In 2015, I was invited to Medford High School to witness the collection of project presentations exhibited by The Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility students. There, I was met by Program Director Rich Trotta to review what I would witness briefly. As the students set up their displays and projects, I began to speak with them and inquire about their interests and goals set by their team. The student’s dedication, thoughtfulness, commitment to citizenship, and social responsibility were impressive. It made me wish I had been able to participate in this type of social programming.
While the students have participated in over 200 community projects, the program is just getting started. As the program continues to grow, we need to secure increased funding to ensure more students can participate in this meaningful program. I look forward to continuing to participate with our young men and women volunteering at The Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility. I hope you will join our team.”
The CCSR, a program that emphasizes character development and understands character as involving caring for the needs of those less fortunate and strengthening the community for all, IS A GEM…and something our entire nation needs at this critical moment in our history. As we examine our current leaders, I don’t think they suffer from low academic achievement. What is often in short supply is the empathy and caring that would make us stronger. You are adding value to Medford and contributing to a new generation that hopefully will become the leaders we all need.
What is powerful about how the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility operates is that its approach to learning combines lessons in civics, social and emotional learning, and community engagement in a project-based framework. Instead of separate initiatives, Rich Trotta and his dedicated teachers have synthesized all the essential skills and values. We want our students to learn to prepare to improve and strengthen the social fabric critical to our collective well-being.
Closing comment on the importance of and need for more CCSRs Whether it is climate change or the damage created by inequity, racism, and intolerance, we need from our future graduates not only skilled and thoughtful citizens but ones who care about their local community as well as the global community. The world has gotten much smaller in our lifetime, and CCSR provides a pathway to developing the kind of citizens we all want and need.”
When I was named the new play-by-play broadcaster for the Patriots in late April of 2013, I received a congratulatory phone call from the team’s owner, Robert Kraft. During our brief conversation, he emphasized the important place the Patriots occupy in communities across New England. When I told Mr. Kraft that I intended to impact the community outside the broadcast booth positively, his reply was one I’ll never forget. ‘Well, you’re going to get your chance.
Among them are Rich Trotta and the people involved in the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility. A couple of years ago, Rich and I were paired at a golf event to benefit The Bridge Center, a camp and learning center for kids with special needs. During our morning and afternoon together, he explained the history of the CCSR and described some of the work being done in Medford by the kids in the group.
It sounded remarkable. As I discovered in subsequent months while visiting Medford High School for the CCSR project fair and, more recently, spending time with some of its members this past fall, it is truly amazing. Many of the kids I spoke to are children of immigrants who settled here from all over the world. Some, by their own admission, came from modest economic backgrounds. They work daily, even while meeting school and other extracurricular commitments, to do good deeds — many far-reaching — for others, in and out of their community. They are truly inspiring. In such a divisive time in our country, when\common\decency and civility are too often lacking, this program and the people who are part of it make me more than hopeful; they make me very optimistic.
I’ve been blessed to broadcast for and represent what I believe is the best organization in the best sports league in the world, including four Super Bowls and three titles during my tenure. What makes me most proud of my association with the Patriots, however, is the quality of so many people who are part of the team and, in particular, their devotion to causes greater than themselves. Players and staff embody a true “Spirit of Volunteerism.” The same is true for the young people in the CCSR, who themselves are true patriots, committed to building a better community around them.
Following my last visit to Medford High this past fall, I took the step of contacting the superintendent of my school district in Milton and introducing her to the CCSR. One of the great benefits of CCSR is that it not only provides an organized environment for community service but also helps develop young leaders who gain as much as they give and will continue to do so as they graduate to other chapters of their lives. Their spirit and acts of volunteerism will permeate beyond high school. CCSR represents a total departure from factors — instant gratification, self-centeredness, detachment made worse by technology and social media that allow us to easily operate in our own echo chambers and bubbles, etc. — that are leading many of us to stray farther apart. CCSR nurtures the growth of young people who are engaged, empathic and inspired to do good work. Period. In Medford, the CCSR is achieving concrete results that are making it a better place. Expanding the program into neighboring towns and school districts will do the same. All of us will be the better for it.
Elliot Nerland, Team Organizer for the Krystle Campbell Community Betterment Project
In the wake of the 2013 Marathon Bombings, a group of Krystle Campbell’s friends were provided with the opportunity to create and host a marathon team in her honor. In 2014, the Boston Athletic Association provided the Campbell family with 15 marathon bib numbers, which were used to raise money for the memorial fund established in her name. Since 2014, the team “2c.2 In the City She Loved” has been fundraising in honor of Krystle, with all of the donations going to the Krystle Campbell Memorial Fund, which is overseen by The Boston Foundation. The team is organized by three of Krystle’s close friends, Erin Daly and her husband, Elliott Nerland, and Bonnie Fleischer. After 3 years of fundraising in Krystle’s honor, the Campbell family and the team’s organizers were eager to identify a sustainable program to make a larger charitable contribution.
As the team organizers and Campbell family have continued to learn about the CCSR program and all the amazing projects that are completed on an annual basis, they have only been more interested in encouraging the continued growth of the organization. Krystle Campbell had a contagious personality. She was a kind, caring, determined, hardworking young woman who was always there to support her friends and family. She always worked hard to make whatever project she attended the best possible. She enjoyed pleasing others, and through her hard work, she made the world a better place for many of the lives she impacted. As we learned more about the students in CCSR, their uniquely individual projects, and how each is different but meant to improve upon the world around them, it became clear to the organizers and Campbell family that by supporting the CCSR organization this was an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the Medford and Boston community and society as a whole.
Since 2015, “2c.2 In the City She Loved” has received 10 numbers from the Boston Athletic Association annually for fundraising purposes. In 2018, the Campbell family’s first financial contribution to CCSR was allocated to Medford Public Schools. The organizers of the marathon team, along with the Campbell family, have continued commitment to seeing the growth of the CCSR program in Medford Public Schools. The marathon team runners will raise a minimum of :35,000 annually, donated toward CCSR semi-annually in larger amounts. The organizers of the team intend to keep this relationship established and in place for many years to come.
The CCSR is a special program for students. Not only do the Campbell family and organizers of the marathon team feel that CCSR embodies many of the traits of Krystle Campbell’s personality and life, but the program also provides young children and adolescents with growth opportunities in meaningful ways. The application of Project-Based Learning opportunities allows the students to actively coordinate and participate in facilitating every aspect of their efforts from start to finish. The emphasis on community betterment as a core value of the CCSR organization teaches students civic and social responsibility in a way often not employed in the classroom setting. CCSR is an inclusive organization that builds off student interests and strengths. Students of all ages, socio- economic classes, races, religious and/or cultural backgrounds, and physical and/or cognitive abilities can participate. The program promotes community engagement, individual growth, and leadership. The Campbell family and the organizers of “2c.2 In the City She Loved” are proud to be members of the CCSR family and will continue to encourage its growth into other school districts as an after-school program or organization for years to come.
“I learned early on in life growing up in Medford that I wanted to be a leader, not as much a follower. I wanted to be a star athlete. Unfortunately, being short in stature, I was always the last cut or picked. It was then I learned about REJECTION. The emotional pain was devasting, but my drive to succeed was greater. I then chose to be a runner because no one can cut you from running. I then became the athlete I always wanted to become.
I knew right away that to be a leader, I needed to lead by example. I learned that I had to earn the right to set goals and to be a leader. I wanted to make a difference in this world.
In order to be a leader, I also needed a CHANCE. Isn’t that all most of us ever want in life…is a chance? At numerous times in my life, I was given a chance, and I did not want to squander it, so I took advantage of it.
I am in awe and quite amazed at the progress of CCSR. Oh, how I wish this existed when I was growing up in Medford 50+ years ago. The values being taught and the concept of taking responsibility for giving back and being a leader are just what is needed in today’s society and today’s school systems. Focusing on community and civic pride will not only make a difference but will give our children a solid foundation to achieve anything they want in life. CCSR gives our children what many other children don’t get, that is, a CHANCE.
We all need to collectively support the great work of CCSR. Our future and the future of our children depend on it.
Testimonials Written by Former Leaders of the CCSR Youth Empowerment Program
Tyler L.
Through my time in the CCSR, I learned that there are so many people who want to make the world a better place and who are motivated to take action. We hear a lot of bad things about people (especially the younger generations) and what I have realized is that kids these days are not lazy, they are not just self-concerned, and they make immense contributions to our community, our society, and our world. I learned that I had the power to make a change, which something I feel a lot of people (including my previous self) think is not possible.
It’s an ineffable feeling. I think the one fear of many people is living their lives and not contributing anything to the world. When you make the world a better place, even very minorly, that fear is chipped away. Through your work, you also see its impact and there is nothing better than seeing something you do actually mean something. I think that is why many kids get distraught about schoolwork. A lot of schoolwork does not mean anything to the students that have to do it. However, the work I have done with the CCSR means something to me because I know I am making a contribution and I know the value of my work is not just in turning it in. I will miss the opportunity it gave other students and myself, which is why I think the CCSR is such a great organization. There are a lot of people who genuinely want to do something impactful but they never do because they do not have a platform to take action. The CCSR is that platform and I will miss it. I will also miss Mr. Skorker. He is a very rare leader. He gives you the push to do the work because you know how much he genuinely cares about you.
Joey R.
The CCSR has meant the world to me over these past two years. Prior to joining there was an excessive amount of self-reflection of my life that felt more like self-punishment. I was ashamed to be someone who had nothing to show as their contribution to the world, a crushing feeling, even as a 15-year-old. When I was introduced to the CCSR I realized there was a path to improving the world that was not only accessible within my school, but also provided a sense of community which I craved.
An example is the Medford Slavery Memorial Project. By commemorating buried slaves in Medford with a marked gravestone memorial and having a celebratory ceremony, this CCSR project showed me the impact of slavery within our community and on black culture firsthand. I had a closer view of their struggles through poetry, speeches, and readings that, had it not been for the CCSR, I may not have experienced. What I’ll miss most about the CCSR is its reliability and community.
Since the moment I joined, I knew this was a place where anyone is accepted with any idea. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, all you have to do is show that you care about making the world a better place. This fosters a community of hundreds of students with a basis of kindness and empathy, which is hard to find anywhere else.
David M.
Being a CCSR leader, I think it has really taught me how to communicate and work on real life scenarios in problem solving, but also project managing. Being able to network, but also apply my classroom skills in real life situations. Going into high school, I was an extremely socially awkward and unaware kid. Joining DECA, and CCSR for me are really my true testimonials for me to grow emotionally. I’ve learned about how others live in certain conditions and how others suffer, family problems and other issues that affect my classmates or acquaintances.
Being in the CCSR has also given me an insight in changing the world into a better place. My project was to plan an entire carnival for the city of Medford. All of the proceeds would go to a non-profit organization called Four Diamonds, that would then distribute the money to pediatric cancer research and funds for patients. I wanted to make this carnival fun for everyone living in Medford but also to help a greater cause, with the money profited. As I enter my senior year, CCSR will be one of my most missed clubs. CSSR has really helped me grow as a person but also given me a chance to make change and show what my hard work will pay off to help others. But out of everything, I will truly miss all of my classmates, friends, and especially my advisors that all have believed in me since day one of everything I have done, from schoolwork to competitions, and my project.
Noelani L.
Through the CCSR, I learned that, contrary to how I used to feel, and how I’m sure many others still do, young people really can make a difference in this world. Maybe it will just start with the community, but it’s a start. Students in the past have done amazing, impactful projects and I have realized I can, and want to, do a project like those. The CCSR doesn’t just benefit our community but also creates an environment among students where we all support each other in projects and elsewhere.
I will definitely miss lots of things in the CCSR. I know I’ll really miss the people but maybe what I will miss most is our fearless leader Mr. Michael Skorker. He is one of the most compassionate and generous people I have ever met. He is always trying to make the world better but he also manages to make all CCSR students feel safe and heard and remembered and special.
Aidan B.
One of the biggest things that I have learned about myself from being in the CCSR is how important being a part of a community is to me. I have always wanted to join an organization such as the CCSR and service has always been an important role in my life, but I did not realize how much the positive community that the CCSR has created would impact me every day. The CCSR has helped me grow emotionally because it has provided me with a support system, and a group of people that will always be there for me, and it has made my weekdays feel much more fulfilling.
When I am working with middle school students, students with disabilities, or the less fortunate, it feels really good to be able to give back to the community and to truly have an impact on someone. I also feel that in many of these relationships, with students of all ages and abilities, they have had an impact on my life as well. This feels really good to know that I have formed a real relationship with these people, and that we are all learning from each other, which is an important part of the CCSR. I think the thing that I will miss the most about the CCSR is the sense of community that is felt in all of the meetings and events. Everyone always brings a positive attitude and a willingness to make the world a better place to live, and I think that I will miss that part the most.
Colin B.
From being in the CCSR for the past 3 years, I learned what it means to truly be a member of the community and what it means to be a good citizen. I learned that although times can be rough, you can always make things better if you look for the silver lining of things. The CCSR helped me grow emotionally by teaching me how to be sympathetic and caring for all. Prior to my entrance to the organization, I thought I had a general understanding of caring for my community, but upon entrance, I realized how much it meant and I find myself wanting to help more now than ever.
I’ll definitely miss my advisors of the CCSR and I’ll miss the friends I’ve made as a result of my projects. They all mean so much to me and I wouldn’t be here without them.
Liana C.
From the CCSR, I learned that there are several ways I could help my community without it having to be massive projects. The CCSR helped me learn that the little things matter. I learned projects were more enjoyable with others. CCSR helped me grow emotionally by giving me a way to give back to my community. It’s allowed me to connect with more people and learn about new things. Working to make the world a better place to live felt really good. It felt fulfilling helping others, and I loved being able to make a change in their lives.
Jonah S.
I learned that enthusiasm is important in being a leader, and people will listen to you if
you're genuinely interested in what you're talking about. Learning about leadership is
important because it's a skill heavily utilized in daily life and the workforce. It's important
to reinforce that kids can be leaders and make positive changes while they are young
so they can make it a part of their lifestyle as they grow.
another perspective to take on challenges, one in which I think of ways to make positive
change, not just ignore the obstacles. It's also given me more practical skills, like
communicating with a group, performing effective outreach, coordinating events, etc.
The CCSR is a valuable program that enables students to lead community service
projects. I enjoy the freedom of expression and satisfaction and the resources it has to
help you along the way. Even after I graduate, I hope it continues flourishing in the high
school and the rest of the district.