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January 7, 2010 | Volume 4, Issue 1 | www.sdchamber.org | contact us
By Christopher Yanov, Founder & Executive Director, Reality Changers
I never imagined that signing up for the Chamber’ annual trip to Washington, D.C. would bring a member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet to visit Reality Changers, an organization that builds first generation college students here in San Diego.
“Reality Changers is absolutely a model – not for the city, not for the state, but for the country,” declared U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan from the Reality Changers headquarters on December 10, 2009. “This program is making the kind of difference in students’ lives that every child in this country needs and I couldn’t be more proud of the example that they are setting.”
Such words validated the efforts of the hundreds of inner-city students who have transformed their lives with the help of Reality Changers. Not only that, such high praise coming from the very top of the nation’s Department of Education made the case to every single one of the program’s future donors that Reality Changers is indeed worthy of significant support.
I still remember the day the Chamber’s delegation converged on the country’s capitol. After an early dinner and a run through the week’s itinerary, I found myself at the base of the Washington Monument. The whole city seemed aglow with possibilities. On this clear, crisp autumn night, the White House and the U.S. Capitol seemed so close to me that I felt that I could reach out and scoop them both up into the palms of my hands. Certainly, this had the makings of an incredible week.
The Chamber had arranged for two meetings at the Department of Education. Armed with a visitor’s badge and a willingness to share the successful strategies of Reality Changers with the nation’s top educational leaders, one meeting led to the next and before I knew it, I found myself in the Secretary’s office, face-to-face with Arne Duncan himself.
After formally introducing myself as a member of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, I shared with him the innovative approaches that Reality Changers uses to simultaneously combat gang violence and promote higher education. Sure enough, a scheduler suggested including Reality Changers during his December visit to San Diego less than three months later.
“You guys demonstrate what is possible when you have an opportunity,” Secretary Duncan told the enthusiastic students of Reality Changers. Looking back on that trip to Washington D.C., I share the same sentiment about the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
For a video of Secretary Arne Duncan’s visit to Reality Changers, visit www.youtube.com/RealityChangersOrg.
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