Top 6 Takeaways from a Day on the River in Newark with Brick City Rowing

On Saturday, May 8th, the 1Huddle Team joined volunteers from across Newark to help clean up a local park on the edge of the Passaic River in Newark, NJ. We joined forces with our friends at Brick City Rowing, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, and Arshay Cooper to help create a clean and safe environment for students of the rowing teams, and hopefully the future home of a new boathouse in Newark. 

3 hours and 50+ garbage bags later, the cleanup was complete! It was a humbling experience to lend a hand, especially right in our backyard. As MLK once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”

Here are our team’s top 6 takeaways from the Riverfront Cleanup.

1. “It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make a big impact.” –Nora Boussatta, Sales Development Rep

2. “I was blown away by all the people who showed up and it was great to see how much we were able to accomplish together. Every person who came out cared about the community.” –Bri Hernandez, Chief of Staff

3. “Don’t take things for granted. Those kids run 4.5 miles every day to practice just to have the opportunity to practice.” –Roger Bernardino, Director of Enterprise Sales 

4. “It was great to get involved in the community we work in and be part of something that can make a big impact in our city.” –Oliver Kaczor, Sales Development Rep 

5. “Seeing the kids work with one another, and their relationship with Coach White and each other was super awesome; the future is in good hands.” –Jaime Lara, Manager of Branded Media

6. “Some say you need to get the right people on the boat. But, in times like this, we should really be fighting to make the boat bigger.” –Sam Caucci, Founder and CEO

A little goes a long way. We’re proud to support our local community, our friends at Brick City Rowing and St. Benedict’s Prep, and most importantly the young athletes that will lead our workforce in the near future. 

Want to learn more and get involved?

Brick City Rowing. To get involved and support young athletes, donate to Brick City Rowing. 

Craig White. President and Co-Founder of Brick City Rowing and Head Rowing Coach at St. Benedict’s Prep School. He joined us on the Bring It In podcast for a convo on everything from the importance of letting your people fail and make mistakes to what it means to be a truly great coach and mentor. Listen to his episode. 

St. Benedict’s Prep School. To get involved and support young athletes, donate to St. Benedict’s Prep School. 

Arshay Cooper. member of 1st all-black rowing team, award-winning author, motivational speaker, activist, and protagonist of the acclaimed documentary “A Most Beautiful Thing.” Arshay joined us on the Bring It In pod, listen to his episode. 

Rowing in Color Podcast. And shoutout to Rowing in Color Podcast, lead by Denise Aquino and Patricia Destine who are two women of color dedicated to promoting diversity within the sport of rowing. Listen to their podcast.