By Adam Kramer
While mourning the death of his 13-year-old Queens Village neighbor, who was shot by a 16-year-old in a dispute over a quarter, Ramon Cameron decided to also take action.
In 1996, after Quentin Carter Jr. was gunned down in an argument over 25 cents, Cameron founded Project Hope — New Direction at 93-23 217th St., a not-for-profit organization geared to helping children by showing them positive role models and giving them a place to turn.
“That senseless act, which received national publicity, indicated to many that lives were being taken over nothing and had gotten to the point where youth were killing each other over petty disputes,” Cameron said. “One of our goals is grassroots outreach to get kids, their parents and our staff to work together.”
Cameron, now 26, started the program when he was 21 with the help of $40,000 in seed money from the president of Local 372 of DC 37, the municipal workers union. Before starting Project Hope, the Queens Village resident worked in distribution for the Board of Education.
Communities throughout the city need programs that provide children and teens with a sense of family, give them a chance to grow academically and socially, he said. He said children in the area school district are not succeeding, and that this needs to change.
About 60 percent of students in District 29, which covers a large swath of southeast Queens from Queens Village to Jamaica and from St. Albans to Rosedale, are failing the standardized math and reading tests, Cameron said.
He stressed that his organization offers free educational services, such as basic reading and math classes, GED and SAT classes, anti-crime and leadership programs. Project Hope also offers a wide range of after-school programs — dance classes, Judo classes and drama classes — to keep the young people busy.
Cameron also wants to foster better relationships between the community’s youngsters and different groups — the police, the Parent-Teacher Association and school administrators.
One of the ways the organization does this is at Project Hope’s annual International Community Block Party. This year the fifth party kicks off at noon Saturday, July 28, on 220th Street between 104th and 107th avenues in Queens Village.
“I want to put a sense of family into the community and get people familiarized with each other,” Cameron said. “In the future, I want to grow beyond the community level, kind of like the Police Athletic League.”
For more information call Cameron at Project Hope at 516-565-5652.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
