Photographer Raises $600,000 for NYC School in Dangerous Neighbourhood

The photographer behind the popular blog, “Humans of New York”, has helped a middle school raise $600,000 for an annual trip to inspire its students.

Brandon Stanton takes portraits of New York residents and posts them on his blog with quotes from person photographed. One portrait, however, went further then he could have imagined. One of his portraits was of a young boy from Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a middle school in Brownsville, Brooklyn. This neighbourhood has the highest crime rate in New York City.

"Who's influenced you the most in your life?" "My principal, Ms. Lopez." "How has she influenced you?" "When we get in trouble, she doesn't suspend us. She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter."

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Jan 19, 2015 at 4:20pm PST

The boy spoke about his principal, Ms. Lopez, as the person who's influenced him the most in his life. "When we get in trouble, she doesn't suspend us,” he said. “She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter."

A few days later, Stanton visited Principal Nadia Lopez herself at the school and learned from her what the kids faced. ““This is a neighborhood that doesn’t necessarily expect much from our children, so at Mott Hall Bridges Academy we set our expectations very high,” said Lopez. “We don’t call the children ‘students,’ we call them ‘scholars.’ Our color is purple. Our scholars wear purple and so do our staff. Because purple is the color of royalty. I want my scholars to know that even if they live in a housing project, they are part of a royal lineage going back to great African kings and queens. They belong to a group of individuals who invented astronomy and math. And they belong to a group of individuals who have endured so much history and still overcome.”

A couple days back, I posted the portrait of a young man who described an influential principal in his life by the name of Ms. Lopez. Yesterday I was fortunate to meet Ms. Lopez at her school, Mott Hall Bridges Academy. “This is a neighborhood that doesn’t necessarily expect much from our children, so at Mott Hall Bridges Academy we set our expectations very high. We don’t call the children ‘students,’ we call them ‘scholars.’ Our color is purple. Our scholars wear purple and so do our staff. Because purple is the color of royalty. I want my scholars to know that even if they live in a housing project, they are part of a royal lineage going back to great African kings and queens. They belong to a group of individuals who invented astronomy and math. And they belong to a group of individuals who have endured so much history and still overcome. When you tell people you’re from Brownsville, their face cringes up. But there are children here that need to know that they are expected to succeed.”

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Jan 22, 2015 at 10:04am PST

“When you tell people you’re from Brownsville, their face cringes up,” said Lopez. “But there are children here that need to know that they are expected to succeed.”

Following the meeting and the popularity online, Stanton, Lopez, and the school started up a crowdfunding campaign to help the sixth grade classes go on an annual tour to Harvard. “Since many of her scholars have never left New York, she wants them to know what it feels like to stand on the campus of one of the world's top schools, and know that they belong,” says Stanton. “She thinks the experience will broaden their horizons and expand their idea of their own potential.

They estimated that the trip would cost $30,000 with transportation and lodging, and Stanton chose a fundraising goal of $100,000 to safely fund three different classes over three years. However, the project exploded with generosity. Though the campaign only began on Thursday, January 22, donations added up to over $600,000 on Saturday afternoon. As a result, this trip will be a permanent part of the school's curriculum.

I spent yesterday afternoon in a brainstorming session with Ms. Lopez and her assistant principal Ms. Achu, trying to think of creative ways that the HONY community could help further the vision of Mott Hall Bridges Academy. Our discussion covered many needs, but we kept returning to one in particular-- the limited horizons of disadvantaged youth. Ms. Lopez’s school is situated in a neighborhood with the highest crime rate in New York, and many of her scholars have very limited mobility. Some of them are very much ‘stuck’ in their neighborhood. And many have never left the city. “It can be very difficult for them to dream beyond what they know,” Ms. Lopez explained. So the three of us struck on an idea. (OK, it was Ms. Achu’s idea, but we all agreed.) We want to create a fund that will provide each incoming 6th grade class at Mott Hall Bridges Academy a chance to get out of their neighborhood and visit a new place. And that place is Harvard University. “I want every child who enters my school to know that they can go anywhere, and that they will belong,” said Ms. Lopez. So we’re going to try to make it happen! Let’s help this visionary educator enrich the lives of her students. Please consider donating. Link in bio.

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Jan 22, 2015 at 9:51am PST

Now, Lopez hopes to use the extra funds for a summer program. She says that in the summer months, her students can't even go outside, since the parks, playgrounds, and even the library are too dangerous. “Just last Saturday, one of my scholars had two guns pulled on him while he was walking to the community center,” said Lopez. “In broad daylight. It’s just too dangerous to be outside, so my scholars stay inside all summer.”

An effective summer program for the students is about $40,000 per year, and now every $40,000 above the first $350,000 will go towards a safe summer for the kids.