Governor Chris Christie joined with Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) Executive Director Geoffrey Canada to announce an expanded Promise Communities initiative and partnership between HCZ and the Christie Administration. July 20, 2011. (Transcript Below)
Governor Christie: Thank you. I turned to Geoff when you all started applauding and said I know they're clapping for you. They're also Waiting for Superman so you always clap when the movie starts, but first of all thank you for what you're doing. I mean, this is something, an experience I am sure that you won't forget and one that is going to be a great building experience for what you decide that you all want to do with your future while really contributing to your communities as well and that's really important and some of the best work that you'll probably get a chance to do in the first few years of getting out and getting to work and doing things over the summer that are important, because you're not only contributing to helping yourselves but to helping other people, and I think the older you get the more you realize, I know I do, that there are things that are a lot more important than your own self interest, you know, a lot more important than what you can get for you, but what you can help other people get.
Geoffrey Canada: Well I'm here with the Governor. Any time the Governor asks me to do anything about kids my answer is immediately yes, right? I say, you know, I know that people have lots of different political spectrums and the Governor and I don't belong to the same political party but we both care about the future of our young people because we know it's the future of our cities, it's the future of our state. You all know too well that Paterson and the other communities you come from are not going to do well, and that has nothing to do with being a Democrat, it has nothing to do with being a Republican, it's just whether or not you care about your communities and about the families and about the future of the young people and in that the Governor and I share the same passion.
