Sinorice Moss Helps N.Y. Teens Meet Goals

Sinorice Moss wants to dare kids to dream of a better future.

The New York Giants wide receiver is launching a program called Dare to Dream, which asks teachers and high school students to take a pledge expressing their goals, such as improving their grades by the end of the year or applying to college. It then rewards students when they achieve their goals.

Throughout the school year, the foundation works with students to monitor progress and provides support to schools such as books and classroom supplies. Students who accomplish their goals will receive a certificate signed by Mr. Moss and other rewards, such as tickets to a game or a chance to speak at their schools.

"I tell these kids that it's not going to happen overnight, I didn't just wake up and become a professional athlete," Mr. Moss says. "I worked hard and went to college and if these kids and their teachers can dare to dream, they will accomplish what they set out to do."

Mr. Moss was born in Miami and played college football at the University of Miami, where he helped form the Moss Foundation with his older brother, Santana, a wide receiver for the Washington Redskins. The two donated more than $250,000 for training camps, community fairs and other school projects.

When he was drafted to the New York Giants in 2006, he says he wanted to also work with children in New York City.

"I started hearing about a school system that was failing these students and I wanted to show these kids that someone cared about them and that through education, they can make it," Mr. Moss says.

This year,he ran a pilot program with Sobro, the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, which runs after-school programs for schools in the Bronx. About 20 children wrote letters to Mr. Moss, explaining short-term goals to read a certain number of books throughout the year or their dreams of becoming an astronaut. At the end of the summer, Mr. Moss plans to hold a barbecue with participating children to hand out certificates of achievement.

"Growing up in the city, there's a lot of distractions. We want to get these kids to start dreaming, to start thinking about a future and making the right choices," says Deidra McKoy, a youth counselor at Sobro.

Sobro works with schools like Christopher Columbus High School, which was among 19 schools Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to close this year as part of a strategy to shutter failing schools. The State Supreme Court said the city didn't follow proper procedure and ruled to keep the schools open.

"Many of the kids wrote in their letters to Sinorice that they feared their school was going to close… it felt hopeless, it affected their psyches," Ms. McKoy says.

The Dare to Dream foundation now looks to expand the program in other schools and create a fellowship for teachers and guidance counselors at participating schools.

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(wsj.com)