Miss Universe visit April 18, 2007

The thoughtful and glamorous Miss Universe 2006, Zuleyka Rivera, visited with the Brooklyn based “Children of the City” (COC) organization to combat the pervasive culture of poverty, disease and educational failure at the groups headquarters, 740-40 Street, on April 18th.

During her visit, she toured classrooms, and personally spoke with the children on how vitally important education is, and how an organization like Children of the City can give them the extra support they need in their lives to succeed.

One of the students read an essay on “how I can make a difference in my life and the world by completing my education.” The children also presented her with a song, along with letters they wrote to Miss Universe thanking her for being a wonderful role model to Latino children.

Miss Univese 2006, Zuleyka Rivera completed her day by meeting with the board of directors of Children of the City, as well as speaking to funders and community leaders. “Miss Universe is a vibrant role model for Hispanic children in Sunset Park...or anywhere,”adds the executive director of COC, Joyce Mattera.

“The future of the city is the children of the city...nothing more or less than that. And many children aren’t doing well,” said the director of the programs, Joyce Mattera. She added, “We reach out to “at risk” families who are also prone to educational failure. In our indicator, fully 95% of such children improved their reading and math scores. Special education students began reading for the first time and 20% in the summer program increased their reading grade levels by a full grade.”

The goal of Children of the City is “since 1981, reaching at risk city children and youth with hope, guidance and resources to break the cycles of poverty and its effects.” We thank Miss Universe, Zuleyka Rivera, for the wonderful encouragement her visit was to the children of the city.

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