Great Falls Youth Corps and Paterson Youth Council visit Washington D.C.

On June 18-19th, members of the Great Falls Youth Corps, along with associates from the Paterson Youth Council visited Washington D.C. to learn first hand about the deep connection between the nation’s capitol and the historic city of Paterson.  The lead organizers, the Great Falls Youth Corps—one of NJCDC’s newest youth programs—is an innovative partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) consisting of fifteen Paterson high school students.  These young leaders will become ambassadors of the nation’s newest national park: the Great Falls National Historical Park.

            This engaging field trip was “jam-packed” with several tours of Washington’s most famous sites, not to mention meetings with top legislative officials and policy-makers.  Paterson youth met with several staffers of both Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi and legendary Congressman Bill Pascrell. Among these top officials was John Lawrence, Chief of Staff for Speaker Pelosi, who is not only a Paterson native, but has long been committed to the education and development needs of urban youth.  Mr. Lawrence shared his thoughts and experiences on the types of issues Congress contends with daily, working with President Barack Obama on national legislation, and how he went from Paterson to Capitol Hill.  The students also spent the afternoon with Leonard Zax, another Paterson native and friend of NJCDC.  Mr. Zax is President of the Hamilton Partnership, a partner organization of NJCDC working to revitalize the historic center of Paterson by successfully launching the new national park.

            When the students weren’t mingling with Washington policy-makers, they toured the Library of Congress, Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument (to the top!), and Arlington National Cemetery.  While at Arlington, Paterson youth visited the gravesites of several important figures of American history, not the least of which was the famous city planner and engineer Pierre L’Enfant, who played a significant role in the design and planning of both Washington, D.C. and Paterson.  The group also went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to see the Spirit of St. Louis (whose engine was built in Paterson!).  Youth packed a lot into their two-day trip, and are excited to share what they learned! 

For more information on the Great Falls Youth Corps, please contact David Gelman at (973) 413-1627, or dgelman@njcdc.org.  For more information on the Paterson Youth Council, please contact Eddie Gonzalez at (973) 413-1641, or egonzalez@njcdc.org.