General News
Pink power!
Nov 1, 2007 4:47 PM
UFT members walked with 5,000 of their neighbors through Staten Island’s Clove Lakes Park, where red maple, oak and birch trees were slowly shedding, at last, their summer coats, throwing off a brilliant swath of red and yellow autumn colors that matched the spirit of renewal among the walkers.
If anyone needed more inspiration, it could be found by watching the herons and egrets effortlessly landing on the undisturbed water and then hiding under the weeping willows, careful to keep their distance from humans and aggressive mallards foraging for their Sunday breakfast.
The enthusiastic UFTers started the walk in front of an architectural masterpiece, a Parks Department building named Stonehenge, built in the 1930s by the brawn and determination of Depression-era workers employed by the Works Progress Administration. Paraprofessional Nancy Delaney was there. She and her husband, Joseph, a member of the Notre Dame Club, were once asked what they do for fun and they had a fast reply. They volunteer.
The walkers passed graceful stone-arch bridges and a restaurant that has withstood of 70 years of use. There, they congregated, took water breaks, inhaled the view, snapped photos, reminisced about friends and relatives who died of breast cancer and greeted others who walked with the pink shirt labeled “Survivor.”
There was an abundance of laughter and tears and unrestrained joy. One survivor was raising funds by selling pink handmade woolen scarves she made all year — more than 100. When complimented on her two-per-week output, she laughed and said, “What else is an old lady supposed to do all year?”
It was a time for feeling powerful, although no one used that word. Church groups and synagogues, Curtis HS lacrosse players and members of the school’s nursing club mingled with firefighters, active and retired. They knew how important the day was: nearly $550,000 raised in just one borough.
UFT members also walked in the Bronx, Central Park and Jones Beach. In Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, 700 walkers participated as part of the UFT contingent, which included parents and students. UFT Special Representative Theresa Samuels said the top fund-raising school citywide was IS 239, Brooklyn, which raised more than $20,000. The chapter leader of the school is Michael Carlo and the team leader was Elizabeth Calise, supported by 150 students and the same number of staff members and parents.
