May/June 2003
Operation
Respect CT:
Organization expands programs with youth sports focus.
Growth tied to donors’ generosity.
Peter Yarrow Sings “Don’t Laugh at Me”
with help from students from the CT Youth Forum. ING sponsored the
students’ attendance at the Operation Respect dinner.
L-R: John Klein, President and CEO of People’s
Bank and Co-Chair of Operation Respect CT, joins Dick Hoyt, Operation
Respect Board Member, Robert Tremaglio, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
in Stratford, Peter Yarrow and Nancy Pugliese, State Department of Education
and Trainer for Operation Respect in a lighthearted moment during the
pre-dinner reception.
L-R: John Klein, President and CEO of People’s
Bank and Co-Chair of Operation Respect CT, poses with Yvonne Mitto of
Hamilton Sunstrand; John Motley, President Travelers Foundation, Peter
Yarrow and Eric Crawford, Hartford Safe Schools Initiative.
Operation Respect CT, a nonprofit organization which has brought
its anti-bullying message to more than 60 percent of the elementary and
middle schools in the state over the past three years, announced it will
launch a new program this fall aimed at coaches and adults involved in
youth sports activities.
People’s Bank President and CEO John A. Klein, co-chair of Operation
Respect CT, made the announcement during the group’s annual fund-raising
dinner held Tuesday, April 8, at the Cromwell Radisson. The new program
will recognize the importance of respectful behavior around children in
sports situations, where, Klein said, “fragile egos can literally
take a beating in practice, during the game, or in the locker room.”
Jo-Ann Freiberg, Operation Respect CT executive director, told the crowd
of 700 that the past year marked significant increases in delivery of
the organization’s core training program, “Don’t Laugh
At Me.” In addition, a new training program called “Respect
Me” geared to middle and high school faculty, staff and students
reached more than 50 secondary schools, representing more than 25 percent
of those in the state since the program launched. Donor support also played
a key role in the growth of the organization, Klein said.
Through a generous grant from Hartfordbased United Technologies, providers
of early childhood care and education in the greater Hartford area will
benefit from the Operation Respect CT program.
Also recognized was David McCourt, the founder of the Juliana Valentine
McCourt Foundation, for his continued monetary support of Operation Respect
CT. McCourt, a New London resident, lost both his wife and daughter when
terrorists crashed United Airlines flight 175 into the World Trade Center
on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Don’t Laugh At Me” is a program designed for use primarily
with elementary and middle school youth to help address the problems of
bullying, ridiculing, teasing and harassing that can occur in schools.
The program was developed by Educators for Social Responsibility, in collaboration
with Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary, who was deeply touched by
a song of the same name by Steve Seskin. Yarrow performed a mini-concert
at the dinner.
The dinner is one of the major fund-raising events held by the group.
It is sponsored by People’s Bank, which has an extensive community
outreach program with a focus on child development and education, and
has been serving Connecticut’s communities for more than 160 years.
Operation Respect CT is co-chaired by People’s Bank President and
CEO John A. Klein and his wife Carla, an educator from Trumbull with 20
years’ teaching experience.
