Last September, a study was publicized that named Syracuse as the nation’s top city for poverty concentration amongst Hispanic and African-American citizens. The report described Syracuse as suffering from an “extreme poverty” — a sobering statistic that has since shed light on the harsh realities of those who live in the city.

John DeSantis, founder of the organization Believe in Syracuse, has made it his career’s work to change the image of city, ultimately helping to strengthen the community. DeSantis, a Syracuse native and Syracuse University alumnus, became inspired when he came to the realization that many of his friends from SU had moved away since graduating. DeSantis was well aware of the city’s stigma of being cold and jobless, but knew just how much untapped potential the city has.

“I started to realize that there are a lot of great organizations, and great companies and great employers in Syracuse — some of which need highly skilled workers,” DeSantis said. “I felt like my classmates could have been filling those jobs and my classmates could have been starting their own companies here in Syracuse and doing great things, but so many of them were moving away.”

The organization is now getting ready to celebrate its third birthday, and like last year, plans to do so by celebrating the very residents the organization was created for.

The goal of Believe in Syracuse is to promote the positive aspects of the city and channel passion about the area into community service. The organization routinely hosts “Syracuse Rising,” networking events that allow residents to come together at the site of local businesses.

The organization has also aided in backpack and book drives, diversity promotion programs and held the “Light up Syracuse” event, which encouraged businesses to leave their lights on overnight as a way to welcome visitors for the NCAA tournament.

All of this is done in the hopes that step-by-step, the local community can be vastly improved.

In celebration of all they have accomplished over the past year, Believe in Syracuse will be hosting its third birthday party on Thursday at the Landmark Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

Esther Zorn, Believe in Syracuse’s sergeant at arms and an SU alumnus, said the event will feature a magician, a variety of food, beer tastings, live music provided by the local Spring Street band and more. The turnout is expected to be close to 400 people — about double last year’s turnout.

Every year, two awards are given — to an individual and an organization — that have made a difference in the local community. Chris Fowler, executive director of Syracuse First, is being given the individual award for his work in the city.

Fowler’s organization focuses on helping to improve the economic standing of Syracuse by promoting local businesses. Fowler said he hopes to see small businesses in Syracuse be the center of its booming economy.

Believe in Syracuse chose the Samaritan Center, located in downtown Syracuse, to win the award for a local organization. The center serves food for the homeless, acting as a soup kitchen for anyone who needs it.

Both of the organizations have done significant work in line with the values that Believe in Syracuse was founded on and DeSantis believes that the future holds even more opportunities to improve the city.

“Even though there are huge obstacles that we face, if we work together and organize on a grassroots level, we can get things done and we can make a difference,” DeSantis said. “There is hope for these neighborhoods.”

Published on January 26, 2016 at 10:11 pm

Contact: slgozins@syr.edu