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Designed to highlight inspirational stories, HOPE (Helping Others Persevere & Excel) Week was a resounding success in its first season, even earning the praise of President Barack Obama when the Yankees visited the White House earlier this year.
"HOPE Week was such an important week for our entire team during our championship run in 2009," manager Joe Girardi said at the time in April. "It's great that the Yankees' organization will once again allow us to reach out and reward five more inspiring stories during the 2010 season. It should be another special week."
HOPE Week kicked off on Monday August 16th and ran through Friday August 20th during the team's homestand against the Tigers and Mariners. Throughout the week, all 25 Yankees' players, Girardi and his coaching staff, participated in reaching out to an individual, a family or an organization worthy of recognition.
Jorge is a 13-year-old quadruple amputee originally born in Panama. As an infant, he lost his hands and feet as a result of an infection. Since Jorge was 3, John and Faye Dyksen of North Haledon, N.J., have served as his foster parents, taking him into their home for three-quarters of the year through a program called Healing the Children - New Jersey. In the U.S., Jorge receives the medical treatment he needs, including prosthetics and the fittings and maintenance required of them.
On HOPE Week Monday, Mariano Rivera, Nick Swisher and four other Yankees surprised Jorge with a backyard pool party with his family and friends.
Blind since birth, Jane Lang made the decision a decade ago to expand her life by learning how to make the two-hour, two-train trek to Yankee Stadium with just her canine companion, Clipper. Now in her 60s, she has made more than 250 trips to Yankee Stadium on her own, serving as an inspiration to anyone feeling bound by circumstance.
On HOPE Week Tuesday, Manager Joe Girardi, players Joba Chamberlain, Chad Gaudin and David Robertson and former Yankee Tino Martinez surprised Jane at her Morris Plains, N.J., home and joined her on her trek to the Stadium.
Mohamed is an 18-year-old Sierra Leone native, civil war survivor and recent high school graduate. At age 9, he became the "man of the house," foraging to prevent his family's starvation in Sierra Leone. Since immigrating to an impoverished section of the Bronx several years ago, he has maintained his status as breadwinner for his family in West Africa. All through high school, he worked weekends and summers, enduring a five-hour round-trip commute via public transportation to work as a golf caddie in Alpine, N.J., sending his earnings home to Sierra Leone.
On HOPE Week Wednesday, Mohamed was given the New York City tour of a lifetime. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and pitcher CC Sabathia took Mohamed, who is an aspiring international business student, on a surprise tour of the New York Stock Exchange as the market rang its opening bell. The Yankees then escorted Mohamed to City Hall, where he was joined by Derek Jeter, Marcus Thames and Curtis Granderson in meeting Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Following their trip to City Hall, the Yankees and Mohamed visited the United Nations, where His Excellency Mr. Shekou M. Touray, Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, spoke with Mohamed and the Yankees in a private meeting and accompanied the group on a tour of the General Assembly Hall.
The "Beautiful People" organization of Warwick, N.Y., provides adaptive sports for special-needs children in Orange County. What makes this group's story so unique is that its founder, Peter Ladka, began the program despite not having any special-needs children of his own.
On HOPE Week Thursday, Yankees players and coaches were paired with special-needs children from the Beautiful People organization in a baseball game on the field at Yankee Stadium following the club's day game against Detroit. The Yankees, the children and their families enjoyed an on-field barbecue catered by Hard Rock Cafe as Yankee Stadium's famous "Bleacher Creature" fans stayed to cheer on the Beautiful People players.
The Arias sisters, Johanna (20) and Melida (18), have overcome hardships and homelessness and made their lives better through education and hard work. Two years ago, with their family struggling, Johanna chose to pass up college at Syracuse University in order to work so she could provide for her sister and mother. This fall, Melida begins her freshman year at Baruch College in Manhattan and hopes to become the first member of her family to graduate college.
On HOPE Week Friday, Yankees players Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Ramiro Pena, Francisco Cervelli and David Robertson surprised Melida at her job at Wendy's in the Bronx. The players then took Melida and her sister, Johanna, on a surprise shopping spree at DKNY in Manhattan to outfit Melida for her freshman year of college and Johanna for future professional opportunities. At Yankee Stadium that evening, the young women were surprised with paid internships - a medical internship for Johanna at Lincoln Hospital and a 2011 internship with the Yankees for Melida so she can gain professional experience while she pursues her studies.
2009's HOPE Week introduced fans to community heroes Marco and Jen Chiappetta and their Patchwork of Young Leaders Society, as Yankees players and Joe Girardi joined them in their home and took part in their mentoring program. The Yankees also encountered Tom Ellenson, as well as Ranjit Seal and Melvin Williams, who have each overcome disabilities and serve as inspirational members of society. In addition, the organization held an anniversary celebration for ALS-stricken George Murray, his wife Kim and their four-year-old son Trason, along with their family and friends at Yankee Stadium with Yankees players. The club also hosted an overnight carnival for Camp Sundown participants, who suffer from a rare genetic disorder which does not allow them exposure to UV light.
