2017 Russ Berrie Making A Difference Honorees - Part 1

Steve Adubato sits down with four Russ Berrie “Making a Difference Award” honorees to discuss the importance of giving back to others, having community support behind non-profits, and the impact of being an honoree of the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award. Guests Include: Angelica Berrie, President, The Russell Berrie Foundation; Zamir Hassan, Founder, Muslims Against Hunger- Central Jersey; Alysia Souder, Executive Director, The Institute of Music for Children; Robert Clark, Founder & Executive Director, YouthBuild- Newark.

7/15/2017 #3014

Excerpt:

"Welcome to Caucus, I'm Steve Adubato. You know, over the last 20 years, the Russell Berrie Foundation has recognized the unsung heroes throughout the state of New Jersey who are making a big difference in their communities. Here today to discuss the importance of giving back and serving your community, we joined by our good friend Angelica Berrie, President of the Russell Berrie Foundation, Zamir Hassan, Founder of Muslims Against Hunger, Central New Jersey, Robert Clark, Founder and Executive Director of YouthBuild Newark, and finally, Alicia Souder, I got that right? Executive Director of the Institute of Music for Children. Let's get to why we are here, even though we've done a version of this program. By the way, you're gonna find the website up for the foundation throughout this program. Check this foundation out. It is making a difference everyday, and recognizing great people. And by the way, just a few weeks ago, in the context of taping this program, we had our 21st was it? 21st. 21st award ceremony at Making a Difference. Could you please, Angelica, put this into context, and assume that people have never seen us do this program before. What is this event? Who do we recognize? And I'm honored to moderate it, to host it. And why do we recognize these folks? Over 21 years, Steve, we've had people who make a difference in 21 different communities in New Jersey. Over 2,900, almost 3,000 nominees. And that's a very powerful network for change. Change agents working together, working separately, creating a platform that really will make a difference in terms of impacting New Jersey. How did it start? It started with my husband's dream. My husband had this idea that the news... Russ? My husband Russ Berrie had this idea that the news was always focused on negative things, and we don't shine the spotlight on people who make a difference in their very small but meaningful ways, and we found out that all these small gestures have such a large impact in our communities. So it's been a very rewarding journey. 21 years of doing good. How many...? Before we introduce everyone and give you a chance to tell your story to talk about the work you do, the people you impact, and the awards themselves, how many people have been recognized over these 21 years? 2,900 nominees, but every one of them is worthy of the prize. I think it is hard, but we've had 2,900. That's a lot of people..."