By CharliE otto
Charlie otto is an urban initiatives rock star in more ways than one. The front man for this must be the band, a talking heads tribute band, not only buRned dowN the house this past summer when he played a live show to Raise fuNds for Urban initiatives, he also took time out of his busy touring schedule to volunteEr With our kids at a receNt game Day. what wAs coaCh charlie’s impression after seeing the work to play Program in action? read on to hear from the rock star himself:
"I was so happy to see that the Work to Play Program actually "worked," meaning the participants were really benefiting and knew they were benefiting from the program. Sometimes nonprofits and charity programs can make both sides feel like they are working really hard to prop the idea up and no one is really getting much out of it. My time volunteering with Urban Initiatives, however, showed me that this was definitely not the case – it was the opposite in fact. Everyone was having so much fun! As a volunteer, I personally won’t see the long term effects of the program on these kids (like developing healthy eating and exercise habits or developing positive character traits), but I was certainly able to see the short term effects of the Work to Play Program, and the kids were loving every minute of it!"
Thanks for all that you do for the Urban Initiatives kids, Coach Charlie! Our staff looks forward to catching one of your upcoming shows. Keep on rockin’!