In November, a group of people in Brooklyn, New York helped with donations to feed 400 families and 800 people at the Children of the City annual food drive before Thanksgiving. Since its inception, this organization has reached thousands of children at home, school, and on the streets and playgrounds.

"This year we went around to different food distributors and asked them to donate turkeys and canned foods. We obtained enough food to feed more than 800 people, who my family and I along with other members of Children of the City helped distribute to the families," said Rocco Basile, one of the charity's board members. "With support like this we can effectively reach and change the lives of many families, improving their quality of life by breaking the cyclical effects of poverty and giving them hope for their future."

For more than two decades since 1981, this organization has successfully served the underprivileged children and families in the inner-city communities Southwest Brooklyn, helping them overcome welfare and poverty and become homeowners, businesspeople, and more. Many families have turned away from lifestyles of violence and gang activity and have overcome substance abuse. They are now pouring time back into the community by volunteering.

The giving team includes many certified professionals, along with 50 highly committed and trained volunteers who visit about one thousand children each month. During the year the organization maintains current information on over 500 families in the community, giving them encouragement and resources, and hoping to give them a better tomorrow.

In recent years Basile has been spending more time with his charity work. One of several life altering moments happened to him after he read a passage the book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," which helps people in achieving interdependent effectiveness by offering seven principles.

The book speaks about an emotional bank account... whereby as you do good for others and keep commitments, you make deposits in the emotional bank accounts of others. As these deposits grow, your relationship grows. There may be times that you make a withdrawal (broken promise, hurtful statement) but, if your emotional bank account is full from past deposits, this person will forgive you and your relationship will remain strong.

He continued, "This concept has helped me repair many broken relationships. This has changed the way I treat others. Relationships are the source of my happiness."

This was an epiphany as he realized that there was a time in his life when nobody would have come to his funeral, never mind speaking at it.

Now, one of the elements that he has realized is important for this process to work is that it begins with education. He firmly believes that educating youth and being a role model gives them an understanding of this principal.

People interested in changing their lives might ask themselves, "What is my talent and how can I serve?"

People like Rocco Basile can also serve others by sharing experiences and showing others how to live a life of ethics, morals and a strong sense of principal. There is tranquility and happiness in a life that you can be proud of.