This month the White Plains Salvation Army Afterschool Program held a special event which featured a talk by the Jackie Robinson Project (JRP) about how the famed Brooklyn Dodger helped integrate pro baseball and continued the fight for Civil Rights after his sports career.
JRP Co-Directors Richard and Barry Zamoff shared Robinson’s historic story with the youngsters who are in third to fifth grades. White Plains Corps Salvation Army Major Jen Alarcon extended the invitation to JRP so the children could learn more about this key American Hero.
Barry Zamoff commented, “I enjoyed meeting the kids and was pleased they knew another great humanitarian like Clemente.” During the question and answer session after the talk, one child asked if Jackie ever played baseball with the legendary Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente.
The two Zamoff brothers grew up in the Bronx and were avid Dodger fans. The duo made many trips to Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. As twelve year olds, they were guests on the Dodger sponsored “Happy Felton Knothole Gang Show” and actually met Jackie Robinson.
Founded in 1996, thru a grant by the District of Columbia government, the Jackie Robinson Project highlights Robinson’s activities as an informal Civil Rights leader. In 2008, the Project began going outside of DC to address schools and community groups. To date JRP has reached nearly 20,000 persons in 13 States and Japan.
