By Elizabeth Grace ’15, Perspectives Co Section Editor
By now, you’ve probably heard of Humans of New York, often abbreviated HONY, if you frequent social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram. With over 12 million likes on Facebook and 2.5 million followers on Instagram, this “photoblog”, which started in 2010, has become exceedingly popular not only in NYC but across the nation and around the world. Though its original purpose was to become “an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants,” HONY has expanded to become an Internet sensation, and as of January 2015, it has helped changed the lives of hundreds of children in Brooklyn.
On January 19, 2015, Brandon Stanton, the man behind Humans of New York, posted a photograph of a middle school student named Vidal. According to its caption, Vidal responded to Stanton’s question concerning the boy’s greatest influence with, “My principal, Ms. Lopez. … When we get in trouble, she doesn’t suspend us. She calls us to her office and explains to us how society was built down around us. And she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter.” That single comment would spark a chain of events that would change the lives of every student at Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a middle school in crime-ridden Brownsville, Brooklyn that Vidal currently attends.
Three days later, on January 22, Stanton posted a follow-up photograph of Ms. Nadia Lopez herself, with a quote outlining the core principles of her school, finishing with, “There are children here that need to know that they are expected to succeed.” A second uploaded picture that day outlined a plan formed by Stanton, Ms. Lopez, and Ms. Achu (the Director of Programs at the school) in which they would create a fund to send the sixth grade class at Mott Hall Bridges Academy each year to Harvard University in an attempt to promote a way of thinking among the children that would allow them to believe in themselves and strive for success. Stanton included a link for followers of HONY to donate to the fund.
The next day, another HONY post announced that the fund had accumulated enough funds to support this trip indefinitely; in just 24 hours, the total amount of donations had amassed to $350,000, and each trip would amount to around $40,000. By January 26, the number had increased to over $700,000, and by January 29, it surpassed $1 million. With such generous donations, the fund no longer only supported the field trip for the students at Mott Hall Bridges Academy, but will also fund ten years of summer programs at the school and a new scholarship called The Vidal Fund. The first recipient of this scholarship, unsurprisingly, will be Vidal himself.
But the story does not end here for Vidal and Ms. Lopez. On February 3, they, along with Stanton, appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where each talked about his or her story and involvement in this incredible unfolding of events. Ms. Lopez spoke of how, just a week before Vidal appeared on HONY, she was ready to give up; after putting so much time and effort into trying to help all of these children, she wasn’t sure if she was really making a difference. And then she saw Vidal’s comment about her, and the supportive comments by HONY followers, and she regained faith in herself. Later in their appearance on the show, Ellen revealed that Target would be donating technology to supply every classroom at Mott Hall Bridges Academy, as well as offering similar donations to every school in that community. Target’s contribution amounted to around $100,000, all in support of education in the neighborhood with the single highest crime rate in all of New York City.
If Stanton, Vidal, and Ms. Lopez were at all star-struck appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, that was probably nothing in comparison with what happened next. On February 5, Stanton announced that the three had been invited to the White House to talk with President Barack Obama, a trip that would be accompanied by a picture of Vidal sitting at President Obama’s desk. In a series of subsequent photographs and captions, the president gave inspirational advice to both Vidal and his principal, relating the story of how in 1999 he ran for Congress and lost by a large margin, but he never gave up. Stanton then asked the President the same question he asked Vidal less than a month earlier: “Who has influenced you most in your life?” He talked about his mother, finishing with, “She had her own doubts, and fears, and she wasn’t always sure of the right way of doing things. So to see her overcome tough times was very inspiring. Because that meant I could overcome tough times too.” The story had come full circle. On January 19, Stanton had asked a boy about his greatest influence; less than three weeks later, he was asking the President of the United States that same question.
As of now, the fundraiser has reached almost $1.25 million and is still open to more donations, where a month ago, there was nothing. Ms. Lopez was on the verge of giving up her role as an educator. Vidal was still a boy with great respect and admiration for his principal, yet he did not yet have a scholarship named after him, he had never appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and he had not met the president. And yet, now he has done all of this, because he decided to talk to one man about one woman who inspired him. One response to one question, with the help of generous donations to the cause, sparked one movement that will change the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of students in Brooklyn. One voice, no matter what age or of what background, really can make a difference in the world. Vidal is living proof.
If you want to follow Humans of New York or learn more about the fundraiser, here are some relevant links:
Donate Here: https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/let-s-send-kids-to-harvard
Humans of New York Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork
Humans of New York Instagram page: http://instagram.com/humansofny/
Humans of New York Website: http://www.humansofnewyork.com/
Brandon Stanton, Vidal, and Nadia Lopez on The Ellen DeGeneres Show: http://youtu.be/B6idxd3nDwc
