Everyone had to get up early. Most arrived at as early as 6 a.m.! Believe it or not on a Saturday! Then again it was at Central Park in Manhattan, the weather was nice and it was a perfect place to be find peace/love!
Clare Bonafede, Principal of the William O'Connor School, and one of the group leaders of the "Bay Ridge Woc ers" said it best: "This is the United Nations! Everyone is at peace, people from all nationalities, everyone having fun!"
A member of Team Broadview, the Central Park Challenge's co-sponsor, added: "We all had to arrive so early before the sun, but we didn't care because it was for a good cause. Every year it's something we look forward to!"
I noticed that YAI staff seemed to be having just as much fun as the children and other participants! No fights, no complaints!
Kathy, a staff member who I know from YAI Manhattan Employment Services told me, "What we see here shows that we are doing a good job!"
Several celebrities attended the event, among them "Eyewitness News" anchor Bill Ritter and Miss USA Kristen Dalton!
The band, Dr. K's Motown Revue, played mainly dance music for everyone to boogie!
One of my favorite things was watching the children's races. There was no winner or loser--each kid won something. I also saw so much diversity and I believe that politicians and many other people could learn a lot from the Central Park Challenge.