Covenant House 20th Annual Awards Dinner

Jun 8, 2004

Waldorf Astoria, NY, NY

“A Second Chance.” Many folks wish they had “a second chance.” Sadly, in today’s world, second chances are a rare find. However, for those young people who have either taken the wrong road in life, or had been born into the

wrong environments—neglected, abused in one way or another, or abandoned altogether, the Covenant House has demonstrated an extraordinary degree of compassion, making it policy never to deny anyone of their humanitarian services—services such as childcare for single parent teenagers, a place to stay for an abandoned youth, medical care, vocational training, legal services and more. It is this extraordinary level of compassion that has made Covenant House a hallmark within the scope of humanitarianism. The 20th Annual Awards Dinner, we attended was to recognize those who, humbly, and out of the goodness of their hearts, have made sacrifices of time and money to not only support Covenant House, but to literally move it forward in its mission of spreading compassion, love and understanding to those who need it most.

The festive gala began with an opening message by John C. Sites, Chairman of the Covenant House, who began by giving the audience feedback on what their response to the Covenant House cause was—to the tune of $1.6M, which was the amount that Covenant House raised, as of that moment, through its silent auction. He then gave recognition to all of the dinner co-chairs as well everyone in the audience, stating that “the response was to a call from your own hearts—a call from God.” His first question about the Covenant House system of programs was “Does it work?”, followed by his own answer: “We should all know it does.”. Mr. Sites then spoke about Covenant House’s other services—beyond supporting folks in the midst of crisis. These services include heathcare, drug abuse programs, vocational and educational services, legal services, pastoral services, and more. Mr. Sites concluded by stating that the Covenant House, in its providing jobs and housing, helps people adjust to the real world.

After Mr. Sites spoke, everyone listened to Father Placid Stroik, OFM, give the invocation. After Fr.Stroik gave the invocation, Mr. Sites returned and gave recognition to former President, Sr. Mary Rose, and introduced Sr. Patricia A. Cruise, S.C., Covenant House’s current President.

Sr. Cruise came to the podium and spoke about how important it is to protect our children. She went so far as to say that it is our number one responsibility. Covenant house’s mission, among others, is to protect children that have run away, been thrown away, or have been stolen way. She began to read a very touching email about Reverend Timothy Cohn, who was one of the people whom Covenant House had taken off of the street and given back his life. Rev. Cohn told Sr. Cruise how, twenty years ago, Covenant House had taken him off of the streets and provided him with a safe haven. While he still, to this day, does not know who answered the phone, when he called for help, he was much appreciative of the compassion he experienced when calling. He thanked the honorees for the event for their support of Covenant House, thanked their corporate board, all of the donors, and everyone else who helped make it possible Covenant House to have helped him.

After Sr. Cruise had spoken, everyone heard a message from one of Covenant House’s past help recipients, Rosemarie Cruz. Ms. Cruz spoke about how her father had sexually abused her, how her relationship with her mother was not good, and that she had a child at the young age of 17, while on the streets. When she attempted to return home, her mother did not allow her to bring her child into the house, stating that she could not stay under her roof unless she gets rid of her baby. “This was not an option.” According to Ms. Cruz, which led her to the Covenant House, where she was readily accepted with her baby, Lee Ann. Ms. Cruz stated how Covenant House had furnished her with the basic needs, a roof over her head, daycare for her baby while she herself was helped with whatever medical care, vocational and educational training and job preparation she needed. Covenant House even arranged for her to attend college, which she will be starting soon. Ms. Cruz was very thankful for having found Covenant House, for the donors who supported their great works, and especially thanked God for having given her the strength to go on in life.

The honorees were then introduced by Brian McAuley, the first of whom was Paul Saunders, Esq., of the law firm Craveth, Swaine and Moore, LLP. When Mr. Saunders came to the podium, he began his acceptance speech by first commenting that it is not very common that a attorney receives an award from a client. He than continued by thanking the officials at Covenant House for the privilege of representing them for so many years. Mr. Saunders cited a number of people who he believed have made a tremendous impact in the growth and sustenance of Covenant House, including Mr. Ralph Pfeifer, who, as he said, “is solely responsible for the survival of Covenant House.” Mr. Saunders also spoke about Sr. Mary Rose, about whom he commented “we are looking forward to helping Sr. Patricia Cruise, Covenant House’s President, continue the legacy that Sr. Mary Rose had left behind.” He stated that the late William M. Keunstler had stated that the secret to a happy lawyer is that he loves the client he represents, and continued by saying that Covenant House falls into this category.

The next honoree was Mr. Lawrence Kudlow, CEO of the economic and investment research firm, Kudlow and Co., LLC. When Mr. Kudlow received his award, he began his speech by stating that he accepted the award with great humility. He stated that Covenant House the ultimate “safety net.”, and its mission was to reflect God’s compassion. He spoke about how so many youngsters have problems with alcohol and drugs. He went on to say that Covenant House had relieved many of the burdens associated with these problems. In his own words, he made the following comments about Covenant House. “I love the Covenant House program. I love these kids, and I love the staff and the directors.” He then began to tell everyone about how he himself, at one point in his life, had drug and alcohol problems. He “fell off his high horse—to an even deeper bottom.” This experience was a blessing that had changed his life. He stated very humbly how he was grateful for having been given a second chance on life—that “Life is about second chances.” He gave thanks to Mr. James Cramer, a friend of his who is very active in the D.A.R.E. program, and teaches kids how to say “no.” to drugs. He also gave thanks to another friend of his, Carl, for “keeping me sober.” He commented that the kinds of second chances that are made available by Covenant House are only found in America. He told everyone that, statistically, Covenant House has helped over 700,000 people, thus far. He concluded his speech by saying that honor is a wonderful grace, that he is praying in gratitude and humility for this event, he thanks God for giving him this honor.

Bruce Harris was the final honoree. Mr. Harris is the Executive Director of Covenant House’s Casa Allianca program. For years, Mr. Harris had championed the cause of many youngsters from Guatemala and other Central and South American regions, where thousands upon thousands of youngsters are exploited and abused on a daily basis. There are even government sponsored killings of hundreds of these youths on an annual basis. Mr. Harris mentioned of one youngster who was imprisoned in Central America, who was there for having stolen a necklace from someone—he stole the necklace for food. Mr. Harris stated that many of these kids only wanted to go to school and to be loved and cared for. Many of these kids, when on the street, do whatever it takes to survive. There are an estimated 50,000-60,000 youngsters who head north to the U.S. every year, just because they want to be able to go to school. Mr. Harris summed up his speech by telling every parent who was the event that, when they get home, “hug your children, and tell them that you love them, because where love ends, the family ends, and where the family ends, the streets begin”

Everyone then saw a tear-jerking, fifteen minute video presentation on some of the work that Covenant House had done over the years, showing how Covenant House had taken people off of the streets and put them through their programs, setting them back on the correct path in life. Some of the kids in the video actually said that they don’t know where they would have been had it not been for Covenant House to step in just in time. A second chance… That’s what Covenant House is all about. . . . a second chance.

We would like to thank Mr. Richard H. Hirsch, Sr. Vice President of Communication for Covenant House, for having invited us to attend this wonderfully touching event. Anyone interested in learning more about covenant house, or would like to make a donation, may visit their website, at http//www.covenanthouseny.org.

Abbey H. Muneer is the Executive Director of H.A.D. Organization of New York City, Inc., a world-famous athlete, author and, above all, a humanitarian. Abbey will write articles about charity events, benefits, fundraisers and galas which are raising money for humantiarian causes. If you are interested in having Abbey and one his staff members cover one of your charity events, benefits, fundraisers or galas, feel free to notify us one week in advance, at LNEvents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616, between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm e.s.t. and ask to speak to Abbey or Maria. If you would like more information, or would like to have Liberty News Online Magazine consult your next charitable event, please feel free to visit our website, at http://www.hadofnyc.org/store/success.html, email us at humanitarians@hadofnyc.org, or telephone our hotline, at (718) 507-7616, between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm e.s.t. (U.S.A.)