NEW ROCHELLE, NY –On Saturday August 29, CNR President Judith Huntington and several CNR students and staff were on hand to distribute approximately 500 backpacks to local children as part of an event sponsored by the Refuge of Hope Church in New Rochelle, which was founded by Mariano Rivera and his wife Clara, who is the pastor there.
The backpacks were donated by the Mariano Rivera Foundation, and several other organizations, including the Heavenly Productions Foundation, founded by CNR alum Kathy Reilly Fallon to help children in need.
“We were so pleased to partner with Refuge of Hope Church to provide much needed school supplies to the children of New Rochelle and welcome the involvement of alum Kathy Reilly Fallon in this good work,” said Huntington.
This most recent event is one of several that demonstrate the strong sense of partnership the College has shared with the Riveras over the last few years to recognize and advance their charitable work.
In 2014, the College awarded Mariano Rivera an honorary degree in appreciation for his commitment to humanitarian causes through his church and the Mariano Rivera Foundation, which Mariano and his wife founded in 1998 to provide health, vocational, and educational programs to underprivileged children. Last year, the College also inaugurated the Mariano Rivera Scholarship and later this month will award the full scholarship for the second time to local student Gianella Solorzano, in recognition of her academic record and outreach work in her community.
“Many people know Mariano Rivera as the greatest closer in baseball, but I have had the privilege to get to know him as an extraordinary model of someone determined to make an impact by dedicating his gifts and talents to helping others less fortunate,” said Huntington.
“Heavenly Production and The College of New Rochelle share the same mission of serviam (I will serve). It emphasizes our willingness to love others and serve God by helping those in need,” said Fallon. “As a 1990 graduate of CNR, I’m so proud to partner with my alma mater on a project such as this that helps so many children.”
In addition to their participation at the event in New Rochelle, Heavenly Productions Foundation’s annual backpack/school supply outreaches have helped 5,500 children both locally and globally. The Foundation also partners with CNR’s Campus Ministry annually to stuff new teddy bears and deliver these bears to children in need or who are ill in hospitals.