Brooklyn Junior High School Raises Money To Take Students To Visit Harvard

It takes a village to raise a child…..and a group of selfless leaders to become great examples for the next generation.

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Whoever believes that there aren’t any genuine people who wants to see the children of the future succeed and set new limitations for the next generation, haven’t met the amazing individuals at Mott Hall Bridge Academy. Located in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, this junior high school has been the latest phenomenon people nationwide have been rooting for via social network. The widely popular Instagram account known as @humansofny have decided to place their spotlight on the wonderful students and staff members of the school who inspires to change young students lives everyday. Ladies and gentleman, this is not your typical Brooklyn junior high school.

If you are not familiar with the Instagram account known as @humansofny, let me introduced you to the amazing account people crave for. @humansofny is an Instagram account created to introduce followers to the life of everyday civilians living to improve on their lives one day at a time. The creator of this account, Brandon Stanton, decided to expand this idea due to the success he received from his best selling book that features street portraits and interviews of each person he decided to set the centerstage on for particular moments. Currently with over 2 million followers world wide on Instagram, Stanton has the social media platform eager to witness and read about the next individual he set his camera on as the highly acclaimed account becomes more popular as each person’s testimonies become more intriguing by the day.

Stanton has decided to take his ability to the rough and mean Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY. Home to rap legends like M.O.P and the great former heavyweight boxing champion “Iron” Mike Tyson, Brandon decided to take a risk and to visit the neighborhood where he discovered Mott Hall Bridge Academy, a school ran by principal Nadia Lopez. This promising institiution of learning has been coming up with amazing ways to interact with the youth to the point to avoid them become statistics of crime nor not being able to complete educational requirements. One of the fascinating ideas principal Lopez and Brandon have came up with is to raise funding to accommodate a group of incoming 6th graders with the trip to visit the prestigious Harvard University. Brandon was able to create a funding campaign entitled the Vidal Scholarship Fund, a website where fans can donate money to make this life long dream come true for the students at Mott Hall. Many believed that this a trip needed for the youth to show them that it’s bigger and better opportunities that are out there for the youth to accomplished outside of Brooklyn and outside of New York. In addition, this presents kids with the chance to do something they never done before; and that is to leave the state of New York for the first time in their lives.

“I grew up with a lot of these kids’ parents. One of their fathers actually used to beat me up on the basketball court. So did his uncle. When I graduated from college, I could have left Brownsville. But I wanted to come back and be an agent of change. I wanted to help piece the neighborhood back together. So when Ms. Lopez told me she needed a basketball coach, I told her I’d do it for free. This is our second season. Our first season, we weren’t even in a league, so I had to call other schools and beg them to come play us. We didn’t even have jerseys. But we still went 8-1. Every one of these kids could make the NBA if they put in the time. And I’m here to offer that.”

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Feb 1, 2015 at 12:57pm PST

“Before all of this happened for our school, I felt broken. And I think the world felt a little broken too, because a lot of bad things have been happening lately, especially between black people and white people. But all of you gave people a reason to feel a little less broken. And the craziest thing about all of this is that it’s happening in Brownsville. Before this, people watched the news and read the newspapers, and some people even thought that all we do here is fight and act crazy. But now there are so many people out there that care about you and want to know more about you. People are even emailing me and asking if they can meet you and mentor you. Not just people from Brownsville, not just people from Brooklyn, not just people in New York, but people all over the world. So I need all of you to work a little harder. Whenever you don’t feel like doing your homework, I need you to remember that you’re helping tell the story of Brownsville to people all over the world.” ————————————————- We are currently profiling Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a middle school in the under-served neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn. As we learn about the school, its scholars, and its educators, we are also raising funds to provide a financial boost to the school’s mission. All funds raised over $700,000 are being used to establish a scholarship fund available to graduates of MHBA. The scholarship fund is named The Vidal Fund, after the young man who inspired the entire story. Nearly 30,000 people have donated so far. If you’d like to participate, you can do so by donating via the link in the bio.

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Jan 28, 2015 at 3:39pm PST

As of today, Stanton’s successful innovative photography coverage and website has helped Mott Hall Bridges Academy exceeded their goal of raising least $100,000 for the young scholars. Thanks to the generous donations by fans and followers of the page, the website has currently raised up to $1,183,350.  This is such a amazing accomplishment for a group who thought this idea would never come to existence at all. Amongst those who became a huge part of the project other than principal Lopez is the school’s basketball coach and Director of Scholar Affairs, Randy Millard. Millard, a 28 year old graduate from out of Norfolk State University expressed his gratitude of the recent publicity his school has been receiving from their hard work and dedication.

The power that social media is amazing! Our scholars are excited about who may be coming into our space to see what great work their doing on a daily basis. As Ms. Lopez stated during our meetings this past summer, this is our “Year of Performance”. I am elated that the world can see the terrific job the teachers, staff and most importantly our scholars are doing at Mott Hall Bridges Academy.

Big shoutouts goes out to the outstanding people of Mott Hall Bridge Academy along with @humansofny innovator Brandon Stanton.  Even though their work is definitely not done, they have been making huge progress of improving the experience for their scholars at the Brownsville school. You never know, there’s more than buildings and trees that grows in Brooklyn. Mott Hall may have a potential scholar to can continue to hold down the torch Jay-Z launched as becoming the next black Branch Rickey as they may bring the Nets to larger heights than Young Hova. Until then, may they continue to achieve and to prove the doubters wrong, one school day at a time.

If you are interested in donating to the Vidal Scholarship Fund, please feel free to click on the link here

-Omari White (@SmooveGuyO)