Jessie Murphy (left) and Danielle Greenstein, founders of “Big Apple Big Hearts”
Two students who received stipends at the event staged last night by the Graphic Communications Scholarship, Award, and Career Advancement Foundation (GCSF) were paid out of a fund that didn’t exist last year—and wouldn’t exist today except for the unusual efforts of two childhood friends determined to do something for those whose lives were disrupted by superstorm Sandy.
The benefactors are Jessie Ann Murphy and Danielle Greenstein, founders of “Big Apple Big Hearts.” This fund helps students in need of aid in the aftermath of the storm. Last night, it was the source of two $2,500 grants for Shannon Berry and Hillary Sells, both currently studying at Parsons the New School for Design.
Murphy and Greenstein have raised a total of $15,000 for the fund, including $3,000 from the sale of T-shirts and $10,000 in a contribution obtained from Quad Graphics. Murphy, a former GCSF scholarship recipient, is a freelance graphic designer and a recent graduate of New York City College of Technology. Greenstein is the principal designer at Midtown Studios LLC, an interior design firm.
Friends since summer camp, both knew people in neighborhoods hit hard by the storm. A week after Sandy passed through the metro region leaving $50 billion worth of damage in its wake, Murphy and Greenstein resolved to make up some of the loss to their peers even if on a small scale.
Murphy turned for advice to the seasoned fundraisers of GCSF, whom she credits with being unstintingly supportive of her education and the development of her career. “I learned a lot about giving back,” she says. Murphy’s continuing connection with GCSF includes serving as one of its trustees and as a member of its newly formed mentoring committee.
She and Greenstein applied the example of GCSF to their own fundraising plans, and thus was “Big Apple Big Hearts” conceived and launched. The drive continues with a planned “spa gala” in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, in August, aimed at raising awareness of “Big Apple Big Hearts” and attracting donations to it.”
“The more money we continue to raise, the more people we’re going to help.” Murphy says.
For more information about “Big Apple Big Hearts,” e-mail BigAppleBigHearts@gmail.com.
