In
1997 Stephen G. Hoffman and Timothy Cavanaugh started The
Run to Daylight Program. They had the idea of providing
the players from the Queens Falcons Football Organization
with the opportunity to attend some of the top boarding
schools in the northeast as well as local private schools
in the New York City Area. Tragically, Stephen Hoffman was
among those lost in the World Trade Center disaster during
the events of September 11th, 2001. Tim is now joined by
another coach from the Queens Falcons program, Joseph Marino.
The
mission of The Run to Daylight Program is to help our inner
city young men secure a top quality education not normally
available to families of limited financial means. The program
concentrates on finding candidates that are not just athletes
but good students as well. These student-athletes are matched
with schools that can offer a better education than normally
found in the inner city public school system. Basically,
their athletic ability helps them to achieve a quality education
and opens doors to them normally reserved for more affluent
families.
The first candidate in The Run to Daylight Program was a
young man named Taylor Sele. He was accepted to the Preparatory
school Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts in September of
1999. Taylor has since finished his successful prep-school
career as the state of Massachusetts� third ranked high
school prospect and one of the tops in the nation. Taylor
was then courted by Notre Dame, Maryland, and Kentucky before
deciding to attend Boston College. As of the fall of 2002
he was red-shirted and we all anticipate a stellar collegiate
career to come.
Since Taylor�s acceptance to Lawrence Academy, the program
has helped upwards of 35 other young men in fulfilling their
dreams of attending these prominent academic institutions.
Each year The Run to Daylight Program hopes to be more successful
than the last. This year alone 18 former players will be
heading to some of the following well-respected schools:
Choate Rosemary Hall, Poly Prep, New Hampton, Lawrence Academy,
St. Thomas Moore, Avon Old Farms, Holy Cross, St. Francis
Prep, and Pomfret Academy. The list grows every day.
Our long term vision for the program is to one day be able
to send 50 student-athletes per year to these prominent
boarding schools. Eventually we would like to grow in our
scope to include a building, which would serve as an after
school tutoring facility for the SAT, SSAT, ISEE exams and
tutoring for individual subjects.
While our commitment to our kids is unquestionable, we cannot
do all of this alone. We rely on tax-deductible donations
to our league to survive financially. The registration fees
we charge basically cover our operating expenses. We will
never turn down a child who wants to play football even
if he cannot pay the registration fee. We have a saying:
�We�ll supply the equipment if you supply the commitment�.
Well, we are asking for a commitment from you, however large,
in order to keep assisting these young men and to continue
our resounding successes.
To
get involved or request any inquiries, please email
[email protected] |
