cost about two thousand dollars to match up each mentor and child.
“We have a very thorough background check, an FBI background check that they are properly trained and then what brings the whole relationship together is we have a master level social worker that works with family, that works with the little, works with the big to make sure the match relationship goes well,” says Hector Batista, the CEO of the program in the city.
Batista says 98 percent of their kids go on to the next grade and 97 percent graduate high school. Nasoff is now a Freshman at Hunter College.
“When I first met Derek he was kind of an 80s average. Now he has a 98 average. He goes afer the grade and I love it,” Frank says.
“He helped me so much academically and socially. So I am grateful,” says Nasoff.
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