Late last week the Mets sent this out as part of the Flushing Flash. Â Nice stuff.
The Mets and Citi have a shared commitment to community service and place a high priority on helping people in our hometown. Together – along with Mets fans — we support programs and individuals who devote their time and energy to bettering the lives of their fellow New Yorkers.
In addition to the second year of our season-long “Citi Field Kids” program and our inaugural “Teammates in the Community Week” at the end of June, we created the “Teammates in the Community Award” to recognize each month during the season volunteers who have demonstrated extraordinary service to our city. So far this season, members of the Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi have presented six awards to deserving men and women. We would like to share some of their stories with you:
The first recipient of the Teammates Award was Lieutenant Colonel Tom Endres, a volunteer with the Wounded Warrior Project. Tom graduated fromWest Point and former helicopter pilot in the 101st airborne division, fourth infantry division and second infantry division in Somalia. He returned to West Point as Director of Cadet Activities in 1998 and served as a coach at the academy. As a result of his volunteer work with Wounded Warriors, Tom has assisted countless soldiers in finding employment and adjusting to the transition back to civilian life.
Jacqueline Burgos, Nonso Maduka, Samson Z. Mesghena , and Darren Smith are fiercely committed to “being a part of the solution” to help young people break the cycle of poverty and channel their potential toward education and academic and personal achievement. They founded MOVE (Motivation Opportunity Viability Enterprise), which pairs high school students with young successful professionals who have all recently graduated from top colleges. Through University partnerships, MOVE students visit college campuses, take college accredited courses and secure college scholarship.
Since he started volunteering four years ago, Michael Seto has been ‘on call’ to help City Harvest wherever he is needed. Whether collecting excess food following greenmarkets and food shows or distributing produce at City Harvest’s Mobile Markets in low-income communities, Michael has gone above and beyond in his service to those less fortunate. As a talented photographer, Michael has helped bring countless supporters closer to City Harvest’s mission by documenting their work.
As we thank our honorees for making a difference in the lives of so many New Yorkers, the Mets and Citi look forward to our upcoming “Teammates in the Community” support of a Habitat for Humanity build in Brooklyn and a NY Cares service project with our fans at Citi Field later this season.
