Richard Murphy Research Paper

To begin, I will talk about some of the major impacts that Richard Murphy had on the lives of others. Richard Murphy “founded the Rheedlen Center for Children and Families, now known as the Harlem Children’s Zone, which serves 12,000 youth and their families each year and is being replicated across the country as Promise Neighborhoods.” (huffingtonpost.com) He created the Beacon Schools in New York. This program turned school buildings into community centers after school hours. This idea is also being replicated across the country as Community Learning Centers. Richard Murphy created a program in New York that helped low-income working families complete tax returns to maximize their Earned Income Tax credits. Richard Murphy obviously knew that

He was especially committed to the youth of New York by making sure that they had a place to go after school hours, the Beacon Schools. “Mr. Murphy began winning trust and respect in Harlem by handing out day-old bread on the streets in the morning. On Fridays, he gave children a quarter to call him on a pay phone if they ran out of food over the weekend.” (nytimes.com) One of Richard Murphy’s predecessors for an organization recalls him scalping Broadway tickets to raise money for Rheedlen in its early years. These actions show that Richard Murphy was a trustworthy person, as he reassured children that they had a way to get ahold of him if they ran out of food. They no longer had to fear of starving. He earned respect by being out on the streets and actually helping those who needed it and by scalping tickets which proved that he would do whatever it was that needed to be done to help those less fortunate. I think that it goes without saying that Richard Murphy was an extremely caring person, obvious through his before mentioned acts. Richard Murphy also saw it as his responsibility to do something to help the many kids in New York who were struggling or at risk. A servant leader does not wait around for someone else to fix things; they take it upon themselves, which is exactly what Richard