City Year Alumni: Join Us on 3/27 for “City Year Today”

Has it been a while since you broke out into an anthem of “spirit, discipline, purpose and pride?” Forgot how to “foot fire” with 200 of your closest red-jacketed friends? If you answered yes, then we want you to join us for City Year Today, an alumni community re-engagement event. On Wednesday, March 27th at 7:00 PM, join us at the City Year New York office as the City Year Alumni Board hosts a discussion with:

• Itai Dinour, Chief Organizational Advancement & Alumni Officer, City Year Headquarters
• Erica Hamilton, City Year New York Executive Director
• Tony Shaw, Regional Impact Director, City Year Headquarters

Reconnect and network with fellow City Year alumni as you hear about the direction that City Year is heading and ways to get involved as members of the alumni community.

Please RSVP to Matt Patrick of the City Year New York Alumni Board by Monday, March 25th! Don’t forget to invite your teammates!

Microsoft Teams at Newtown High School Host College Week

Today’s guest blogger is Jonathan Pomboza. Jonathan serves on the tenth grade Microsoft team at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. On Thursday, January 12, the Microsoft Teams at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens hosted the first ever Newtown High School Alumni Panel. This event was the grand finale to Newtown High School’s College Week, which consisted of four days of college related workshops. City Year corps members developed and ran workshops that were tailored to each of the specific grade levels. On Monday, 50 freshmen students signed in to attend alternating workshops that covered the topics of Student Voice, Organization, and How to Beat Procrastination. The following day, 21 sophomores signed in for workshops on the SAT/ACT, the College Search Process, and Involvement in High School. On Wednesday, 31 Juniors attended two workshops on the College Essay and College Visits.

The Newtown High School Alumni panel consisted of over 15 recent Newtown High School graduates. After introductions, three questions were directed at the panel before opening it up to questions from the audience. Students asked questions ranging from college social life, paying for college, moving away for college, and general advice for new students. For many students this was the first time they were exposed to this much information about college. The goals of the week were to have participants conclude the week with more knowledge about what the college experience is like and how to prepare for it.

2012 Alumni & Friends Fundraiser

Last night at Calumet Gallery in Chelsea, the City Year New York Alumni Board hosted the 2012 Alumni & Friends Fundraiser! The Alumni Board is a group of 28 City Year alumni from years ranging from 2005-2011 and from City Year sites including Little Rock, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington D.C., and New York. Members of the Alumni Board are some of City Year’s biggest advocates and give their time to planning events that help prepare the corps for their next steps after a year of service, as well as bringing other City Year alumni together through socials and events like last night’s fundraiser.

This Signature Alumni Event engaged over 90 City Year alumni, family, and friends and featured over 15 silent auction items and exciting raffle prizes. With music and entertainment by jazz band Sammy Miller and the Congregation, this event was a good time for all. Most importantly, this event gave guests the opportunity to learn more about City Year and the impact corps members are making to keep kids on track to graduation. 2011 CYNY graduate and current Alumni Board Member, Jaime Potter, shared his experience serving as a corps member last year in the South Bronx. The event was best summed up with a statement made by Jaime on why he continues to serve with City Year as a Board Member, ”I believe in City Year’s mission, I believe in the culture, and I believe in the power of the Red Jacket.”

A special thank you to Calumet Gallery for hosting the event and to the Alumni Board event planning committee members Trude Goodman (board chair), Charlotte Twaaflhoven, Michael Soldati, Meredith Nowikowski, Lauren Upton, Lee Trotman, and Emily Heerema for their thoughtful planning and support on this event.

Members of the Alumni Board toast to a successful event!

To see all the photos from the event, please click here. For more information about how you can get involved in City Year New York’s Alumni Board, contact Sarah Shutt at sshutt11@cityyear.org for more information.