Nearly 200 students from around the city had a very special day on May 13 as participants of Citi Field Kids, a program that gave them a chance to tour the stadium, learned about Jackie Robinson, heard from mentors and attended a Mets game.
This marks the first year of the program, which was developed by Citi. It is held in cooperation with the Jackie Robinson Foundation, United Neighborhood Houses and the New York Mets.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Citi, so this is a nice, new development,” said United Neighborhood Houses Director of Development Jessica Zeigler.
As the day began, groups of students were taken on a tour of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, where they learned about the life of the baseball legend and the ideals he lived by. The tours were conducted by Jackie Robinson Foundation scholars.
Jeffrey Moss, a foundation scholar who is also a Vice President Branch Manager for Citi, also encouraged students to pursue their goals and get an education during a tour. He said that his main message to the children was to persevere.
“I think this generation endures so much,” said Moss, who later spoke to all of the students in the stadium’s auditorium. “They need to understand the importance of persevering and not fall into traps of all these other negative things in the world.”
While the students were all gathered in the auditorium, they also heard from NBC sports anchor Bruce Beck and former Mets star Darryl Strawberry. Beck spoke about his career path and spoke to the children about Robinson.
Strawberry told the children about the ups and downs in his life, which included being abused as a child, later doing drugs and eventually going to prison. He also spoke about the importance of the students being focused on achieving their goals, making the right decisions and working hard, among other things.
“I hope they take home the experience that nothing is impossible,” Strawberry said. “With believing in yourself, making the right choices, [and] surrounding yourself with the right people, they can achieve their goals as long as they don’t quit and don’t give up.”
Beck said that hopefully the speakers were able to steer the students in the right direction. He also hoped that they were able to impact the students in some way.
“I think this group [was] excellent,” Beck said of the May 13 participants. “I was impressed with the group.”
Beck added that he thought they asked good questions and were attentive.
Among the group of participants were 45 students from Queens Community House. They ranged in age from 11 to 16.
Renae Shimonov, 11, said that she was really excited to be part of Citi Field Kids, adding that it was her first baseball game. Gabriela Pineiro, 12, and Stephanie Castrillon, 11, also said that it was fun and that they were able to get their baseballs signed by Strawberry.
Arif Mehmetaj, 15, said that it was great to be on the trip with Queens Community House and to have a chance to represent the organization. Sanjot Otal thought the day was a good opportunity and said that he learned a lot, and particularly remember Strawberry’s message of not making mistakes.
Queens Community House Assistant Director for Teen Services Mike Zevon said that the trip, along with teaching the students important lessons, also gave them the chance to be together in a different atmosphere while getting to know each other better.
