on campus
Building the Bronx
C
harity begins at home; for Jaspers, it’s the Bronx. With Save Your City (SYC), a Jasper-founded charitable clothing brand and educational exchange, Manhattan students and alumni are working together to provide educational resources to disadvantaged schools. The charitable clothing line is built on an unforgettable emblem: a visual symphony of urbanism and urgency. It’s the brainchild of Perry Rizopoulos ’12, who says the company is rooted in real-world experiences and inspired by Manhattan College’s Lasallian mission. To date, SYC has donated thousands of dollars worth of educational materials — from books and athletic equipment, to computers and other electronics — to Bronxbased schools P.S. 294 and P.S. 91 and organizations such as Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) — where it all began.
James Breen ’12, Rebecca Cook ’13, Dan Russo ’07, Perry Rizopoulos ’12 and Georgia Ioannou ’14 prove that it doesn’t always take a village to help schools.
business model, made popular by TOMS, a company that donates a pair of shoes to a developing nation for each pair purchased in a developed one. However, Rizopoulos formulated a more direct strategy, a way for locals to give locally. Proceeds go straight to the purchase of educational resources. The idea was simple, but the execution, it turned out, required a community. Excited to A Seed of Service begin, Rizopoulos singlehandedly designed In 2011, then sophomore Rizopoulos was logging hours at KHCC’s after-school program and purchased T-shirts to begin raising money. He quickly realized that he could be as part of a class, Service and Catholicism, taught by Lois Harr, director of Campus Minis- more effective with a team. “I tried doing it by myself,” Rizopoulos says. try and Social Action and adjunct instructor “In retrospect, that wasn’t the smartest busiof religious studies. He assumed many roles ness move, but I knew I wanted to do it — I — tutor, supervisor and all-around mentor — and built connections with individuals during just needed some support.” Feeling determined, he donated his materithe course of a semester. With each hour, he als to charity before heading to San Francisco found himself more invested in the future of with Manhattan College’s Lasallian Outreach the children, the community. Volunteer Experience (L.O.V.E.). He joined nine “I decided to gear Save Your City’s efforts fellow Jaspers who spent winter break 2012 100 percent into getting resources into volunteering at a soup kitchen and a wellness schools,” Rizopoulos says. “Volunteering at center for the homeless, and tutoring children Kingsbridge Heights Community Center is in the Tenderloin neighborhood. actually what planted the seed.” It was during this life-changing experiHe was inspired by the one-for-one 6 N fall 2013
ence that he met and bonded with Joseph Murtagh ’14 and James Breen ’12, who helped revive the company. Rizopoulos says it was easy to share his vision for Save Your City with likeminded individuals. “I had designed the logo and thought of the name, and had started doing some visual stuff for it,” he says. “When we met, we clicked as friends, and I brought it up to them, and together we realized that we should pursue it together.” Growing a Community Their initial first drop off in September 2013 was a few books, one computer and a dozen T-shirts. But their presence in the community is growing. SYC merchandise has a following among current Manhattan students and word is also getting out to the alumni community. The College’s alumni network, particularly a group of Bronx-based educators, has opened many doors to the community. “Honestly, the whole thing feels completely serendipitous,” Rizopoulos says of a recent donation of more than 2,000 library books. “We received a huge donation this summer from a closing school in Westchester County. Our connection was James Kelly ’15 and Jean Marie Beckerly ’15, two education majors