Adam Leitman Bailey founded a New York City-based non-profit, with the vision of giving back to underserved communities via prestigious college scholarships, youth mentoring programs, school and community improvement initiatives, and paid internships. The non-profit funds 4-year college scholarships and provides both paid internships as well as the training and advice that students need to obtain jobs.
Adam Leitman Bailey’s intense drive to help others is rooted in his own childhood. Bailey’s family often struggled with financial insecurity and was often forced to run to and from rental homes and hotels in unfamiliar towns, fleeing landlords. Even after Bailey’s family finally settled in California, his life was full of hardships. As a skinny child with a thick New York accent, he was constantly bullied at and outside of school.
These experiences set the foundation for his current passion for community change; his first public speech took place at a rally meant to protest the three-hour bus rides that kids in his communities had to take to and from school. It was around this time that Adam Leitman Bailey realized that he wanted to be a lawyer and fight the problems he faced daily.
Now, in realizing Bailey’s vision, Building Foundations and Dreams seeks to help those who grew up underprivileged, and to ensure that driven, hardworking students have the support and resources that he lacked during his childhood. He regularly visits schools, gives anti-bullying talks, and provides personal mentorship to students who share his drive to overcome their socioeconomic obstacles and excel in the business world.
With Adam Leitman Bailey, Building Foundations & Dreams has funded the four-year Raymond “Hap” Harrison scholarship continuously since 2008. This award provides financial support to high-achieving high school graduates who demonstrate financial need and exemplify the humanitarian and achievement-centered values that its namesake and inspiration, Bailey’s high school track coach, instilled in students like Bailey.
Adam Leitman Bailey’s generosity and efforts to support young people in underserved communities earned him the title of “Humanitarian of the Year” from the New Milford Education Foundation.
Many Raymond “Hap” Harrison scholarship recipients feel that the charity’s contributions have had a profoundly positive and long-lasting impact on their college journey and career achievements. To quote Jennifer Teets, a past recipient, on Bailey’s charitable legacy, “It’s not just a check. He continues to make sure we’re happy and doing well, and he gives back again and again. To me, when I think about how much he’s donated — I don’t know, to me, that’s completely humanitarian.”