UTICA, NY –Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey and one of Time Magazine’s 2011 most influential people, brought an audience of 1,300 people to their feet at The Stanley Theater on Wednesday, October 19.
Booker was the inaugural speaker for The Community Foundation Speaker Series, a program of The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, Inc., and engaged the audience with his presentation about “How to Change the World With Your Bare Hands.”
Community Foundation President/CEO Peggy O’Shea said, “We could not have imagined a better start to our annual Speaker Series. Mayor Booker’s message inspires and challenges us all to play an active role in the future of our community.”
Community involvement will be a key theme for next year’s event. “I am so happy to announce that educator Geoffrey Canada will speak to our community next year, and his topic is ‘Saving the World One Child at a Time.’ We will no doubt hear another passionate call to action that, if heeded, will serve our community well,” she continued.
Geoffrey Canada will appear on October 17, 2012. Further details will be available early next year. He is President/CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone Project, which offers educational, medical and social services to children in a 100-block area. He was also featured in the documentary Waiting for ‘Superman,’ which earned awards from Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles Film Festival, National Board of Review, Sundance Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
The Community Foundation Speaker Series is sponsored by the Corporate Partners Program of The Community Foundation, which funds the speaker and provides opportunities for students to attend at no charge.
The Community Foundation has been a force for improving lives and promoting philanthropy throughout Herkimer and Oneida counties since 1952. The Foundation has made more than 4,700 grants totaling over $37.2 million in support of causes ranging from education to health care, the arts to the environment. Grants are generated by the more than 285 funds that comprise The Foundation’s endowment, established and advanced by area individuals and families. For more information about The Community Foundation’s work in Herkimer and Oneida counties, visit www.foundationhoc.org or call (315) 735-8212.
