By Tammy Scileppi
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” —Mother Teresa
Kew Gardens activist Carol Lacks has described her friend Cheril Alexander as “one of the unsung heroes of Queens.”
“Her integrity, honesty, personal magnetism, perseverance, ability to listen and understand, compassion, commitment to people and projects, and her ability to form strong relationships, have all had a great positive impact on her students, colleagues and on the Queens community for over 20 years,” Lacks said. She, like Alexander, is an advocate for community involvement.
Alexander has always juggled teaching and family responsibilities with volunteering and helping others.
“I have had the privilege to teach many students in my own and nearby neighborhoods. I have built strong relationships with many families and affiliated schools in and around Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Rego Park, Richmond Hill, Jamaica and South Ozone Park,” Alexander said.
After starting her career as a teacher of the deaf and hearing impaired, Alexander has continued to teach special needs students as a home instruction teacher.
“Since many of her students have been chronically ill, she has had the wisdom and sensitivity to modify her teaching techniques, while maintaining high expectations for their success,” Lacks noted.
Alexander knows the importance of giving teens projects to harness their energies She started the Kew Gardens Youth Empowerment Program, a teen volunteer group, four years ago. Local teens teamed up to clean up and refurbish a neighborhood vest-pocket park.
Raising her daughter Auset, now 20, as a single parent, Alexander taught her to be strong and independent yet compassionate. And growing up in Kew Gardens, Auset learned to appreciate Queens’ myriad cultures.
In her graduation speech, Auset expressed her gratitude to her mother:
“Raising me in such a diverse neighborhood and showing me the importance of exploring and understanding different cultures not only educated me in a way that my school couldn’t, but it also broadened my outlook on the world,” Auset said.
Alexander currently is involved in mobilizing volunteers to promote safety, cleanliness, beautification and local merchandising in Kew Gardens. She created a “Karing for Kew Gardens” logo to go along with a few simple slogans: “Cleaning Up” and “Greening Up”; “Buying Up” (boosting local businesses); “Sprucing Up” and “Gathering Up” (bringing residents together for community events).
“This is in addition to my ongoing efforts to expand the Youth Empowerment Program by encouraging other inner city communities to make a concrete investment in their teens because the return is … better communities and an overall more socially conscious society,” Alexander said.
