Reasons to be Cheerful Presents: Rocking the Boat

Reasons to be Cheerful’s second annual variety show, Amazing Humans Doing Amazing Things, nearly blew the roof off The Town Hall in New York City on May 29. David Byrne, Ramy Youssef, Reggie Watts, Annie and the Caldwells, Nina Conti and many other incredible acts had the crowd laughing, cheering and rising to their feet. See the photos here.

The show also included inspirational moments that spoke directly to RTBC’s solutions journalism mission. In these interludes, we celebrated the work of New York City-based organizations working to make our city a better place and improve the lives of the people who live here. In case you didn’t make it to the show, here’s a short video about one of them.

Rocking the Boat is an organization based in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx that gives high schoolers the chance to build their own boats, developing skills from carpentry and navigation to leadership and teamwork along the way. 

Rocking the Boat’s after-school programs serve 200 students every year, 94 percent of whom go on to graduate from high school. Currently, 92 percent of the program’s alumni have received or are on track to receive their post-secondary certificates or bachelor’s degrees within six years of high school graduation.

Watch our video, narrated by David Byrne, to learn more. And click here to see one of our other favorite moments from the show.