INTER CAMPUS BACK IN NEW YORK

New York – We’re in Jackson Heights, Queens. All kinds of restaurants and stalls can be found along the streets, this being one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the Big Apple with a strong presence of immigrants from all over Central and South America, but also from South East Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia.

As is often the case in the big metropolis cities of the world, some of New York’s suburbs are rife with poverty and social degradation, but that also means that there are those focused on helping social integration and promoting active citizenship. Here in Jackson Heights we met with Ivan Rodriguez, Headmaster of the Joseph Pulitzer Intermediate School, a secondary school with 1,700 students from the local neighbourhood. 90 percent of the students at the school live below the poverty line according to US standards, some are homeless and many share apartments with other families just to be able to afford to pay the rent.

These are all conditions that led to Inter Campus’ introduction to the area, integrating the school’s activities with a completely free sports/football programme dedicated to students.

The Inter Campus project in New York is now underway, with 40 boys and girls aged eleven taking part in sessions led by two local coaches/educators. The aim is to support the children’s education through sport, promoting social inclusion at the same time.

The project had its inauguration on Saturday 11 January, with the programme and goals of our project outlined to the parents and children present at the ceremony.

All this was made possible thanks to Pirelli, a partner of this project as well as those in Mexico, Romania and Russia. A delegation from Pirelli, led by CEO Marco Crola, took part in the inauguration ceremony as well as the handing out of the official Inter shirts to the children, thus consolidating a historic partnership with Inter and Inter Campus and further expanding the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility.

13.01.2020