TIME Person Of The Year Geoffrey Canada To Speak In Utica

UTICA  – The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, Inc. and its Corporate Partners will present Harlem Children’s Zone founder Geoffrey Canada at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the Robert R. Jorgensen Athletic/Events Center  as part of the organization’s Leadership Speaker Series. Local school bands and choirs, including the Hamilton College Buffers, will open the event with performances at 2 p.m.

As part of The Foundation’s focus on key community issues, we present Canada as a gift to the community, to foster discourse and ignite action. Canada will focus on the specific educational needs of our community, the plight of education in our country and what we can do to give every child the same educational opportunity and chance for success.

“Geoffrey Canada has something to say about education in the United States, and as an organization committed to education, we want to give this community an opportunity to hear that,” said Peggy O’Shea, president and CEO of The Community Foundation. “We hope his message moves the community to discussion, action and positive change.”

As the founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone in Harlem, Canada has changed the educational playing field for thousands of impoverished children who had all the characteristics of continuing on in generational poverty. The Obama administration’s 20 Promise Neighborhoods program is modeled after the HCZ and Canada was featured in the acclaimed documentary “Waiting for Superman.” He was also named as one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2011.

A graduate of the Harlem Children’s Zone, who now attends Hamilton College, will introduce Canada at the event.

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 5,200 grants totaling more than $41.3 million in support of causes ranging from education, healthcare, the arts and the environment. Grants are generated by 290 funds that make up The Foundation’s endowment, established and advanced by area residents.

For information about The Community Foundation, call (315) 735-8212 or visit www.foundationhoc.org.

By C. Harris-Lockwood