10th Annual Dream Big Day at Hostos
(L-r) Kerry Washington and Justice Sonia Sotomayor answer questions from 2nd and 3rd grade students at
Bronx Children’s Museum’s Dream Big Day at Hostos Community College. Photo by Joseph Martin, Keyz 2 Life Media
Bronx Children’s Museum
and Hostos Community College
hosted the 10th annual
Dream Big Day. Bronx-born
actor, activist and new mother
Kerry Washington moderated
an energetic and intimate conversation
between Bronx-native
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor and close
to 200 2nd and 3rd graders from
the south Bronx. They talked
about Sotomayor’s journey to
become a Supreme Court Justice,
as shared in her new picture
book, ‘Turning Pages: My
Life Story,’ illustrated by Lulu
Delacre.
“Reading books opened the
world to me. As a child, I saw
possibilities that I could have
never imagined without reading,”
said Justice Sotomayor.
“Books and imagination can
transport you far beyond the
walls of your home or your
town - to faraway lands where
you can be anyone and do anything.
The key to success in
my life, how I became a Supreme
Court Justice, is because
of my love of reading. I
hope that my book, Turning
Pages, can help inspire more
children to dream up what is
possible for them.”
To celebrate the publication
of the Justice’s new children’s
book in the only NYC borough
still without a bookstore,
Bronx Children’s Museum
brought 200 children from P.S.
55 Benjamin Franklin, P.S. 5
Port Morris and St. Anselm
School to Hostos as part of the
Museum’s annual Dream Big
Initiative. Thanks to the Justice’s
childhood friend and fellow
Bronxite Donna Renella, a
human resources and public
relation consultant, each child
received an autographed copy
of ‘Turning Pages.’
“Much of my career has
been about strong characters
and impactful storytelling,
which can inspire people
– young and old – to immerse
themselves in a narrative and
expand what they know is possible,”
said Kerry Washington.
“In ‘Turning Pages,’ Justice
Sotomayor describes reading
as a magical tool of empowerment
that encouraged her to
excel at home in the Bronx and
also courageously venture beyond
our beloved borough into
the larger world. As someone
who also proudly grew up in
the Bronx, I both relate to and
am inspired by the Justice’s
journey.” Washington continued,
“It was my honor to share
‘Turning Pages ‘with the
Dream Big Day students in the
hopes that they too will feel inspired
and uplifted by the Justice’s
story. I commend Justice
Sotomayor for her commitment
to the very important
cause of childhood literacy.”
BxCM executive director
Carla Precht stated, “Now in
its 10th year, Dream Big is our
signature program. By working
with museum educators
and teaching artists, children
learn through the arts about
inspiring people who grew up
in the Bronx just like them
and who worked hard to accomplish
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 32 EBRUARY 1-7, 2019 BTR
their dreams.”
The museum’s year-long
Dream Big Initiative kicked
off 2019 with an event at Hostos
Community College where
the 200 children visited a college
campus, most for the very
fi rst time, and then interacted
with two of the most talkedabout,
passionate women in
the United States, Justice Sonia
Sotomayor, who has been
a special visitor to the Dream
Big summer program for nine
straight years, and Kerry
Washington, who has been
starring to great acclaim in
the Broadway play ‘American
Son.’ The 2019 Dream Big program
will continue with an
afterschool program at P.S.
5 and an intensive summer
arts enrichment program at a
camp in the south Bronx.
Working with the schools,
the museum prepared the
children to meet the Justice
by giving their teachers their
own copies of ‘Turning Pages’
as well as an age-appropriate
classroom discussion guide.
In addition, the children
watched a special video made
by the museum about the Justice.
Hostos Community College
president David Gomez
welcomed the Justice to his
campus. He said, “Listening
to and watching the Honorable
Justice Sotomayor is an
inspiration. She is one of the
nation’s greatest roles models,
and she reminds all of us that
we are never too old to learn
and to give back. Her return to
the Bronx to read to children
is simply a grand gesture that
shows how much she cares for
the future of this country. I am
grateful to Ms. Kerry Washington
and the Justice for
making this a great day for so
many of us.”
Hope Harley, BxCM board
president, said, “We have been
dreaming big for the past 10
years! In just about a year, the
museum will open its doors
and welcome visitors to our
permanent home near Yankee
Stadium. Our new building
exhibits and educational
offerings will complement our
current programming, which
currently reaches 15,000 children
throughout the borough
annually.”
Can January bring a jolt
of inspiration? Depending on
your business, mid-late January
can be a quiet time of
year. However, it can also be
a great time to review your
business and create an action
plan that can help you
sustain a booming business,
strengthen weakness and
plan for future growth. Take
a page from larger companies
and consider these questions:
Does your business still align
with your mission statement?
Is your business plan still relevant?
What are this year’s
goals for your business? Are
there aspects of your business
that need improvement? Can
you cut costs without sacrifi cing
quality? How can you offer
great customer service?
Sponsoring a TNMA meeting
is a great way to promote
your business and get your
brand out there. As a sponsor,
you will be allowed to give a
brief presentation to our members
the night of our meeting.
We also waive our dinner fee
for sponsors and spotlight
your business in our meeting
announcements, in this column
for the month and via our
social media.
Our Facebook page alone,
which has over 1,000 friends,
is followed by members, nonmembers
and residents so
your target audience goes further
than just the attendees
of our monthly meetings. If
you or another member/merchant
is interested in sponsoring
one of our meetings this
year, please ask them to email
info@throggsneckmerchants.
com or call Angela at (646)
657-1312.
Our friends at the City Island
Theater Group are celebrating
their 20th Anniversary
season. They are looking
for advertisers for 2019. Your
ad will run in three programs
for their entire season. Ad
prices range from $125 for the
cover (full page) to $50 for ¼
page. Please go to www.cityislandtheatergroup.
com or call
(718) 885-2066 for more information.
The deadline is February
15. Your ad helps support
local talent and the arts.
Another benefi t of being
a TNMA member is we will
announce any upcoming promotion,
sale, product or service
in this column, as well
as, posting it on our TNMA social
media. Please email your
information to info@throggsneckmerchants.
com or call
Angela at (646) 657-1312 for
further assistance. This service
is at no extra cost to our
TNMA members.
Not a member? Consider
becoming a Throggs Neck
merchant member. Our merchant
association is one of
the largest in the Bronx. As
a TNMA member, your business
will be featured on our
website, your events and promotions
will be listed in our
TNMA column in the Bronx
Times and you can network
with other members at any of
our meetings and events. Join
with fellow merchants to develop
special promotions or
projects designed to benefi t
the entire commercial strip,
as well as the surrounding
community. Ready to become
a TNMA member? Go to our
website, www.throggsneckmerchants.
com for more info
or download the membership
application at www.throggsneckmerchants.
com/member_
application.pdf.
Our fi nal plea regarding
holiday lights. Thank you to
all of the members who donated
and helped make the
holiday lights possible. Unfortunately,
we are still short in
covering the cost of the lights
even though our vendor has
been generous with us in keeping
the cost down. We are asking
for your donation towards
the lights. TNMA members
and non-members alike often
contribute since their customers
enjoy the lights and
appreciate the business participation.
Please go to our
website at www.throggsneckmerchants.
com to make your
donation online. We appreciate
your contribution and continued
support. If you would
like to send us a check, please
may your check payable to the
Throggs Neck Merchants Association
and mail it to the
Throggs Neck Merchants Association,
PO Box 508, Bronx,
NY 10465.
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