Cyclones to honor paper’s publisher during Winning Women event

The Brooklyn Cyclones will be celebrating one of The Brooklyn Spectator and Home Reporter’s very own during the team’s Winning Women event on Monday, August 7, one in a series of tributes to impactful women in the community.

Victoria Schneps, publisher of The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator, will be honored at the beginning of the Cyclones’ game against the Lowell Spinners at MCU Park (1904 Surf Avenue) beginning at 6 p.m.

“I’m delighted to be chosen by the Brooklyn Cyclones as a Winning Woman,” said Schneps. “What a great honor! I’ve devoted my life to creating media opportunities and hitting it out of the ballpark.”

According to the Cyclones, the Winning Women series looks to honor “women in the community who go above and beyond and who have positively impacted their network or place of business and fostered success in their given field.”

“We aim to highlight women that inspire others and are role models to our youth, those who give back, actively work to better the environment they are in and strive to bring philanthropic change to the world,” the team’s website explains.

Schneps founded Life’s WORC, an organization that advocates on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities and autism, after drawing inspiration from her own personal advocacy for her first-born daughter, Lara, who was diagnosed with severe brain damage.

In addition, in 1971, Schneps picketed with other advocates on behalf of her daughter and 5,400 other residents of the Willowbrook State School for the Mentally Retarded in Staten Island, which had been hamstrung by state budget cuts, causing a severe lack of service and staffing cutbacks.

When Schneps noticed media organizations reporting on the conditions at the school, she realized the power of the press, inspiring her to start The Queens Courier in her living room in 1985. Today, that paper, along with The Brooklyn Spectator and Home Reporter, are part of Schneps Communications, the largest group of local community newspapers and magazines that reach across Brooklyn and Queens.

“Come on out and let’s support the team,” urged Schneps. “I’d love to see all of you at the ballgame.”

Field box tickets for the game are $17 and bleacher tickets are $10. To purchase tickets to the game, visit www.brooklyncyclones.com/tickets/individual.