EMERITUS TRUSTEE, SEEDS – ACCESS CHANGED EVERYTHING
In 1998, about a year before I joined the Board of Trustees for SEEDS, I had a discussion with a friend and mentor from ADP about charitable giving. At the time, I had been involved with and impressed by an organization called Boys Hope – a Jesuit-run series of homes for children who could no longer live in their own homes. The objective of Boys Hope, which wasn’t especially religious, was for those graduates to either enter the army after high school or to go to college. That was their definition of success.
My main interests have always been in education, especially education for those from low-income backgrounds. Growing up, we were never poor, but we also did not have a lot of money, my mother and I knew that education would be my key to success. So, I was looking to get involved with an organization that would allow me to give back through education and providing opportunity. In speaking to my friend and mentor, he mentioned that his wife had spoken about an organization that was somewhat like Boys Hope but that included that education component. That organization was SEEDS.
Prior to joining the SEEDS Board of Trustees, I had no relationship with the organization, except for the reference from my friend’s wife. We spoke more about SEEDS and I shared my interest in wanting to learn more about them. I decided to make a cold call to SEEDS and they immediately assigned two individuals and SEEDS supporters – David Jeffrey and Allen Meisels – who reached out to me, introduced me to the organization and invited me to attend classes and observe the students. They convinced me that SEEDS was the real thing. So, while I hadn’t previously had a relationship with SEEDS, the relationship I formed evolved very quickly mainly because of how impressed I was with the students.
My motivation behind joining the board of trustees was simple: it matched exactly what I was looking for. The idea of providing education and opportunity for motivated, low-income students really appealed to me. I had seen other similar organizations that had success, and while SEEDS was still in its early stages, they, too, had early successes. I became a trustee because it aligned as close as it possibly could with what I was interested in doing: giving back through education.
To me, the vision set forth by the SEEDS founders, who truly had incredible vision, and their description of who SEEDS scholars are, perfectly describe our students: smart, highly-motivated students from low-income households who have an amazing ability to be exceptional – and, this is the most important part – when they are given the opportunity.
As a trustee, there isn’t any one individual event or day that stands out to me; my proudest moments have been a combination of many. Nothing has consistently given me pleasure more than watching our students in action. Every class visit, every time a student addressed the board and shared their story, it truly invigorated me. I have always been results-oriented. Everything in my career has focused on results, and I have been blown away by the quality of schools that these students get into, their track records after SEEDS, and the fact that they really are exceptional.
If I had to pick, there is one particularly fond memory that comes to mind: I had season tickets to the New Jersey Nets games, and on a couple of occasions, I invited some of the students to attend the game with me. They were so appreciative, so grateful for that opportunity, and honestly, just terrific to be around. We were just hanging out and watching a game and it was so much fun for all of us, maybe most for me.
This year marks SEEDS’ 30th anniversary. Those 30 years are tied to the incredible results that SEEDS has had, and that says a lot more about the organization than any words I could speak. The results are key. It has been the result of the extraordinary vision of the founders – a vision that has remained consistent for more than three decades – and the enormous benefit provided to the students who go through SEEDS that says it all. I am so thankful to have been close enough to watch it and appreciate it vicariously. I am so proud of the students. And after looking back at all these years, I’m proud of what they’ve done, who they’ve become, my own involvement, and proud of the organization.
I am now an Emeritus Trustee who had spent 18 years on the board. And to this day, I still get more pleasure from SEEDS’ success that from the many other things I have been involved with. SEEDS is the one philanthropy that sticks out to me because it works and is so meaningful.
I have made the following pitch many times over the years: If you are looking for an organization that really works, that works for students, that uses the money it is given really well, SEEDS is it. Anyone who financially supports an organization or cause wants to see that money used well, and SEEDS does just that. SEEDS really works.