Tommy Belton, 2013
In 2007, Brooks Dyroff and friend Kenny Haisfield, both students from Boulder, Colorado, started CEO 4 Teens, a non-profit organization focused on global education. They raised enough money to sponsor an Integrated English and Computer Skills class of 10 students in Indonesia. The duo continued sponsoring classes, and by the time they graduated high-school, they had graduated two more classes of identical size.
Brooks Dyroff is now a sophomore on the Boston College hockey team. He has just returned from Minnesota, where he received the BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award, an award given annually to a collegiate hockey player who serves the community. Dyroff won the award not only for his work abroad, but also for his cooperative work with the local St. Columbkille Elementary School in Brighton. Dyroff has organized a “Race to Educate,” a 5K race around Boston College on April 16th at 10 a.m. Registration can take place on race day or at www.bcracetoeducate.com. He and his teammates have also been selling hats and donating all profits to St. Columbkille. I sat down with Brooks and interviewed him on the recent success of CEO 4 Teens and its future.
What made you want to start CEO4teens?
Kenny and I started it because we had been doing a lot of stuff back home. We were bagging lunches, working at homeless shelters, helping little kids how to skate, and doing other stuff around the community. The feeling of giving back was really heart-warming and we really wanted to see if there was a manageable project we could do to take it to the next level.
What has the recent support of your teammates and everyone at BC meant to you and to CEO 4 Teens?
Everyone has been amazing. I have amazing teammates who are ready and willing to help. The support network has stretched beyond the team, too which is great. People not on the team have been buying the hats and asking what they can do to help. It’s awesome. They have all been really supportive. Everyone’s been real willing to help out. It helps me realize that things are going the right way and that we’re moving in the right direction.
How did the recent work come about at the local St. Columbkille school?
St. Columbkille is an elementary school in Brighton. I’ve acted as sort of a liason between Columbkille’s and CEO4Teens. Columbkille was actually brought to my attention by one of the manager’s on the team, and we started working with the kids earlier this year. All my hockey teammates got paired up with a 5th grader. We’ve developed good relationships with the kids and have acted as big brothers and big sisters. It’s a blast. We have fun with them. We tutor them and laugh with them. It’s just a good outlet from the usual friends and families sometimes.
What are the upcoming projects for CEO 4 Teens?
Right now, we’re anticipating the graduation of our 5th class of ten students this summer, which is awesome. That brings the total up to 50, but we’re not stopping there. Kenny and I plan to keep this initiative going for a long time to come, and hopefully this is just the beginning of something great. As far as Columbkille, I think all of my teammates are going to stay close with the kids we met this year and continue going there next year.
When’s the last time you visited the school in Indonesia?
Kenny and I went in the summer of 2007 and Kenny went back in 2009. I’m trying to figure out a time to go in the next year or two, but it’s just hard with all the hockey lifting and school. As much as I’d love to go back, we’ve developed such a strong relationship with the coordinator at the school that we can keep in touch just as effectively without actually being there. That’s really comforting.
