December 21, 2024 • 24 mins
Amy Rossman, Executive Director of Rodman for Kids in Boston talks about her career in the non-profit world, the mission and impact of Rodman for Kids, and her excitement around their recent rebranding initiative.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is What's at Risk with Mike Christian on WBZ Boston's.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
News radio.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Him My Christian here of What's at Risk. First up
on tonight's show, we have Amy Rossman, executive director of
Rodman for Kids in Boston. Amy talks about her career
in the nonprofit world, the legacy of Don and Marilyn Rodman,
the mission and impact of Rodman for Kids, and her
excitement around their recent rebranding initiative. And in our second segment,
(00:33):
we have an encore presentation with Patricia Cornwell, legendary thriller
writer and author of dozens of New York Times bestsellers.
She speaks eloquently about UFOs, Harriet Beecher Stowe, ruesome crime scenes,
Jack the Ripper, and her most recent novel, Identity Unknown.
(00:58):
Don Rodman came from humble beginnings when his children during
the Depression, he and his brother Jerry would sell newspapers
on the corner to help their mom put food on
the table. After serving our country in the Korean War,
marrying his beloved wife of over sixty years, Maryland, having
five sons, and working toward the opportunity to open his
own Ford dealership, Don who never forgot those who helped
(01:22):
his family along the way, found himself in a position
to begin giving back. Through Rodman Ride for Kids alone,
Don helped raise more than one hundred and fifty million
for kids. He also championed dozens of other organizations over
the span of several decades, undoubtedly making differences that are
still felt today. Marilyn Rodman impacted countless individuals throughout her life,
(01:48):
most notably the thousands of children for whom she advocated.
In addition to raising her own five boys, she served
on the Canton School Committee for over twenty years. In
that role, Marylyn's worked to maintain and build arts and
schools was legendary. She was also the inspiration for Rodman's
Theater for Kids program. As the story goes, her husband,
(02:10):
Ride president Don Rodman, was frequently sending kids to professional
sporting events, when she told them, Hey, there's another world
out there besides sports, you know. With her encouragement, Don
bought out the Opera House to send kids to see
South Pacific in two thousand and one, and the rest
is history. Her generous spirit lives on through Marilyn Rodman
(02:31):
Theater for Kids program.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
She's got a ticket to run She's got a ticket
to rune. J's got a ticket to run a geo.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Amy Rossman, executive director of Rodman for Kids, found community
discipline and formative leadership opportunities through participation in music programs
from elementary through high school. As a child. She was
fortunate to have a village that helped provide her access
to critical opportunities and resources, and she is deeply passionate
(03:09):
about ensuring equitable access for all kids. Amy came to
Rodman for Kids from one of its charity partner organizations
in two thousand and five and she's been there ever since.
She's also served as Rodman for Kids Executive director since
twenty nineteen. Our guest tonight is Amy Rossman, Executive director
(03:38):
of Rodman for Kids. Amy, how are you doing.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I'm Joe wel Mike.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
How are you good? Thank you for being here, Thanks
for having me. Maybe a good place to start would
be for you to tell our listeners a little bit
about your background.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Sure. I have been with Rodman for Kids for nineteen
years now, five of which I've been the executive director,
and before that worked at another nonprofit organization that actually
happens to be one of our charity partners, and you know,
I always always had a passion for helping kids and
ensuring that kids have equitable access. It goes back, you know,
(04:09):
all the way back to when I was a kid
and thought I wanted to be a teacher, and then
realized there are actually a a lot of other really
neat ways to impact kids. And here I am.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Did I read that you've been there since two thousand
and six.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Two thousand and five, there will be twenty years.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah, well there must be something pretty great going on
there to keep you there for that long. Huh.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Absolutely. You know, the work we do is really special
and unique. There's no other organization that does what we
do where we get to work with more than forty
other youth focused nonprofit organizations. So just you're surrounded by
really great people who are all dedicating their life's work
to making a difference. And it's a beautiful thing to
get to come to work and work with those kinds
of people every day.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I saw on your website there's a quote. Everything we
do is driven by our desire to carry forward the
legacy left behind by our founder Don Rodman and his
wife Marilyn Rodman, who devoted the last a few decades
of their lives to kids. Maybe tell us about the
Rodmans and how they came to do this, because they're
pretty well known for doing it, and I know that
(05:09):
they were very passionate about young people.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Absolutely so our founder Don Rodman. He grew up in Dorchester.
He and his brother had a single mom and you know,
they sold newspapers on the corner in Mattapan to help
the household. And he dropped out of high school, believe
it or not, never got a high school diploma to
join the army, where he learned to become a mechanic.
While he was in the army, he met his sweetheart
on leave home Maryland. I think they went bowling on
(05:33):
their first day he set and you know they stayed
in touch as people did back then, and got married
when he got out. But you know Don as he
made a name for himself. You know, he came back
from the army, he was a mechanic and he was
a sales manager. Finally he opened his own dealership. He
would always talk about all the people that helped him
to get there, you know, from the people who would
buy a newspaper from him when he was ten years old,
(05:54):
right up until the people giving him a loan to
open that first dealership and become a businessman. And he
was just so dedicated to giving back to others and
making sure he could lend a hand to ensure other
kids had those opportunities. And Marilyn similarly, her particular passion
was for the arts, and she sort of famously got
(06:15):
all the arts initiatives that we have going by nudging
Don in that direction. So really they were quite a
power couple and devoted decades of their lives to making
a difference for kids.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Whose idea was it to do the Rodman Ride for kids?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, so Don can't take credit for that. Actually, the
ride was initially an event that was held by one
organization now known as RFK Community Alliance. At the time
it was RFK Children's Action Corps, and the CEO at
the time, Ed Kelly, came to Don and asked him
to do a sponsorship. I think he asked him for
five or ten thousand dollars and Don did it, and
(06:50):
he wrote in the ride, I think they had twenty
or thirty riders, raised thirty grand and the way only
Don Rodman could do. He came to Ed afterwards and said,
I can do this better than you. Woul let me
take it over. So he took on the ride. He
did do it better. I think Ed would agree if
he had the opportunity to weigh in here. And what
Don did is start to bring on other organizations. He said,
(07:10):
if we're going to put in all this work to
put on this event, let's make sure more than one
organization benefits. And so going back to the early nineties,
there were about four or five organizations participating in the ride,
and now, of course we're well up over forty now.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I've ridden in the ride a few times, and I
remember hearing Dawn talk at the beginning of the ride,
and it was always a great experience, my favorite. You know,
there's other bigger rides around, but I think the Rodman
Ride was. You know, it's a little more accessible. What
do you have about five hundred riders maybe something like that.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah, right now we're hovering right around five or six
hundred riders. We have a twenty five and a fifty
mile route. So to your point about it being accessible,
you don't have to be a real avid cyclist or
a serious cyclist to join our event. And what's really
exciting is we move forward into twenty twenty five, we're
going to be adding an element that kids and families
can participate in, so to really, you know, Don believed
that philanthropy accessible for everyone of every age, all means,
(08:02):
and so by adding this element where kids and families
can participate, we'll be following through on that belief.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I saw that it rained last year from during the ride,
is correct.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
That's correct. We've had a pretty good run in our
thirty four years and only had rain two or three times.
But last year was one for the books. It was
rainier than expected, it was colder than expected. But I
think what was really impressive to me there were two
things that stuck with me. The first was that about
(08:33):
ninety percent of our registered riter showed up and wrote,
which is typical of even a sunny, seventy degree day,
Which tells you how dedicated these folks are to coming
out and doing the work to make a difference. And
they all crossed the finish line smiling and said, oh,
it builds character. And there was so much camaraderie out there.
I don't think they'd wish for another day with that
kind of weather, but we didn't lose anyone, Let's say
(08:54):
that they all had a really great time and there
was incredible spirit around the day.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah, I think I've written both in the rain and
in ninety degree heat, both of which are challenging, but
you're right, the spirit and the energy there is always
always really high. And how much money did you raise?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
On?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Behalf of your different charities this year?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
In total will collectively raise just about three million dollars
through the ride. And you know what we do is
we put on the event here at Rodman for Kids.
We organize it. We pay for everything from credit card
fees on the fundraising platform right through the tables and
the tents and the chairs and the signs, all the
things you need for the actual event. So our forty
two charity partners are fielding teams and getting sponsors, and
(09:36):
they get back one hundred percent of what they raise.
So that three million dollars is a true three million
dollars without any expenses for all of our charity partners.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
And then Rodman matches every dollar that's raised by the
charity partners. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
We don't have a match. So what we do for
our charit we've got wrap around services that we offer
for our partners. The ride is what we're best known for,
but it's actually just a small piece of what we
do for the partners. So in addition to putting on
that event to give them an avenue to raise funds,
we also offer direct funding and then, perhaps more importantly,
we offer opportunities for them to meet with the other partners,
(10:14):
to collaborate, to share best practices, and also to get
pre professional development on all areas of their work. So
you know, really it's our goal to remove many of
the barriers that make their great work more challenging so
that they can just better serve their kids.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Right now, in that charity Partner program, is it the
forty organizations that were there and participated and benefited from
the ride?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Exactly? Those forty organizations we work really closely with, and
you know, some are new to us, some have been
with us for thirty years. And I think another thing
that's really interesting about our charity partners is a diversity
in the group. So we've got you know, kind of
equal thirds of organizations that are really tiny passion projects.
You know, the one shows, the one woman shows with
(11:01):
budgets under half a million dollars, we've got a third
that are the really big guys. We've got you know,
the UMass Memorial Pediatrics Department and some of the ybcs
and Boys and Girls clubs, and then in the middle
a third of you know, your typical robust community organizations,
but they're not huge, and so that the different ideas
and expertise in the room and they all get together.
It's really powerful to see how they learn from one another.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Do the charity partners it's typically a long term relationship
that they have with Rodman.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Typically they are yes, you know, we take it really
seriously where they have expectations and even a scorecard where
we track, you know, not only what they're getting out
of it, but what they're putting into it to make
sure they have some skin in the game. But for
the most part, when an organization joins our Charity Partner program,
they're going to be in for a long time. And
you know, I think some of the best success stories
are when they say we've grown so much as a
(11:48):
part of this, we actually don't need this anymore, so
we're going to open up a seat for somebody else
at the table.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Do you have plans to expand? Are you at the
spot where it feels comfortable, you.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Know, if it feels comfort right now. Forty to forty
five is a sweet spot in terms of it being
a robust enough group that they can really learn from
each other. But we're not over taxed on our team.
What I'd like for us to do is go deeper
with the relationship even more than we do now, and
come up with even more ways to support them and
again remove those barriers to success.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You have another program called Theater for Kids. Maybe you
can tell us all about that.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah, So I mentioned Marilyn Rodman earlier. As I mentioned
Marylyn was a huge proponent of the arts. You know,
she served on the school committee, was always fighting for
arts education in her town. And the story that you know,
we've told a million times so famously goes that Don
was sending kids to you know, Sox games and Celtics games,
and she said there's another world out they have besides sports.
(12:44):
You know, Donnie like, can I bring some kids to
the arts? And Don and Maryland didn't do anything halfway.
So they bought out the opera house and sent twenty
five hundred kids to a show. And you know, I
think the impact was pretty obvious. You know what it
meant to the kids the theater program. It's not just
about seeing a show, it's walking into a space like
kids have never seen a building like the opera house.
(13:05):
Sometimes they look up and their jaws drop, and just
letting them know it's a place where they belong. So
we've sent ninety thousand kids to the theater as of
this week since the program started twenty years ago, and
next year we intend to send another ten thousand kids
to hit that one hundred thousand mark, which we're really
proud of.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yeah, that's very impressive. Now are these young people? Are
they one? Are the ages typically of the youth that go?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah, the age is really range depending on the show.
I would say, you know, probably fourth to tell twelfth
grade are the most common ages that we see. But
when we're able to, we bring in shows that allow
the younger elementary school kids to attend to everything from
Blue Man Group to you know, Hamilton and Phantom of
the Opera. It really runs the gamut. This year we
had about eighteen shows that we took kids to, so
(13:50):
they were all different levels. And something else we're committed
to is that at least twenty percent of our tickets
go to kids with different abilities. So when DoD started
this program, he was really thinking about kids who can't
afford tickets to the theater. And what we've discovered through
our work is that there are a lot of barriers
to access beyond just financial So we're looking at kids
who need audio description or an ASL interpreter or a
(14:12):
sensory friendly show. And that's been really successful and really
well received.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
And is there the theater program? Is it anything beyond
just having the young people go to the theater or
are there other supplementary aspects to it?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah? Absolutely, Whenever we're able to, we'd like to include
some form of experience that deepens, you know, what it
means for them to go to the theater, whether that
be educational guide that their teachers can use leading up
to the show, a talk back with the cast. We
had one really exciting pilot program last year where we
brought a group of performing arts students from Springfield Springfield
(14:48):
Conservatory for the Arts, and they had a ten week
program where they met with different members of the cast
and crew from the touring company of Frozen and then
got to come in and watch the stage get set,
go behind the scenes and meet the music directors and
try on the wigs and see the costumes and then
finally watch the show. So we're trying to do a
lot more of those kind of experiences that really drive
(15:10):
home what theater can be, not just on stage, but
all the aspects of it. With that said, most of
the kids we bring aren't going to work in the theater,
but hopefully they develop a passion for it and can
appreciate that they belong there, and that's really the goal.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, that's awesome. At at least they'll develop an appreciation
for the theater nothing else. Now Rodman is just recently rebranded.
I understand at the heart of it is a star.
Maybe tell us a little bit about the rebranding, why
you did it, what the objectives are, how do you
see it in the future.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Absolutely, you know, we felt that we needed a rebrand
because we've really become a different organization over the past
several years. Don Rodman, for anyone who knew him, he
ran this organization as a committee of one, a board
of one, and it worked because of the reputation. You're
laughing because you knew him, So I know you at
this of the reputation he had in this community, you know,
(16:03):
spoke for itself. With that said, he did a lot
of things in an old school way, and again that
worked for him. But when he passed in twenty nineteen,
we really had to pause and say, if we're going
to carry this incredible legacy forward and make sure this
work continues, we've got to be a real grown up organization.
So we've spent a lot of time building all that
infrastructure and the behind the scenes stuff that's not sexy
(16:24):
but really necessary for us to be a successful organization.
And now we've been able to stop and say, Okay,
who do we want to be? We know, you know,
Don and his legacy at the heart of our work,
but what else can we do and what more can
we be? And we realized that our old branding, which
was a call back to us being an umbrella organization,
didn't really fit the bill. So we've landed on this star.
(16:44):
We worked with the team at Boathouse Media, who was
absolutely phenomenal, and we landed on this star that represents
two things. Number one, you know, our mission to empower
youth charities to create brighter futures. The star is a
call to that and the three chicks above. The star
represents and our three pillars of our work, which to empower,
connect and uplift youth, charities and kids. And then it's
(17:05):
also a nice nod again to the theater program that
kids can be a star and be involved there. So
it really feels symbolic of the way we're not a
new organization, but we've evolved and we're a more mature
organization ready to make a huge impact.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
So how have you gotten that out there? I think
I've seen your website. It's certainly it's the Star is
prominent on the website, so certainly you've changed the website.
What else, what else are you doing to communicate the
new branding.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah, it's brand new MIC. So we just unveiled it
for the first time at our Celebration for Kids gala
and that was an opportunity for our closest donors and
stakeholders to get a first look and make a splash there.
And now as we go into twenty twenty five, we'll
be talking a lot not about the new logo, but
about our goals as an organization and how that relates
back to our new branding and our new look.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
How do you incorporate the voice of youth into the
programs that you have and the way that you look
at running the Road for Kids organization.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, we have a
Young Professionals Board. You might be saying you thinking about kids,
but I think of them as youth. Uh And some
of the some of the kids on our Young Professionals Board,
or the young adults, I should say, we're kids super
participated in some of our programs. So it's been really
neat to have their voices come to the table and
you know, sort of help shape and guide where we're
(18:23):
headed as an organization.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
And so how about the how about the younger kids?
They're probably served by the organizations that you work with,
but are you able to interact with them and get
their views on the world.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Absolutely. You know, our organization is a little bit unique
in that we don't interact with kids day to day,
you know. So if I was at a boys and
girls club, they would be kids running by my door
all day. I wish they were, but there aren't. But
we do get to interact with them quite a bit
at Theater for Kids program in particular, and our partners
are also really great about sharing impact stories, sharing quotes
and letters from kids, and we try to incorporate that
(18:56):
in the work we do, even in ways the simplest,
featuring them on our website, earn thank you letters to
our stakeholders and donors.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Now you mentioned your recent event, which was just a
little over a week ago. How'd that go and what
came out of that?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Yeah, it was a wonderful night, Mike. We had over
five hundred people in the room, and you know, Celebration
for Kids has sort of become synonymous with the kickoff
to the holiday season for a lot of people. So
people come just, you know, in such a great mood,
ready to have a wonderful night and feeling really generous.
So we hit all of our goals that night. We
raised over six hundred thousand dollars, and I think, you know,
(19:30):
the biggest success of the night was probably our live appeal,
where we were able to fully fund, with over one
hundred and twenty five thousand dollars, fully fund a buyout
of the show Peter Pan that will happen January. So
the company has agreed to add a matinee just for
us to bring kids from schools, and we fully funded
it that night, which was probably the biggest success of
the evening.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And that's an annual event, right it is.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yes, next year will be our twenty third and we're
shaking it up a little bit. The twenty third annual
celebration will be in November next year, November eighth, so
again still kicking off the season, but hopefully backing away
a little bit from all the conflicts that come up
when you start to get into.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
December and you have a lot of longtime supporters, I
assume with the Rodman Group we do.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
We are so fortunate to have some really big supporters
who've been with us for many, many years and who've
stayed with us in this new era. You know, we
acknowledge that when Don passed, a lot of supporters could
have gone away, but they believe in the work we're
doing and they've stayed with us. At the same time,
we're working really hard to build a new pool of
supporters and you know, develop new stakeholders that will stay
with us well into the future as well.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
And I noticed on your website also there was an
impact report. I think it may have been for the
prior year, but how do you think about impact at Rodman.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
You know, impact you can look at it in the
qualitative or the quantitative way, and I think we always
first go to the quantitative. You know, how many kids
do we serve? What are the breakdowns of the different
kids we serve? But really the qualitative is where it
matters most because we really, you know, looking at our
charity partners in particular, we do so much that isn't
quantifiable and that's even hard to explain in words. Sometimes
(21:05):
the impact is just so great and that's what it
is for us when they when our charity partners think
of us as a hub and a resource for anything
they need, like where they're go to. We know we're
doing our job right and that's really hard to put
into an impact report or to explain in words. But
we just like to think of ourselves as that hub
that organizations will always come to, and then that trickles
(21:27):
down to their kids because if they have us to
support them, they can do more for the kids they're serving.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Do you encourage your charity partner organizations to collaborate and
work together where it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
We do. That is a big part of what we do.
And you know, we've got in the group of forty
or so. We've got eight cohorts of about five organizations each,
and we encourage those smaller groups to meet and communicate
with each other and really pick each other's brains. But
even when we come together in a larger group, a
big portion of our meetings is talking about how they
can collaborate, whether that be on programs, you know, because
(21:59):
they're so much overlap with the different services. In Boston,
we're so saturated with nonprofits that there's a ton of
overlap on the services. So how can they collaborate to
better serve their kids? How can they collaborate to go
after that donor they both want? Who might be more
interested if they know they're supporting, you know, a few
different organizations. So absolutely, collaborations at the heart of what
we do.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
And do you find that organizations easily collaborate. I find
everybody would say that they collaborate, but it's you know,
actually collaborates a little more challenging.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Absolutely. Absolutely, it's easy to talk the talk. I don't,
but I do think our group does walk the walk,
and it's it's sort of an anomaly, especially when you
when you look at development professionals, usually they're they're pitted
against each other, right, they're all fighting for the same
limited amount of dollars. And this group really does work
together and happily, and they share their trade secrets and
(22:48):
it's all done willingly and in the spirit of all
ships rise together. We can make a bigger difference together.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
And what's the next five years to look like for
the Broadman organization?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Exciting question. We are and a growing organization, and I mentioned,
you know, our theater program will bring our one hundred
thousandth kid to the theater this year, and you know,
we've got visions for so much more we can do
there in terms of deepening that experience and bringing the
arts to kids. And then as far as our charity
partner program, you know, I think we're just going to
find that we can do so much more for these
(23:18):
organizations and like I said, really become a hub for
nonprofits in the greater Boston area and a resource for
any uth serving organizations. But our immediate goals are that
one hundred thousandth kid, bringing the kids and families element
to the ride, and against strengthening those relationships with the
partners and beyond.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
And what's the area that you serve I should best
at at the beginning, how do it? Where's your focus
just the general Boston area?
Speaker 2 (23:42):
You know, we say all of Massachusetts as you can imagine,
most of the orcs we work with are in eastern
mass But we've really we're really dedicated right now with
our theater program in particular just serving all of the
Gateway cities, so that there's twenty six Gateway cities and
Massachusetts and we're dedicated over the next few years to
making sure kids from each of those communities is introduced
(24:03):
to the theater program.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Well, last question, how can our listeners become more involved,
maybe learn a little bit more if they're intrigued by
this interview that you just give.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yes, I hope they'll do that. The best way is
to visit our website, which is rodmanfokids dot org. And
when you visit, you're going to get a pop up
to join our newsletter and we would ask them to
do that. And we communicate just often enough with folks
who are interested, and you know they'll find opportunities to
get a little bit more engaged, to volunteer and to
support a work.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Well, we've been talking to Amy Rossman, the executive director
of Rodman for Kids Amy, thanks a lot, great insights.
I really appreciate you coming on the show.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Thank you so much for having me, Mike.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
We'll be right back after the news at the bottom
of the hour.
This is What's at Risk with Mike Christian on WBZ Boston's.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
News radio.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Him My Christian here of What's at Risk. First up
on tonight's show, we have Amy Rossman, executive director of
Rodman for Kids in Boston. Amy talks about her career
in the nonprofit world, the legacy of Don and Marilyn Rodman,
the mission and impact of Rodman for Kids, and her
excitement around their recent rebranding initiative. And in our second segment,
(00:33):
we have an encore presentation with Patricia Cornwell, legendary thriller
writer and author of dozens of New York Times bestsellers.
She speaks eloquently about UFOs, Harriet Beecher Stowe, ruesome crime scenes,
Jack the Ripper, and her most recent novel, Identity Unknown.
(00:58):
Don Rodman came from humble beginnings when his children during
the Depression, he and his brother Jerry would sell newspapers
on the corner to help their mom put food on
the table. After serving our country in the Korean War,
marrying his beloved wife of over sixty years, Maryland, having
five sons, and working toward the opportunity to open his
own Ford dealership, Don who never forgot those who helped
(01:22):
his family along the way, found himself in a position
to begin giving back. Through Rodman Ride for Kids alone,
Don helped raise more than one hundred and fifty million
for kids. He also championed dozens of other organizations over
the span of several decades, undoubtedly making differences that are
still felt today. Marilyn Rodman impacted countless individuals throughout her life,
(01:48):
most notably the thousands of children for whom she advocated.
In addition to raising her own five boys, she served
on the Canton School Committee for over twenty years. In
that role, Marylyn's worked to maintain and build arts and
schools was legendary. She was also the inspiration for Rodman's
Theater for Kids program. As the story goes, her husband,
(02:10):
Ride president Don Rodman, was frequently sending kids to professional
sporting events, when she told them, Hey, there's another world
out there besides sports, you know. With her encouragement, Don
bought out the Opera House to send kids to see
South Pacific in two thousand and one, and the rest
is history. Her generous spirit lives on through Marilyn Rodman
(02:31):
Theater for Kids program.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
She's got a ticket to run She's got a ticket
to rune. J's got a ticket to run a geo.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Amy Rossman, executive director of Rodman for Kids, found community
discipline and formative leadership opportunities through participation in music programs
from elementary through high school. As a child. She was
fortunate to have a village that helped provide her access
to critical opportunities and resources, and she is deeply passionate
(03:09):
about ensuring equitable access for all kids. Amy came to
Rodman for Kids from one of its charity partner organizations
in two thousand and five and she's been there ever since.
She's also served as Rodman for Kids Executive director since
twenty nineteen. Our guest tonight is Amy Rossman, Executive director
(03:38):
of Rodman for Kids. Amy, how are you doing.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I'm Joe wel Mike.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
How are you good? Thank you for being here, Thanks
for having me. Maybe a good place to start would
be for you to tell our listeners a little bit
about your background.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Sure. I have been with Rodman for Kids for nineteen
years now, five of which I've been the executive director,
and before that worked at another nonprofit organization that actually
happens to be one of our charity partners, and you know,
I always always had a passion for helping kids and
ensuring that kids have equitable access. It goes back, you know,
(04:09):
all the way back to when I was a kid
and thought I wanted to be a teacher, and then
realized there are actually a a lot of other really
neat ways to impact kids. And here I am.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Did I read that you've been there since two thousand
and six.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Two thousand and five, there will be twenty years.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Yeah, well there must be something pretty great going on
there to keep you there for that long. Huh.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Absolutely. You know, the work we do is really special
and unique. There's no other organization that does what we
do where we get to work with more than forty
other youth focused nonprofit organizations. So just you're surrounded by
really great people who are all dedicating their life's work
to making a difference. And it's a beautiful thing to
get to come to work and work with those kinds
of people every day.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I saw on your website there's a quote. Everything we
do is driven by our desire to carry forward the
legacy left behind by our founder Don Rodman and his
wife Marilyn Rodman, who devoted the last a few decades
of their lives to kids. Maybe tell us about the
Rodmans and how they came to do this, because they're
pretty well known for doing it, and I know that
(05:09):
they were very passionate about young people.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Absolutely so our founder Don Rodman. He grew up in Dorchester.
He and his brother had a single mom and you know,
they sold newspapers on the corner in Mattapan to help
the household. And he dropped out of high school, believe
it or not, never got a high school diploma to
join the army, where he learned to become a mechanic.
While he was in the army, he met his sweetheart
on leave home Maryland. I think they went bowling on
(05:33):
their first day he set and you know they stayed
in touch as people did back then, and got married
when he got out. But you know Don as he
made a name for himself. You know, he came back
from the army, he was a mechanic and he was
a sales manager. Finally he opened his own dealership. He
would always talk about all the people that helped him
to get there, you know, from the people who would
buy a newspaper from him when he was ten years old,
(05:54):
right up until the people giving him a loan to
open that first dealership and become a businessman. And he
was just so dedicated to giving back to others and
making sure he could lend a hand to ensure other
kids had those opportunities. And Marilyn similarly, her particular passion
was for the arts, and she sort of famously got
(06:15):
all the arts initiatives that we have going by nudging
Don in that direction. So really they were quite a
power couple and devoted decades of their lives to making
a difference for kids.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Whose idea was it to do the Rodman Ride for kids?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, so Don can't take credit for that. Actually, the
ride was initially an event that was held by one
organization now known as RFK Community Alliance. At the time
it was RFK Children's Action Corps, and the CEO at
the time, Ed Kelly, came to Don and asked him
to do a sponsorship. I think he asked him for
five or ten thousand dollars and Don did it, and
(06:50):
he wrote in the ride, I think they had twenty
or thirty riders, raised thirty grand and the way only
Don Rodman could do. He came to Ed afterwards and said,
I can do this better than you. Woul let me
take it over. So he took on the ride. He
did do it better. I think Ed would agree if
he had the opportunity to weigh in here. And what
Don did is start to bring on other organizations. He said,
(07:10):
if we're going to put in all this work to
put on this event, let's make sure more than one
organization benefits. And so going back to the early nineties,
there were about four or five organizations participating in the ride,
and now, of course we're well up over forty now.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I've ridden in the ride a few times, and I
remember hearing Dawn talk at the beginning of the ride,
and it was always a great experience, my favorite. You know,
there's other bigger rides around, but I think the Rodman
Ride was. You know, it's a little more accessible. What
do you have about five hundred riders maybe something like that.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah, right now we're hovering right around five or six
hundred riders. We have a twenty five and a fifty
mile route. So to your point about it being accessible,
you don't have to be a real avid cyclist or
a serious cyclist to join our event. And what's really
exciting is we move forward into twenty twenty five, we're
going to be adding an element that kids and families
can participate in, so to really, you know, Don believed
that philanthropy accessible for everyone of every age, all means,
(08:02):
and so by adding this element where kids and families
can participate, we'll be following through on that belief.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
I saw that it rained last year from during the ride,
is correct.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
That's correct. We've had a pretty good run in our
thirty four years and only had rain two or three times.
But last year was one for the books. It was
rainier than expected, it was colder than expected. But I
think what was really impressive to me there were two
things that stuck with me. The first was that about
(08:33):
ninety percent of our registered riter showed up and wrote,
which is typical of even a sunny, seventy degree day,
Which tells you how dedicated these folks are to coming
out and doing the work to make a difference. And
they all crossed the finish line smiling and said, oh,
it builds character. And there was so much camaraderie out there.
I don't think they'd wish for another day with that
kind of weather, but we didn't lose anyone, Let's say
(08:54):
that they all had a really great time and there
was incredible spirit around the day.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah, I think I've written both in the rain and
in ninety degree heat, both of which are challenging, but
you're right, the spirit and the energy there is always
always really high. And how much money did you raise?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
On?
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Behalf of your different charities this year?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
In total will collectively raise just about three million dollars
through the ride. And you know what we do is
we put on the event here at Rodman for Kids.
We organize it. We pay for everything from credit card
fees on the fundraising platform right through the tables and
the tents and the chairs and the signs, all the
things you need for the actual event. So our forty
two charity partners are fielding teams and getting sponsors, and
(09:36):
they get back one hundred percent of what they raise.
So that three million dollars is a true three million
dollars without any expenses for all of our charity partners.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
And then Rodman matches every dollar that's raised by the
charity partners. Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
We don't have a match. So what we do for
our charit we've got wrap around services that we offer
for our partners. The ride is what we're best known for,
but it's actually just a small piece of what we
do for the partners. So in addition to putting on
that event to give them an avenue to raise funds,
we also offer direct funding and then, perhaps more importantly,
we offer opportunities for them to meet with the other partners,
(10:14):
to collaborate, to share best practices, and also to get
pre professional development on all areas of their work. So
you know, really it's our goal to remove many of
the barriers that make their great work more challenging so
that they can just better serve their kids.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Right now, in that charity Partner program, is it the
forty organizations that were there and participated and benefited from
the ride?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Exactly? Those forty organizations we work really closely with, and
you know, some are new to us, some have been
with us for thirty years. And I think another thing
that's really interesting about our charity partners is a diversity
in the group. So we've got you know, kind of
equal thirds of organizations that are really tiny passion projects.
You know, the one shows, the one woman shows with
(11:01):
budgets under half a million dollars, we've got a third
that are the really big guys. We've got you know,
the UMass Memorial Pediatrics Department and some of the ybcs
and Boys and Girls clubs, and then in the middle
a third of you know, your typical robust community organizations,
but they're not huge, and so that the different ideas
and expertise in the room and they all get together.
It's really powerful to see how they learn from one another.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Do the charity partners it's typically a long term relationship
that they have with Rodman.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Typically they are yes, you know, we take it really
seriously where they have expectations and even a scorecard where
we track, you know, not only what they're getting out
of it, but what they're putting into it to make
sure they have some skin in the game. But for
the most part, when an organization joins our Charity Partner program,
they're going to be in for a long time. And
you know, I think some of the best success stories
are when they say we've grown so much as a
(11:48):
part of this, we actually don't need this anymore, so
we're going to open up a seat for somebody else
at the table.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Do you have plans to expand? Are you at the
spot where it feels comfortable, you.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Know, if it feels comfort right now. Forty to forty
five is a sweet spot in terms of it being
a robust enough group that they can really learn from
each other. But we're not over taxed on our team.
What I'd like for us to do is go deeper
with the relationship even more than we do now, and
come up with even more ways to support them and
again remove those barriers to success.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You have another program called Theater for Kids. Maybe you
can tell us all about that.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah, So I mentioned Marilyn Rodman earlier. As I mentioned
Marylyn was a huge proponent of the arts. You know,
she served on the school committee, was always fighting for
arts education in her town. And the story that you know,
we've told a million times so famously goes that Don
was sending kids to you know, Sox games and Celtics games,
and she said there's another world out they have besides sports.
(12:44):
You know, Donnie like, can I bring some kids to
the arts? And Don and Maryland didn't do anything halfway.
So they bought out the opera house and sent twenty
five hundred kids to a show. And you know, I
think the impact was pretty obvious. You know what it
meant to the kids the theater program. It's not just
about seeing a show, it's walking into a space like
kids have never seen a building like the opera house.
(13:05):
Sometimes they look up and their jaws drop, and just
letting them know it's a place where they belong. So
we've sent ninety thousand kids to the theater as of
this week since the program started twenty years ago, and
next year we intend to send another ten thousand kids
to hit that one hundred thousand mark, which we're really
proud of.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yeah, that's very impressive. Now are these young people? Are
they one? Are the ages typically of the youth that go?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Yeah, the age is really range depending on the show.
I would say, you know, probably fourth to tell twelfth
grade are the most common ages that we see. But
when we're able to, we bring in shows that allow
the younger elementary school kids to attend to everything from
Blue Man Group to you know, Hamilton and Phantom of
the Opera. It really runs the gamut. This year we
had about eighteen shows that we took kids to, so
(13:50):
they were all different levels. And something else we're committed
to is that at least twenty percent of our tickets
go to kids with different abilities. So when DoD started
this program, he was really thinking about kids who can't
afford tickets to the theater. And what we've discovered through
our work is that there are a lot of barriers
to access beyond just financial So we're looking at kids
who need audio description or an ASL interpreter or a
(14:12):
sensory friendly show. And that's been really successful and really
well received.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
And is there the theater program? Is it anything beyond
just having the young people go to the theater or
are there other supplementary aspects to it?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah? Absolutely, Whenever we're able to, we'd like to include
some form of experience that deepens, you know, what it
means for them to go to the theater, whether that
be educational guide that their teachers can use leading up
to the show, a talk back with the cast. We
had one really exciting pilot program last year where we
brought a group of performing arts students from Springfield Springfield
(14:48):
Conservatory for the Arts, and they had a ten week
program where they met with different members of the cast
and crew from the touring company of Frozen and then
got to come in and watch the stage get set,
go behind the scenes and meet the music directors and
try on the wigs and see the costumes and then
finally watch the show. So we're trying to do a
lot more of those kind of experiences that really drive
(15:10):
home what theater can be, not just on stage, but
all the aspects of it. With that said, most of
the kids we bring aren't going to work in the theater,
but hopefully they develop a passion for it and can
appreciate that they belong there, and that's really the goal.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, that's awesome. At at least they'll develop an appreciation
for the theater nothing else. Now Rodman is just recently rebranded.
I understand at the heart of it is a star.
Maybe tell us a little bit about the rebranding, why
you did it, what the objectives are, how do you
see it in the future.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Absolutely, you know, we felt that we needed a rebrand
because we've really become a different organization over the past
several years. Don Rodman, for anyone who knew him, he
ran this organization as a committee of one, a board
of one, and it worked because of the reputation. You're
laughing because you knew him, So I know you at
this of the reputation he had in this community, you know,
(16:03):
spoke for itself. With that said, he did a lot
of things in an old school way, and again that
worked for him. But when he passed in twenty nineteen,
we really had to pause and say, if we're going
to carry this incredible legacy forward and make sure this
work continues, we've got to be a real grown up organization.
So we've spent a lot of time building all that
infrastructure and the behind the scenes stuff that's not sexy
(16:24):
but really necessary for us to be a successful organization.
And now we've been able to stop and say, Okay,
who do we want to be? We know, you know,
Don and his legacy at the heart of our work,
but what else can we do and what more can
we be? And we realized that our old branding, which
was a call back to us being an umbrella organization,
didn't really fit the bill. So we've landed on this star.
(16:44):
We worked with the team at Boathouse Media, who was
absolutely phenomenal, and we landed on this star that represents
two things. Number one, you know, our mission to empower
youth charities to create brighter futures. The star is a
call to that and the three chicks above. The star
represents and our three pillars of our work, which to empower,
connect and uplift youth, charities and kids. And then it's
(17:05):
also a nice nod again to the theater program that
kids can be a star and be involved there. So
it really feels symbolic of the way we're not a
new organization, but we've evolved and we're a more mature
organization ready to make a huge impact.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
So how have you gotten that out there? I think
I've seen your website. It's certainly it's the Star is
prominent on the website, so certainly you've changed the website.
What else, what else are you doing to communicate the
new branding.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah, it's brand new MIC. So we just unveiled it
for the first time at our Celebration for Kids gala
and that was an opportunity for our closest donors and
stakeholders to get a first look and make a splash there.
And now as we go into twenty twenty five, we'll
be talking a lot not about the new logo, but
about our goals as an organization and how that relates
back to our new branding and our new look.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
How do you incorporate the voice of youth into the
programs that you have and the way that you look
at running the Road for Kids organization.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, we have a
Young Professionals Board. You might be saying you thinking about kids,
but I think of them as youth. Uh And some
of the some of the kids on our Young Professionals Board,
or the young adults, I should say, we're kids super
participated in some of our programs. So it's been really
neat to have their voices come to the table and
you know, sort of help shape and guide where we're
(18:23):
headed as an organization.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
And so how about the how about the younger kids?
They're probably served by the organizations that you work with,
but are you able to interact with them and get
their views on the world.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Absolutely. You know, our organization is a little bit unique
in that we don't interact with kids day to day,
you know. So if I was at a boys and
girls club, they would be kids running by my door
all day. I wish they were, but there aren't. But
we do get to interact with them quite a bit
at Theater for Kids program in particular, and our partners
are also really great about sharing impact stories, sharing quotes
and letters from kids, and we try to incorporate that
(18:56):
in the work we do, even in ways the simplest,
featuring them on our website, earn thank you letters to
our stakeholders and donors.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Now you mentioned your recent event, which was just a
little over a week ago. How'd that go and what
came out of that?
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Yeah, it was a wonderful night, Mike. We had over
five hundred people in the room, and you know, Celebration
for Kids has sort of become synonymous with the kickoff
to the holiday season for a lot of people. So
people come just, you know, in such a great mood,
ready to have a wonderful night and feeling really generous.
So we hit all of our goals that night. We
raised over six hundred thousand dollars, and I think, you know,
(19:30):
the biggest success of the night was probably our live appeal,
where we were able to fully fund, with over one
hundred and twenty five thousand dollars, fully fund a buyout
of the show Peter Pan that will happen January. So
the company has agreed to add a matinee just for
us to bring kids from schools, and we fully funded
it that night, which was probably the biggest success of
the evening.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And that's an annual event, right it is.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yes, next year will be our twenty third and we're
shaking it up a little bit. The twenty third annual
celebration will be in November next year, November eighth, so
again still kicking off the season, but hopefully backing away
a little bit from all the conflicts that come up
when you start to get into.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
December and you have a lot of longtime supporters, I
assume with the Rodman Group we do.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
We are so fortunate to have some really big supporters
who've been with us for many, many years and who've
stayed with us in this new era. You know, we
acknowledge that when Don passed, a lot of supporters could
have gone away, but they believe in the work we're
doing and they've stayed with us. At the same time,
we're working really hard to build a new pool of
supporters and you know, develop new stakeholders that will stay
with us well into the future as well.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
And I noticed on your website also there was an
impact report. I think it may have been for the
prior year, but how do you think about impact at Rodman.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
You know, impact you can look at it in the
qualitative or the quantitative way, and I think we always
first go to the quantitative. You know, how many kids
do we serve? What are the breakdowns of the different
kids we serve? But really the qualitative is where it
matters most because we really, you know, looking at our
charity partners in particular, we do so much that isn't
quantifiable and that's even hard to explain in words. Sometimes
(21:05):
the impact is just so great and that's what it
is for us when they when our charity partners think
of us as a hub and a resource for anything
they need, like where they're go to. We know we're
doing our job right and that's really hard to put
into an impact report or to explain in words. But
we just like to think of ourselves as that hub
that organizations will always come to, and then that trickles
(21:27):
down to their kids because if they have us to
support them, they can do more for the kids they're serving.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Do you encourage your charity partner organizations to collaborate and
work together where it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
We do. That is a big part of what we do.
And you know, we've got in the group of forty
or so. We've got eight cohorts of about five organizations each,
and we encourage those smaller groups to meet and communicate
with each other and really pick each other's brains. But
even when we come together in a larger group, a
big portion of our meetings is talking about how they
can collaborate, whether that be on programs, you know, because
(21:59):
they're so much overlap with the different services. In Boston,
we're so saturated with nonprofits that there's a ton of
overlap on the services. So how can they collaborate to
better serve their kids? How can they collaborate to go
after that donor they both want? Who might be more
interested if they know they're supporting, you know, a few
different organizations. So absolutely, collaborations at the heart of what
we do.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
And do you find that organizations easily collaborate. I find
everybody would say that they collaborate, but it's you know,
actually collaborates a little more challenging.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Absolutely. Absolutely, it's easy to talk the talk. I don't,
but I do think our group does walk the walk,
and it's it's sort of an anomaly, especially when you
when you look at development professionals, usually they're they're pitted
against each other, right, they're all fighting for the same
limited amount of dollars. And this group really does work
together and happily, and they share their trade secrets and
(22:48):
it's all done willingly and in the spirit of all
ships rise together. We can make a bigger difference together.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
And what's the next five years to look like for
the Broadman organization?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Exciting question. We are and a growing organization, and I mentioned,
you know, our theater program will bring our one hundred
thousandth kid to the theater this year, and you know,
we've got visions for so much more we can do
there in terms of deepening that experience and bringing the
arts to kids. And then as far as our charity
partner program, you know, I think we're just going to
find that we can do so much more for these
(23:18):
organizations and like I said, really become a hub for
nonprofits in the greater Boston area and a resource for
any uth serving organizations. But our immediate goals are that
one hundred thousandth kid, bringing the kids and families element
to the ride, and against strengthening those relationships with the
partners and beyond.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
And what's the area that you serve I should best
at at the beginning, how do it? Where's your focus
just the general Boston area?
Speaker 2 (23:42):
You know, we say all of Massachusetts as you can imagine,
most of the orcs we work with are in eastern
mass But we've really we're really dedicated right now with
our theater program in particular just serving all of the
Gateway cities, so that there's twenty six Gateway cities and
Massachusetts and we're dedicated over the next few years to
making sure kids from each of those communities is introduced
(24:03):
to the theater program.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Well, last question, how can our listeners become more involved,
maybe learn a little bit more if they're intrigued by
this interview that you just give.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yes, I hope they'll do that. The best way is
to visit our website, which is rodmanfokids dot org. And
when you visit, you're going to get a pop up
to join our newsletter and we would ask them to
do that. And we communicate just often enough with folks
who are interested, and you know they'll find opportunities to
get a little bit more engaged, to volunteer and to
support a work.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Well, we've been talking to Amy Rossman, the executive director
of Rodman for Kids Amy, thanks a lot, great insights.
I really appreciate you coming on the show.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Thank you so much for having me, Mike.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
We'll be right back after the news at the bottom
of the hour.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.