The Childrens Alopecia Project, or CAP, was created in 2004 by Jeff Woytovich. His daughter Madison contracted the hair loss disease a year earlier while her mother was unbraiding her hair after a wedding.
Alopecia is an auto-immune disease that involves hair follicles being mistakenly attacked resulting in almost complete hair loss for most victims. The disease has affected approximately 4 million Americans.
The employees and residents of the East Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in the Bronx were getting ready for what was originally thought to be a regular Thursday visit by the local organization, the GlamourGals. GlamourGals is a group of high school and college aged males and females who pay frequent visits to nursing homes and pamper them with manicures and makeovers. However, this special event was enhanced by some unexpected visitors.
For many New York Yankees fans, getting a chance to meet the players, throwing out the first pitch at a game, and having the team throw a party just for you would all be bucket list items; once in a lifetime opportunities that may never be accomplished. On Wednesday, June 27th, Andy Fass did all of those things, and he is only five years old. Andy will start kindergarten in the fall, and he will have a pretty cool story to tell the other kids.
Jorge Muñoz lives in a small two-story house in Queens with his mother and sister. A Colombian immigrant, he has always had to work hard to support himself and his family, and he has been jobless since December of last year. While most people would be desperate to find a job for himself, Jorge continues to give to others first. Since 2004, he has served dinners to up to 140 people in need a day.
While horseback riding is a recreational activity for most people, it serves as a developmental, confidence-building exercise for the children of Flying Manes. Located at the Riverdale Equestrian Center in the North Bronx, trained volunteers teach children ages four and older various equine activities through the forum of therapeutic riding.
This is the final installment of our HOPE Week Series. Read a summary of each event and listen to the entire week's activities including comments from the particpants and the Yankees.
The annual HOPE week event, which stands for Helping Others Persevere and Excel (HOPE), is the brainchild of Jason Zillo, the Yankees Director of Communications and Media Relations. Now in its third year, the Yankees honor various people and groups throughout the week, seeking to provide a boost through the service of their players and coaches.
It was an overcast day at the Central Park Zoo and the threat of rain explained the smaller than usual crowd that came to see the animals. But as a horse-drawn carriage pulled up to the zoo’s southern entrance it seemed as if the dreary weather disappeared.
The fourth day of Hope Week was centered around a 17 year old girl who has been helping to raise money in her community for years outside her home. Her name is Megan Ajello, and though she suffers from Cerebral Palsy and scoliosis and has had six major surgeries, you wouldn’t know it by hearing all that this girl has done for her community.
For many baseball fans in this city, supporting the Yankees is just part of being a New Yorker. For 15 young refugees from Haiti attending Saints Joachim and Anne School in Queens Village who were honored by the Yankee organization during ithe third day of HOPE Week, it has become part of a quick transition into life in their new city.
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