Oscar de la Renta at a recent New Yorkers For Children fall gala
Like many wonderful things in my life, my work with New Yorkers For Children started by accident. Years ago, a woman in the Dominican Republic, where I am from, came to me and asked if I would pay for the rent of a room to get children off the streets and teach them to read and write. I agreed, and we started this little school in one room.
Then one day, another very special woman named Xiomara Menendez approached me with the idea of setting up an orphanage. There were so many needs in the community; I felt that we should have an organization that could help in a number of ways. In 1982 Xiomara and I joined forces and founded Casa del Niño in La Romana. Today we take care of 1,200 children on a daily basis. In addition to an orphanage, we have a school that educates through the eighth grade, and a day-care program for newborns and older children, allowing mothers to work.
It is this experience in the country of my birth that led me to New Yorkers For Children. In New York City there are nearly 17,000 children in foster care. Founded in 1996 by Nicholas Scoppetta, the former commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services, New Yorkers For Children works to support and improve the entire child welfare community. Over the past 12 years they have helped countless children overcome so many challenges in their efforts to become successful adults. New Yorkers For Children reaches these young people through scholarships, tutoring programs, mentoring, job training and networking opportunities. All of these programs are possible because of the generous donations that have been made by individuals, corporations and foundations over the years.
I joined the board of directors for the charity in 1998, and since then I have served as cochair of the annual fall gala each year and will do so again this year. I feel lucky to be able to contribute to such a powerful force in the lives of our city’s children and to have watched it grow over the years—reaching more and more kids and improving their lives. I can’t think of a more important contribution than to invest in the life of a child. The mission of New Yorkers For Children is not merely close to my heart; it is a piece of my heart.
New Yorkers For Children will host Make It Happen, its 10th annual fall gala, on September 22 at Cipriani 42nd Street, honoring Mary J. Blige. For more information, call 212-867-1117 or visit newyorkersforchildren.org.
