also known as t.l.c.f., to raise awareness and to educate others about this deadly disease. please join me in welcoming todd crawford, lisa's husband, who is also the executive director of the lisa colagrossi foundation. todd, it's always good to see you. >> pleasure. >> first off, how are you and the kids doing -- you and the boys? >> okay. there's obviously a huge void in our lives, but we're putting the pieces back together very slowly and just trying to adjust to our new normal. >> it's still hard for us here. i used to see lisa every morning in our morning meeting before the morning show, and it's still very difficult to have our morning show without lisa. she was very much a part of our family, as well. as you know, you're all part of the extended family here. too. but she will always be part of this family, as you will... >> thank you. >> ...here at eyewitness news. now, the nice thing that you did here is you keep her memory alive with the tell us about that. >> yes, so we established the lisa colagrossi foundation, which we hope will become the parent organization for brain aneurysms around the country. and we also want to be the largest private funder of brain aneurysm initiatives in the areas of awareness, education, research, and support. it's not just about lisa. the foundation is about everyone who has ever been affected, died, survived, from a brain aneurysm, or the millions of americans out there today who are walking around with a brain aneurysm and don't know it because they haven't been diagnosed yet. >> it's a ticking time bomb. >> it is. >> 30,000 to 40,000 people die of brain aneurysms a year? >> so, the 30,000 to 40,000 figure is the number of ruptures per year, but the numbers are greatly underreported for a couple of reasons. one, because if you take lisa's situation, she suffered a brain aneurysm which then led to cardiac arrest. she was brought back after 12 minutes and able to be put on life support. had she not been brought back, her cause of death would have been marked as heart failure and not a brain aneurysm. so the other thing is that brain aneurysms are only detected if, one, you have a rupture and you die from one, like lisa did, or, secondly, you go in for a totally unrelated medical procedure that requires you to have a c.a.t. scan or m.r.a. and the test results come back and diagnose you with a brain aneurysm. so there are literally millions of americans walking around today with a brain aneurysm who have not yet been diagnosed because they just don't know. >> and for those who don't realize, this is basically a bubble or a weakness in a wall in a blood vessel in the brain? >> correct. from the result of the blood flow and pressure against that weakening wall, which eventually causes it to balloon out. and the constant pressure eventually causes it to rupture. >> so, if you could picture, say, a weakness in the wall of a tire, and you see it bubble out, that's basically what happens to the wall of either an artery or vein or any other tiny blood vessel in the brain? >> correct. >> okay. so, and in lisa's case, this happened in the -- was it in the brainstem? >> it was, yes. >> which is the worst place. >> it is. >> okay. and the idea here is if caught before the rupture, can it be patched to prevent a rupture? is that one of the procedures? >> so it depends on a number of factors and criteria, but they can monitor it. you know, a lot of the majority of brain aneurysms do not rupture. they're monitored throughout somebody's lifetime. they go in for bi-annual checks. but if is caught and it does need treatment, there are two procedures that are really less invasive where they go up through your thigh, into the brain, and insert a coil or a stent -- much like, you know, an artery in the heart to prevent a heart attack -- where that cuts off the flow of blood and the pressure pounding against the weakening spot and prevents the brain aneurysm from rupturing. >> gotcha. and what is the "lucky 7 challenge"? >> so the lucky 7 challenge is the first major initiative for the lisa colagrossi foundation, and it is the first-ever national fundraising event. our goal is to raise $7 million over the next seven months. it's a very simple concept. we're asking and making an appeal to everyone in the country, all of your viewing audience, to log on to lisaslegacy7.org and donate an amount with the number seven in it and then nominate seven other people on social media -- facebook, twitter, youtube -- to do the exact same thing. it's that simple, because that's what this disease needs more than anything else. it needs the critical funding so that we can raise awareness across the country, roll out a national psa campaign, which is under development -- i have a commitment from a very high-profile celebrity who's been directly affected by brain aneurysm themselves, to tape the psa -- and we need to do critical research. and we'll be partnering with some of the best medical institutions and physicians around the world in the areas of research. >> 'cause if you find out in advance, you could do stuff to prevent a death like your wonderful wife. >> right, correct. >> there's no need if she knew in advance. if she did have some symptoms that if you knew in advance, maybe we could have done something. >> and if we had known six months ago what we know today, ken, you know, the result may have been different -- may. but she would walk through the door twice or three times a week for a period of about five weeks and the first words out of her mouth were, "i have the worst headache of my life." and that's how she described it every single time. in fact, medical emergency room doctors write on the chart "w.h.o.l." because everybody describes it the exact same way. >> worst headache of your life. >> yes, that's one of the risk factors. the others are -- or, i'm sorry, one of the signs -- the others are blurred vision, a very sharp pain behind your eye, and numbness and tingling in the >> there you go. your doctor. just have the check-up -- maybe they'll do the m.r.i., and they might be able to spot it. >> you can't dismiss it. you have to go check. don't self-diagnose yourself. lisa dismissed it, you know, and attributed it to stress or lack of sleep. you cannot do that. you have to go get checked by a medical expert. >> it is just something you do it right away. you're not inconveniencing anybody, and you're not blowing anything out of proportion. >> correct. >> 'cause look at what happened. here's a professional woman who clearly knew about taking care of herself otherwise, right? took care of her family. and she decided it was just a headache. >> she was a picture of health. nothing more than common head cold. >> one more time. tell us the web address. >> so the lisa colagrossi foundation website can be found at lisaslegacy7.org. we ask everybody to hit the donate button, contribute to the lucky 7. donate an amount with the number seven in it and nominate seven other individuals to do the same thing. >> $7, $70, whatever you can afford -- $700, $7,000. >> right. >> there you go. todd, thank you so much. >> always in our family, my friend. >> thank you. we're gonna come right back with an organization called "c.a.r.a." -- c-a-r-a -- that addresses unequal access to >> welcome back to "new york viewpoint". i'm ken rosato. well, 80% of high school graduates from high-income families enrolled in college immediately after high school. only 49% of high school graduates from low-income families do the same. one organization takes a novel approach to this problem by increasing the guidance and peer support available in schools, and they are achieving some amazing results. well, please join me in welcoming janice bloom, co-founder and co-director of college access research and action -- also known as c.a.r.a. -- erica martinez-close, a former college coach at new settlement apartments college access center, and cambel iribuka, a 12th-grader and youth leader at claremont international high school. good to have you all here. well, what support do new york city public high schools provide their students? >> so there are so many amazing college counselors and community-based organizations working inside schools, and they work long hours -- they're there till 6:00 at night, they answer texts at 10:00 p.m. -- but the counselor-to-student ratio is 1 to 250, and only 22% of that time is spent on college access. so, if you've ever gone through the college access process in the last few years, it's not something that a 17- or 18-year-old can really do by themselves. but given those numbers, it means that a lot of first-generation-to-college students don't have the support that they need inside high schools. >> yeah, since they're on their own. >> yeah. >> and unless you have a parent who may have gone through the process, or a sibling, you really are out there on your own. >> yeah, and we see those students doing fafsa by themselves, doing the college application by themselves, and it's not something that a 17- or 18-year-old really can do all by themselves. >> and, so, erica, with low-income families especially, what are the biggest challenges that those students face? >> well, besides the traditional challenges, like core academic skills -- so, like, the basic math, science, english issues -- they also face struggles in reference to navigating the bureaucratic hurdles of college -- so understanding what the bursar office is and how it functions, understanding what registrar is, and what you should go to them for, in addition to "who should i go to for advisement?" so those questions, they don't really have anyone to answer them, especially on the college campus, because they just don't know where to go and who to go to. >> it's funny you say that. i can actually remember in high purse" -- "burse", "purse" -- "registrar", "registration" -- that's what they actually taught us in my senior year in high school, 'cause otherwise, i would've had no idea -- i went to n.y.u. -- hey, blast at n.y.u. [ laughter ] but that's the only way i learned. otherwise, i would've had no idea. but somebody who didn't have that, how would you know, right? you'd walk around saying, "what's a bursar?" and you'd have no idea. "the guy who wants your check." that's it. so, now, how is it for you, cambel? tell me about what the experience was like for you? >> it's amazing. i mean, i go to an international high school, so most of the people there come with difficulties learning the language already. so i went to speak to a few adults around in my school and asked, you know, "how are these people gonna survive in college?" because i was scared, even for myself. i didn't know. and through c.a.r.a., it was amazing. i see all of my peers really getting engaged into the college process, and it's just amazing. like, just last year, one of my best friends graduated and went to his top college. it's just feels amazing. >> and that's really -- you think about it -- that's the difference of the whole rest of your life. >> yes. >> there's a difference of your future being dim or your future being absolutely anything you want in the whole world. >> exactly. >> i mean, we're talking a major difference there. so how exciting for your friend there, too. and you know that your future -- i think you know your future's basically anything you want, right? and you must put your head on a pillow at night to feeling quite comfortable knowing how many people you're helping. >> well, we're working on it. and the thing -- what c.a.r.a. does that's different than other college access organizations is, first of all, we don't add another program on top of -- there's a lot of programs in new york city schools -- we try and leverage the existing relationships that teachers and community-based organizations have with young people and really add resources to that. and then we train the young people themselves who are in schools, so we recognize the resources and the gifts that they bring to this work and we add to those resources. become agents of their own future rather than someone else doing that for them. >> are there any challenges you've encountered to date so far? any resistance or challenges in establishing c.a.r.a.? >> i think people are not sure that young people can really do this work. i feel like when we first bring it up, a lot of people feel like, "well, they're high school seniors," or "they're first-year college students. they can't really do this." and then they meet them and they see the network, and it is remarkable how amazed they are and the degree to which they really change their thinking about the role that young people can have in this work. >> how about yourself, erica? >> i would say that, as a college coach -- and i was a college coach for two summers now -- it's actually really amazing work, and it's allowed me to grow as an individual. i have come to learn i'm a really awesome mentor. in addition, i'm a really great advisor. i never knew this prior to working with c.a.r.a., being trained by them, having conversations with the staff. so not only does it allow the amazing skills that they need in college, but as a coach or youth leader, it allows us to mature and gain some awesome transferable skills. >> and what about your future? what do you see yourself doing for your future now? >> for my future, i am actually applying to law school right now. >> oh, that's all, huh? [ laughter ] low bar. >> i'm applying to law school, so i don't necessarily know where i'll end up, but i do know that i'll be dynamic -- >> i'm making a note right now. "five years from now, erica will be back on 'viewpoint,' owner of a law firm. i have no doubts -- head of a law firm." how about yourself, cambel? >> i'm kind of undecided right now, but i really enjoy engineering. and lot's of adults that i talk to recommend it for me. and i think it's a field where i feel comfortable. i'd like to get up in the morning and do that. so that's where i see myself. >> another low achiever. [ laughter ] wow, our future is in good hands here. that's fantastic. and this is terrific, because people didn't have this in the past and would have fallen through the cracks. that's the shame -- for silliness, for ridiculousness, just because they couldn't navigate the system. >> yeah, that's right. it's not because they don't have the academic skills. so 31% of the highest-achieving students in the country who are low income don't go to college at all. so it's not because they're lacking academic skills, it's because of this navigation issue, and so all of our programs are trying to address that knowledge gap in terms of navigating access to higher education. >> and this is -- who is eligible, first of all, to receive this aid -- this help? >> so we work inside high schools, and we partner with community-based organizations, and they choose the young people that they want to have trained. we train those young people, and then they go back and work in those institutions. so it really is for high schools and colleges. we also work in colleges, actually, and train second-year college students to help first-year college students. so we're really expanding the model into college, 'cause persistence has become a big so it's institutions that need to come to us and say that they're interested in using this youth leadership model. >> well, institutions, pay attention -- it seems to work pretty darn well. it's brilliant. it sounds fantastic. and just because it's only in new york city now, suburbs, you might want to take them out. [ laughter ] great to have you on today, c.a.r.a. it's a great organization and looks like we have some wonderful students here with great futures. good to have you all on, janice, erica, and cambel. >> thank you. >> for information on all of the organizations featured on "viewpoint," if you missed part of the show and want to see it at your leisure, do visit us at abc7ny.com/viewpoint. we're coming right back with "cool culture," an organization that provides disadvantaged pre-schoolers with access to >> and welcome back to "new york viewpoint." i'm ken rosato. it is never too early to introduce the arts to children. cool culture is a nonprofit organization that provides low-income pre-schoolers with access to nearly 100 museums and cultural institutions -- an exposure to the arts that is priceless. with us today are candice anderson, the executive director of cool culture, and cecilia jackson, principal at pioneer academy p.s. 307 in queens. it is so good to have you both here today. >> it's a pleasure to be here. >> you know, too bad new york is a place that doesn't have too much to offer in terms of culture. kidding. [ laughter ] i am so glad that this exists for kids here, because this is the epicenter of culture. and it's so wonderful that you have this here. what made you start cool culture? >> you know, cool culture is a nonprofit that's changing the lives of children and families by providing access to cultural institutions. and we know that many people travel all over the world to come to museums, botanical gardens, and zoos, but low-income families simply can't afford them because they aren't affordable. and so our goal is to get teachers involved in the -- parents involved in their kids' education through the arts. >> yeah, and what was it like for you at a school to be able to have cool culture and be able to show it off with the kids and get the kids involved in the great culture of new york city? >> it's actually been very, very interesting and rewarding. one of the unique things about our community is that we have families with multiple children. and so to piggyback on what candice said, it become very expensive. and so to be able to offer them that opportunity to visit the cultural institution across the city at no cost has been a real rewarding experience. educationally, it's also been a benefit to us, because we talk about building literacy skills, and that's one of the essential ways to build literacy skills, is to really, really embrace the arts. >> mm-hmm. >> so it has been a very rewarding experience for us, as well as our families. >> one of the nice things is there are tons of things to do in new york city that are not expensive. and that's the beauty of this city -- there's zillions of things to do that don't cost money. we have still libraries, we still have zoos that are relatively inexpensive, and then you do have museums that still offer student rates or senior-citizen rates, et cetera, that you could take advantage of. too many people forget that that beautiful building that they keep passing every day is a museum! go! take a look! >> absolutely. >> and so many museums want to welcome all kinds of families, but they need help sort of reaching out, and that's where cool culture comes in. >> so that has been one of the uniqueness for us with cool culture. a lot of our families do not speak english. and so one of the benefits to cool culture is they provide language access. >> right. >> so a lot of our families who speak urdu are able to get someone at an institution who may speak urdu or spanish to really provide that entrance and that access for them. so that's one of the uniqueness about cool culture that we have come to appreciate. not realize when you see on museums a ticket board, entry board, "suggested entry -- adult, $20," "suggested" means "we would like it if you could give us $20, but if you can only afford $1 or 50 cents, if that's your state in life, you give that. so if all you can afford is $1, and you want to see our museum, that's what you give." i remember as a kid -- i'll never forget this -- a man gave $500 at the museum -- at the metropolitan museum of art. and someone said, "you know, you only have to give $20?" and, in fact, he didn't even have to give $20 -- he could have only given $1. but he said, "i know. when i was a kid, i used to only give 50 cents. now i can afford $500." and that's what he did. that was his gift to the museum. and i thought that was so special. that stayed with me all my life. so you give what you can give as a donation. >> that's right. and unfortunately, a lot of folks don't know that it's suggested donation. and so this makes it easier for them. they have a pass with their name on it -- it's like a membership five family members for free to the museums. >> go in and take advantage of how beautiful it is. what is the expression on the faces of the kids of your school when they get into a museum and they see such greats? have you taken the kids to see the natural history museum? >> they do have access to the natural history museum. where we see a lot of our families going is to the hall of science and the queens museum because that's around the corner from where we are. in the summer time, the hall of science reports says that a lot of our families actually go and spend the day at the hall of science because there's so many things to do. and it just enhances what we have to do in schools. it enhances that exposure, it enhances those literacy skills, it enhances those high-order thinking skills. so it definitely is an asset for us to be able to participate in the arts. >> and then we have, of course, music in this city. >> absolutely. >> we have alvin ailey. we have, you know, all the great -- i'm pointing right out our window here from where i'm best music schools that offer performances at little or no prices for other students. >> that's right. >> some of the best musical performances in the whole country, if not the whole world. >> and we know that these kind of experiences are really key for young children. as cecilia mentioned, you're developing your vocabulary, your literacy skills. and cultural institutions are at the heart of all of that. >> yeah, it's just -- we are so blessed to have it all here, so advantage of it. cool culture -- what a great idea, what a wonderful concept, and a wonderful way to show it all off. what is the future of cool culture? >> you know, our goal is to continue to build the number of children and families that we're serving. so, today, we're provide free admission to 50,000 families. we'd like to expand that, because we think that all children should have access to the arts. >> yeah, 'cause 50,000 is just a pittance. [ laughter ] how do you manage 50,000 families? >> well, with a very dedicated team of folks who are committed to making sure that access to the arts is available for all young children. >> and you're really considered a model program. >> we are. we are really leading the way. there's no other program like ours in the nation, and so we think that we sort of place new york in a unique position where we provide free access to new york city. >> and, cecilia, when you talk to principals at other schools, what do you tell them about the program? >> i'm very encouraging. and since we've been a partner with cool culture, several principals have become partners with cool culture, because like i said, it's one of those things that provides access to a lot more families. and it costs very little to be a part of the program. and it's something that we feel fortunate that we're able to offer to our families as we build our family-school engagement. >> and schools are really our partners in this, right? we couldn't reach the families without the schools, without principals like cecilia who really realize how important the arts are to kids' development. >> totally understood. oh, cool culture -- very cool to have both of you here. wonderful. thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having us. >> i'm ken rosato. we want to thank you again for joining us. enjoy the rest of your weekend. bye-bye. join the millions who have already switched. we switched. and now, we're streaming netflix. who knew time warner cable's internet was so fast! mom switched. and now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. i switched. so i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. join the millions who switched to time warner cable. for $89.99 a month, you'll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. you'll also get unlimited calling across the u.s. and 34 other countries around the world. call today. i switched. now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. for $89.99 a month you'll get tv, internet and phone. and if you call now, there's no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. i switched to time warner cable and knew exactly when they were coming. thanks to their one hour appointment window. switch to time warner cable today. and ask how you could get a $300 reward card.