Sharon Content was uncontent with life on Wall Street. She felt destined for more, so she made a high-risk investment ditching her cushy gig for the unknown throes of nonprofit work. Fast forward to today, her organization Children of Promise, NYC, is celebrating more than 15 years serving children with incarcerated parents.
“I loved working in finance: the energy and the momentum and just the sexiness of working on Wall Street,” said Content. “There’s an ambiance [and] a finesse to it. And I really did enjoy it. But I just remember as I went up to 7 World Trade [Center] on the 50-something floor, and going to work—loving the work—but not feeling any passion, or for any real commitment to the work.
“I was looking at variances over a million dollars. Anything less than a million [I] didn’t even need to research what the variance was about. And it’s funny, because I look at a $10 variance now in my organization.”
Back then the future was unclear. Raised in Queens by Trindadian parents, she briefly left the Big Apple to attend Howard University, majoring in English and minoring in finance at the HBCU. Corporate America brought her back home.
Content landed her first post-Wall Street role with court diversion service Osborne Association thanks to her business experience. She directed the teen program, working with young people she says she remains in contact with to this day. Through her role, Content helped youth under her charge develop entrepreneurial skills, repurposing their existing hustle towards legitimate ventures.
She loved nonprofit work and soon moved onto a Boys and Girls Club affiliate, where she served as chief operating officer. There, Content witnessed the devastating impact of incarceration on children.
“Whenever a grandmother or a mother would lean in and say, ‘you know, we’re having a problem because his mom’s in prison or his dad’s incarcerated’…at the time, the best I could do was say you can go back to the program, you won’t be suspended [and] we’re gonna work through it,” she said. “But that stuck with me and motivated me and my own entrepreneurial spirit kicked in [and] I started Children of Promise, NYC.”
She talked about the urgency of her nonprofit and its mission.
“When a child loses a parent, as a result of military deployment, divorce or even death, society has a level of sympathy,” she adds. “But when a child loses a parent as a result of incarceration, that same level of empathy and compassion doesn’t exist. The child is bearing the burden of the parents’ infraction to society. I really consider the children of imprisoned parents the collateral damage of mass incarceration. No one’s thinking of these children, and what impact is it having on their life. And what can we do as a society to break the cycle.”
Children of Promise, NY tackles the problem through after school programs centered around mental healthcare, encouraging them to share their feelings every step of the way and collaborating with licensed experts. More than 350 youngsters, who she calls scholars, are now enrolled in the program. The program began in Content’s basement. Now, she’s eying nationwide expansion as Children of Promise, NY now operates out of Bed-Stuy and the South Bronx. And it all started from a leap of faith.
“I don’t think it was bravery,” said Content. “I think it was my calling and I just didn’t realize what it was then…but I was just thinking about it: if I had stayed on Wall Street, all the scholars that we made an impact on, that wouldn’t have happened. [But] it happened. It’s amazing.”
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.