"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 Basile. "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, Children of the City has successfully served the underprivileged children and families in the inner-city communities of 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.

Children of the City's 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.

For the last 12 years Basile has been spending more time doing charity work. One of several life altering moments happened to Basile after he read a passage from Steven Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which helps people in achieving interdependent effectiveness by offering seven principles.

Covey asks readers to begin with the end in mind and imagine your own funeral where your friends, family and community members are giving eulogies. He asks that you imagine what they will say. Did you live a life that you could be proud of? What kind of friend were you? What kind of brother were you?

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

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

Now one of the elements that Rocco Basile has realized is important for for change to appear in the world is education. He firmly believes that educating our youth is the foundation of prosperity and being a role model gives them a structure to follow for a more fulfilling life.

Basile asked himself, "What is my talent and how can I serve? He decided, "I can serve by sharing my experiences, lessons learned from my mistakes 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. "

Rocco Basile and his colleagues and family at Basile Builders Group are an important part of his life. In fact, he is also a proud father and husband with two little girls; his second daughter, Olivia, was born on this last Thanksgiving Day.

About Rocco Basile
Rocco Basile graduated from Brooklyn, New York-based Xaverian High School, then received a degree in Accounting from New York University (1990) and attended graduate courses at St. John's University for Finance. He currently works in his family's business, The Basile Builders Group, and is married with two daughters. An inspiring example of someone who has learned from his mistakes, Rocco Basile has paid his dues and earned the respect of many.