Youth Recognition Program

CTM Ministries has created an Honors Program that recognizes youth and young adults making extraordinary impacts in the lives of others. If you know a young person age 13-24 who deserves to be honored please send their name, contact number and/or email address to lmhfreedoms@yahoo.com or l_m.frisby@ctmministriesinc.org
today! Thank you for honoring someone.
 
CTM Ministries is also accepting applications for the 2011 Honors Program. If you know someone interested in applying, please visit the website (http://www.ctmministriesinc.org/) for the submission process.

December Alumni Spotlight - Neil Batiancila's passion continues to ripple

Neil Batiancila

Community Relations Director, ARAMARK

Former City Year Greater Philadelphia Co-Executive Director

Former City Year Greater Philadelphia Corp Member, 1999-2000

By: Reneé Di Pietro

When you think of an individual and his or her influence in your life, memories with that person race back to mind and can feel like they just happened. Pending on how vivid of a personality the person has, you can even hear his or her voice, enjoy their laughter and relive memories of events shared together.

Neil Batiancila leaves this impression on the people he has worked with and those he has managed at City Year Greater Philadelphia. Batiancila is the only alumnus of City Year Greater Philadelphia who can state these words truthfully: “I am the first corps member in City Year to rise straight up through my site to become its own Executive Director.”

Neil joined City Year directly following his college education. He entered with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. By the time he was done with City Year, he was able to add much more than AmeriCorps member to his resume. Neil quickly not only joined the City Year Greater Philadelphia staff the following year, but also played an instrumental role in the national Cyzygy 2002 conference and service day that was housed in Philadelphia that year.

“Neil ran Serve-a-thon and Cyzygy's day of service in Philly when I was a corps member,” says Joe Andolina, Associate at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. “He was only in his second year with City Year. During that day of service, he worked with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and the city to coordinate massive projects throughout Philly, mostly playground builds. There are about 10 playgrounds in University City that are solely a result of Neil's hard work.”

Driven, intelligent, passionate, loyal, and funny are consistently some of the most popular adjectives that people chose to describe Neil and how they will always see him.

Over ten years Neil took on different roles at City Year while rising to the Co-Executive Director position, yet his personality never changed. He smiled, he laughed and he led strongly.

“Neil’s passion is the best thing about working with him.  Whatever he does, he has a reason for doing it, and he puts forth 100% effort.  His passion is contagious, and allows others around him to feel that their time and efforts are valuable,” says Joanne Farber, current Events Manager at City Year Greater Philadelphia. When Joanne started working at City Year, she was one of the staff members mentored by Neil.

“He is also very compassionate,” says Joanne, “He understands people, and manages to motivate each individual in a unique way. He also takes time to enjoy life – I have spent many hours laughing at movies and videos with him, he is one of the funniest individuals I have ever met!”

As a leader of vision and passion, Neil always makes people feel at home around him and comfortable while challenging them to complete significant projects and timelines.

Keeping a balance in life between your work place and in your home life can be a challenge for anyone, especially while working at City Year or any AmeriCorps program providing fulltime service. Neil sets an example to those around him that you have to do what you love to be able to have the energy to live the life you love. After meeting his wife Kelly at City Year, getting married, having two children and still running the largest City Year site in the network, Neil was still constantly invested in the lives around him as well as his job responsibilities.  

“It’s important to Neil that others succeed, he gets his energy from the happiness and success of others,” says Joanne.

Mentoring others in their life decisions and providing valuable advice became a part of the job quickly for Neil when he took on the position of Co-Executive Director. Giving advice was a major area that Neil was tapped for often.

“I’ve given a lot of advice over the years,” says Neil. “I could write a whole book on life advice, for corps members specifically. Constantly it comes back to perspective and realizing how important some people are in our lives.

“Today I hope that corps members are actively thinking through their City Year experience, beyond the year or two years that they are here. A lot of the corps members don’t realize how powerful their experience is outside of City Year, and they need to translate this experience to outside the walls of City Year and into becoming leaders where ever they go.”

Neil left City Year in 2009 after 10 years with the AmeriCorps program. He immediately began working on City Year’s cofounder Alan Khazei’s campaign for the open state senate seat in Massachusetts, left vacant after the death of Senator Ted Kennedy last year.

Today Neil strives for fresh professional goals at his new position as the Community Relations Director at ARAMARK.

“I have a million goals,” he says, “I want to be a good professional, I have had a lot of success with City Year and hope that carries over to ARAMARK.”

Fellow friends and co-workers are certain the experience will be grand wherever Neil is in the future. “Neil has a rare blend of being able to see a vision and inspire others to achieve that vision,” says Joe. “He is truly a renaissance man, conversant in many different areas and is equally comfortable speaking with a Fortune 500 CEO as he is with a corps member applicant.”

Joe and Neil are now both close friends through their work together at City Year where Joe was the Director of Development while Neil was the Co-Executive Director. Enjoying life outside of the office, Joe shares that “Neil is a devoted fantasy football player and the best Golden Tee athlete I know.”

Other personal goals for Neil are reflective of his home life and his role as a husband and father. He truly wants to have his whole family proud of him, it is his ultimate goal. He knows that by being a strong public leader, he is setting the example and he also wants to make sure that those important to him are able to live the type of life that they deserve.

“Seeing my boys waiting at the door for me when I arrive home is the best feeling,” says Neil.

His fatherhood has been a very important journey for him as his greatest teacher in his life is his father. “Many people have always admired him and the way he lived his life because he is a classic rags-to-riches story,” says Neil.

“He gave back, and he personally touched people around him.  With me, he had a way of getting through to me in a way that no one else could reach me.  I could write a book about him because he had the biggest heart in the world, and that permeated everything that he did. He did a lot of good when he was with us.”

Equally matchless in his life is his wife Kelly Dura Batiancila. “I’ve receive many gifts that are important to me but the greatest gift to me was when Kelly was in an accident this year. The support from family and friends from making food, to just sitting with us, it was so humbling. They made sure that we got through a very difficult time.”

Family and friends all doing well now, Neil is looking forward to the future. Next summer he plans to finish up his Master’s Degree in business administration from Temple’s Fox School of Business, as well as commence his civic life.

“I don’t know if there is really anything that I don’t look forward to,” says Neil.

He doesn’t even need to think for more than a few seconds to start rattling off ideas that bring him joy. “I like when the radio stations covert to holiday music 24/7, always puts me in a good mood. I look forward to the weekends to be with my family more, I look forward to the first day of sports seasons, to Serve-a-thon, like I said, I don’t know if there is really anything I don’t look forward to.”

The next time you are enjoying Serve-a-thon, you can think of and thank Neil Batiancila as he built the current Serve-a-thon model for City Year Greater Philadelphia. Like many current systems and structures that you see today, reflect and remember, these are the result of numerous ideas that have evolved and grown since the conception of the original thought.

“People who win and are the best at what they do, are the people with whose personal values are most aligned with what they are doing,” says Neil.

That’s some good advice from Neil Batiancila, our December highlight.

To nominate an amazing alumnus that you know, please email Renee Di Pietro at cygpalumni@gmail.com.

Alumni Highlight Quick Box: Neil Batiancila

Q: What skills do you believe are your strengths? 

A: Shoulder press, inclined bench, bicep curls...just kidding.  I think I'm comfortable in high pressure situations and working with people. Generally, I have pretty good perspective and that, combined with my inclination to feed off of others energy, usually keeps me working hard on any project. 

Q: What are five things that make you unique?
A: 1) From a City Year perspective, was the first corps member in City Year to rise straight up through my site to become it's own ED.

2) I'm the only classical pianist/college football player I know

3) I've received personal requests to do karaoke (note - not actually sing) at people's weddings

4) A photo of myself as a crazed, rabid Eagles fan, appeared in the Sunday NY Times the day the Eagles played in the Super bowl

5) From a CYGP perspective, I am the only alum who worked on Alan Khazei's US Senate campaign (2009).

Q: What has been your proudest moment in life?

A: Becoming a father.  When my first son, Sam, was born. I actually was the first to hold him because the doctors were taking care of my wife; they left him in my arms for about 15 minutes. I didn't even know what to do at the time but it was perfect.  After leaving the delivery room, the first person I saw was my father.  Sharing with him that I had a son was something I'll never forget. 

Q: What is your favorite book or movie? Why?

A:  Book - To Kill a Mockingbird. It's powerful because it's an emotional story in a historical context, but I also love how it's told through the eyes of a child who is watching her father (and others) courageously stand up against injustice. 

Q: What was your favorite City Year founding story? Why?

A: Ripples. It speaks to the power of someone who stands up.  It almost has a David v. Goliath tone that makes you feel like you can achieve anything.  

Q: How many sites do you think CY will have in 2020?

A: I’m going to say 25.

Q: Where would you like to see one? Why?

A: Good question. I’d love to see one in Denver. I think that is a unique city. It is one of the most beautiful, culturally rich cities and just like any other city has a large underserved and impoverished populations. Some more international sites also would be nice.

Meet & Greet with the 2011 Corps

On Friday, November 19, close to a dozen alumni met and shared their testimonials with the current 2011 Greater Philadelphia Corps. The experiences and advice of a few of these alumni are captured below in these highlights.

Adam Schwartbaum

Adam Schwartzbaum is a third year law student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Born and raised in North Miami, FL, Adam went to college at Brandeis University, where he graduated with a B.A. in English & American Literature and Politics, and a minor in Theater Arts. After Brandeis, Adam moved to Washington DC, where he spent the summer working for his congresswoman and then began a year with City Year Washington DC.  After graduating law school this May, Adam will take the Florida bar and begin working as a first year associate at White & Case, a leading global law firm with an office in Miami.  Adam hopes to gain valuable experience in the private sector while continuing to do service through the firm's significant commitment to pro bono. 

Adam believes that City Year was one of the most important experiences of his entire life.  He continues to appreciate new ways to employ the skills he developed while a corps member. One of the most important skills he gained was the ability to work with teammates to solve problems too large for one person to solve alone.  While doing service, it was sometimes difficult to see past the daily challenges and stresses of working so closely with his teammates for such long hours for so little pay.  Looking back, Adam realizes that overcoming these challenges taught him invaluable lessons about leadership and cooperation, and empowered him to more successfully serve the Washington DC community.  After City Year, Adam also gained a better appreciation of how successfully City Year is able to truly bring different people together to create a common culture that is nurturing and idealistic. Thinking back on the promise of his own corps gives Adam hope for our country's future, and continually reaffirms his faith in the power of national service.   

Dallas Shumaker

Dallas Shumaker was a part of the 2001-2002 Greater Philadelphia Corps. From Malvern, PA, Dallas is currently studying political science with a focus on legal studies at Eastern University, located in St. Davids, PA. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, Dallas is planning on attending graduate school for her Masters Degree in Non-profit Management. Her corps year was one of incredible personal growth and learning. The one piece of advice that she wishes someone had told her would be, live in the moment. You can rehash and debrief at the end of the year, but never again will you be able to experience the first year a second time. Her advice to the current corps in Philadelphia is, “Be in every moment: with the kids, with your team, with yourself. It'll never be better than this day. And learn patience. It’s the one thing that will get you through the year.”

Megan Rooney

Megan Rooney is a proud alumna of City Year Greater Philadelphia’s ’07-’08 and ’08-’09 corps. When Megan graduated from the University of Nebraska in the spring of 2007, she thought that she wanted to be a social worker, but she wanted to test-drive this type of job, a career of service, through AmeriCorps. Megan saw City Year as a great way to have an adventure outside of the Midwest, to have the opportunity to work with students in serious need of mentors, and to make sure that she was capable of doing the work. She viewed CYGP as a one-year stop in her life’s travels and assumed that she would be headed back to Chicagoland, where she grew up.

Instead, Megan fell in love with Philadelphia. The service CYGP does in schools and in communities introduced her to people and places in Philadelphia she would never have had the chance to get to know without the red jacket. As a corps member, Megan served at Olney West High School, where one of her very talented seniors convinced her to stay on for a second year of service. Rather than go straight to college, her student opted to do a year of service himself. He wanted to know more about what he was capable of, and figured that CYGP was a great way to push and develop himself. With his application for and acceptance into CYGP’s ’08-’09 corps, she decided that her service was not complete.

Megan rejoined for a senior corps year, serving with the recruitment department. It was another year of learning. As an office-based senior corps member focused on outreach, she learned more about the broader scale impact of City Year and the national service movement. Megan fell more in love with the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. She declined the graduate programs that she had deferred from the previous year and opted to attend the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice.

Megan will finish her Master of Social Work degree this spring. Her development at City Year has contributed to the success that she has had in graduate school.

The work done in classrooms and on service learning Saturdays with her Young Heroes team gave Megan a good foundation for the social justice work she is keen to undertake. The balancing act of City Year’s multiple hats and personal life prepped Megan in the time and stress management that she needs in order to balance school work, her three-day-a-week internship, her part-time job with Aramark—a position gained through City Year’s partnership with the company—and her friends and family.

Megan has had the opportunity and privilege to serve with City Year Greater Philadelphia as a corps member and as an alumna on CYGP’s signature service days. She looks forward to many other opportunities to continue to do so.

Called to Blend Faith with Service

Lavon Howard, City Year Greater Philadelphia alum and current alumni board member, is the Vice President of Programs and Services at CTM Ministries in Philadelphia, PA.

CTM Ministries is a faith-driven, non-profit organization dedicated to providing programs, services, campaigns, fundraising events, and ministry through different media and fine arts.

CTM Ministries is looking for donations to grow its program to be able to provide and expand its services to a greater population.

The mission of C.T.M Ministries is to motivate, equip and inspire youth and young adult's to live a purpose driven life. “If you change the way you think, you can live a better life.”

If you like to make a donation, please contact Lavon Howard at: lmhfreedoms@yahoo.com

CTM Ministries website: http://www.ctmministriesinc.org/

November Alumni Spotlight - The path of Meghan Poperowitz

Meghan Poperowitz

Nursing School Student, Binghamton University (SUNY)

Former City Year Special Projects Director

Former City Year Corps Member, 2005

By: Reneé Di Pietro

“Everyone has their own path,” says Meghan Poperowitz. “Don’t feel pressured by social constraints or ‘the right path’ to achieve something – follow your heart.”

With shoulder-length brown hair, (which at different times has been both longer and much shorter), a calm smile and a welcoming voice, Meghan is the example of the advice that she gives.  

After joining City Year Greater Philadelphia in 2004, Meghan sought out unique pathways to create for herself a lifestyle that would combine her talents and passions. This pathway started first with continuing her work at City Year. After her first corps year, Meghan signed on again as a senior corps member leading the Visitor’s Program. Then she worked in the communications department, quickly becoming a Special Projects Director. Her tour with City Year Greater Philadelphia lasted for five years.

City Year was Meghan’s first real job out of college, and she worked hard to get it.

“I got that job by surviving and working my butt off in the longest interview of my life—my corps year.”

Philadelphia’s Visitor’s Program is still one of the most successful and innovative programs in the City Year global network. It has collected a wall full of national Cyzygy Awards to document it. Meghan contributed to its success in laying down a strong foundation for the future of the program and in setting up a specific training for the next senior corps member who was to manage the program. Meghan has always modeled what successful communication should be like: everyone on the same page. Everyone informed. Everyone aware of what the greater vision is beyond here.

Meghan is a connector, a web-builder. She saw many ways to make the different programs that she worked with at City Year grow in new areas not attempted yet.

Someone in Meghan’s life who has shown her that great change in life is possible is her father. Growing up she remembers her dad as a very hard working man, extremely devoted to his family, yet he struggled with his weight and was a heavy smoker. Over the past six years she has been blown away and so proud to see her father—a man on both cholesterol and blood pressure medications—turn his life around into a hard working, nonsmoker, runner and healthy eater. He no longer needs his medications anymore.

“He has evolved into a whole new person with more energy. Those are some hard things to change, you know? It has been a few years now and these changes are here to stay,” she says.

The goal setting and following through does not fall from the tree. Jill Kersteen Michaels, a music teacher in the Poconos, grew up with Meghan and describes her as “someone who handles the most difficult situations tactfully” and as someone who gives the best advice.

“Everything Meghan does sets her apart from the pack,” says Michaels. “From her artistic, eclectic style, to her uncanny listening skills, to the amazing advice she gives… Meghan is one of those rare souls you meet in life who you can respect for their wisdom and grace.” 

As most of our personal gifts are learned throughout our lives, Meghan has certainly combined her natural strengths and her experiences to indeed to be a teacher of her own. Surviving a nearly fatal bike accident in Philadelphia, Meghan walked away with only a broken finger. After waking up under a car with her bike tire directly in her face, she could not help but rethink her life and be thankful for her small injuries.

“I was so lucky compared to what could have really happened,” she remembers.

She has always been grateful for her life though with or without the accident. She has experienced great lost in her life and it has only given her more insight on how to cherish life daily. After losing two of her closest friends, she made sure her attitude and respect for the gift of life was something she focused on every day.

“Through their deaths I have truly learned to live life to its fullest,” she says.

As Meghan’s unique life path continued, it took her to a rather different direction than she expected. Her heart showed her an area to pursue that she knew over time was going to be her next mountain to climb.

“Working at City Year I realized a lot of the hurdles that people faced when focusing on their education was related to health issues, involving personal and community health, as well as other disparities occurring in the community.”

The health aspect of the obstacles is what really struck Meghan. This led her to investigating the ways she could transition her work into the health field and begin to address these challenges from a different direction.

“I think health is very important, both mental and physical health. When I saw it affecting our students, I always saw myself addressing it more and in a more direct way in the future.”

Five years later, Meghan is less than a year away from completing her second degree, a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from Binghamton University in New York.

“Meghan’s decision to follow her passion for helping others through a new career as a nurse is commendable and inspiring,” says Michaels.

In 2004, Meghan’s obtained her first degree, a Bachelor’s of Art in Art History from Temple University in Philadelphia. “I liked my first degree,” Meghan says. “I thought it was interesting to look at culture through art. I have somewhat of a photographic memory, so it was also easy for me.”

Today, Meghan’s second degree focuses on completing her newest life goals:

“I want to be an excellent nurse who takes my job seriously. I want to focus on preventative health in a hospital setting and take every morning as a new day to catch something for a patient. As for the future, I would like to work on my Masters Degree.”

Meghan also says she would like to live in a micro house one day, have a garden, chickens and do some traveling. She hopes to be a good friend and family member to those around her; and to settle somewhere where she can get involved with civic associations.

Michaels says Meghan’s already is a superb friend and has supported her in many ways like a family member over the years. She remembers their soccer practice days from high school and how during their freshman year she knew then, Meghan was someone who was going to be very important in her life.

“While we were training during pre-season, Meghan and I used to run on the dike that separated the town from the river by our school. She knew I hated running. To make it easier, she taught me to run with my eyes closed to make it go faster. We used to take turns closing our eyes while the other ran next to us and watched out for danger. As you know, there are not many people in the world that you could trust to guide you while you run with your eyes closed. It was through that experiment that I learned that Meghan was a person I could trust as we developed a life-long bond together.”

Nursing school has been a life change for sure for Meghan. Waking up at 4:30 every morning, armed with green tea, she makes herself ready to take advantage of each day as a chance to learn, a chance catch something new at school, and soon be an innovator of the world around her again in a special way.

“Don’t be afraid to take a chance or follow a dream,” she says, “Because the road will go forward as long as you take action. You’ll get there. Everyone has their own path.”

Alumni Highlight Quick Box: Meghan Poperowitz

Q: What skills or qualities do you believe are your strengths?
A: I'm tenacious and a finisher - you can rely on me to get the job done. I'm also easy going and have a generally pleasant disposition.

Q: What five things make you unique?
A: 1) I can wiggle my ears without using my hands.

2) I often smell flowers (when there are no flowers around) when someone I know is going to die.

3) I'm a cat whisperer.

4) I met Maya Angelou.

5) I love running in really cold weather

Q: What has been your proudest moment in life?
A: Seeing my dad evolve over the past six years from a hard working, smoking, and heavy eating man on cholesterol and blood pressure medications, to a hard working, non-smoking, running and healthy-eating man on no medications. Go dad! 

Q: What is your favorite book or movie? Why?
A: I love novels that just suck you into their world, leading you to read wide-eyed until your eyes go dry. I like to be captivated, entertained and shown glimpses into the nature of our world.

Q: What was your favorite City Year founding story? Why?
A: Ubuntu.  Because it applies to everyone, all the time, holistically.

Q: How many City Year sites do you predict will be open by 2020?
A: 30

Q: Where would you like to see one?
A: I haven’t seen enough of the world yet to see where we need to be next.

Alumni at CYGP Serve-a-thon

City Year Greater Philadelphia's Serve-a-thon event

brought together many alums from over the years

to share in a day of service at Carmella Playground

in Philadelphia.

October Alumni Spotlight - Amazing Alumna Arianna

Written by Renee Di Pietro

Arianna Neromiliotis
Sign Language Interpreter
Founder Teenagers, Inc.
Co-Chair City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumni Board

When asked what five things make Arianna Neromiliotis different from the rest of the world, she has quite an array of unique responses; the fourth one she shares affects her daily:

“I work in pre-school, I'm convinced this has taught me everything about life.”

With great wit and eyes that show exactly how awake she is, Arianna smiles with a lot of joy. When meeting her one is convinced that she either must be or should be working with children. She is completely hands-on and very playful as her Tiffany’s open heart necklace swings around her neck, a gift from her mother seven years ago.

“The heart is my favorite shape,” she says. “I don’t think I’ve taken this off in the past seven years.”

Yet don’t assume from this contagious loving, smile that life is nothing but recess for Arianna. Quite the opposite actually, she is a stern, serious business woman when needed; a guru at event planning, and an uncompromising fundraiser when the duty calls, which is quite often due to the collection of hats that she wears.

Arianna did City Year during one of its first years in Philadelphia. She was 17 years old serving in 1999, resulting in her rejoining immediately for a second year. Today Arianna is the co-chair of the Greater Philadelphia Alumni Board, representing City Year Greater Philadelphia at all national alumni events and local City Year events. She is reviving and starting a movement in Philadelphia to get City Year alumni reconnected and in touch again with each other and the organization. She balances this responsibility on top of her other endeavors; and when she runs you through a snapshot of her life, you learn that she would rather not do anything else more with her free time than help others.

Early to rise in the morning, Arianna grabs her coffee and heads to work as a Sign Language Interpreter and a pre-school teacher aide at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Arianna attended the Community College of Philadelphia and has been involved with the deaf community throughout the city for a long time.

“Arianna is wise beyond her years, very well traveled and uses this knowledge for the betterment of the world one challenge at a time,” says Sandie Chester-Kunkely, a Personal Care Assistant from the Early Childhood Center. “She is always prepared and flexible, and she approaches her work day with a very positive attitude. She brings a wonderful energy to school that I wish more staff would emulate,”

Like an artist creating a language in a picture, Arianna does the same with her hands. If you watch closely enough, she often continues to “sign” no matter what community she is surrounded by, adding to her very vibrant presence in the room.

Arianna’s longest undertaking is a program that she was a founding member of with a group of individuals over 10 years ago. When Arianna was 17-years old, and serving in City Year, she and others cofounded the non-profit Teenagers Inc., which provides a Teen Center and positive activities for teenagers to join and be involved with during their youth. Arianna is still heavily involved with the nonprofit today and has continued to see its growth and success throughout her hometown of Mt. Airy. She considers this to be her greatest accomplishment in her life.

“Kids need a good place to go during this time in their youth,” she says.

Recent travel to Guatemala has engaged the local teens with international activities as well. This was a return trip for some of the kids, as Arianna has organized and escorted a few trips with the teen group during her past summers. She teaches the teens fundraising skills and focuses them on service learning while on their trips. She and the teens work closely and experience solidarity with the people they are working with abroad. A lot of emotions and close bonds are formed during the experience and many of the participants pledge to return again in the future and to be more involved with service work in their own communities. The trips have been to work on house builds in certain areas of Guatemala and also to provide assistance in relief work due to the natural disaster that hit the country this summer.

“I am about twice Arianna's age,” says Sandie, “And I have told her frequently that when I grow up, I want to be her. I admire so much about her.”

Arianna gets her leadership gift from her mother, who she also admits is her greatest teacher. “As cliché as that is, she absolutely is,” she says. “It is the truth. She is someone very active in her community and the city. She showed me early in life that as long as there is a committed group of people working together, you can accomplish whatever you want to do.”

Arianna encourages the young teens that she works with to not be afraid of life. She gives them confidence to think of ways to put themselves out there in the world and how to get on a path to meet their goals. She reminds them as well, “to stay inline with who you are.”

“Everyone has to follow their dream,” she says. “If you really want something, do it.”

And she adds, “If it’s not something that is going to make you any money, but it will make you happy, well being happy is best thing you can ask for. Go for it.”

In the future, Arianna hopes to continue her schooling and finish another program for Interpreting. She is also very excited to see what she can whip up and make happen with her alumni board this year and hopes to see you out at the next City Year Alumni function very soon.



Alumni Highlight Quick Box: Arianna Neromiliotis

Q: What skills or qualities do you believe are your strengths?
A: Passion, Creativity, and Motivation

Q: What five things make you unique?
A: 1. I'm fluent in American Sign Language. 2. I have a phonetically appropriate last name (it's said the way it's spelled) NERO MILI OTIS. 3. This past summer I was on 3 different continents within two weeks. (North American, South American and Europe). 4. I work in Preschool, and I'm convinced this has taught me everything about life. 5. And I love a hot cup of coffee, no matter how hot it is outside.

Q: What has been your proudest moment in life?
A: I have two. One, I built a house in Guatemala, with a service group. Guatemala is the most amazing place, and the people and culture are very unique. Two, being a co-chair of the CY Alumni board; it's one of the most challenging and wonderful jobs I've ever had, and representing Philadelphia makes me very proud!

Q: What is your favorite book or movie? Why?
A: The Harry Potter Books. They can totally take me away and into a completely different world. I love them!

Q: What was your favorite City Year founding story? Why?
A: Starfish Story. I really do still love making a difference.

Q: How many City Year sites do you predict will be open by 2020?
A: I feel like maybe 50. We could go way more international.

Q: Where would you like to see one?
A: I would love to see one in Guatemala or any third world country.

1 Minute Joy - The Wombat Speaks Out For The World

Global Mind Shift:
http://www.global-mindshift.org/memes/wombat.swf

Corps Notes - "I wonder what so and so is up to.."

City Year Alumni Corps Notes published with over 500 alumni participating throughout the network.

Submit your own: http://alumni.cityyear.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=2320&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS

Read others: http://alumni.cityyear.org/site/PageServer?pagename=CorpsNotes2010

Serve-a-thon!

Dear City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumni,

City Year Greater Philadelphia’s 10th Annual Serve-a-thon is quickly approaching and we need your help to make the day a success. This year’s Serve-a-thon will be held on Saturday October 9, 2010 at Carmella Playground, located at 2100 Wakeling Street in Philadelphia. Throughout our day of service at Carmella we will conduct an array of projects including: fence painting, muraling, light landscaping and construction. The service day will begin with registration at 8:15am and will conclude around 2:00pm that afternoon. I would like to extend a warm welcome and encourage you, as well as your family and friends, to come out and participate.

In order to register please visit our website at www.WhyIServe.com. If you have any questions or would like more information about the 10th Annual Serve-a-thon please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Alicia McLamb
Recruitment Coordinator
Volunteer Management Team
City Year Greater Philadelphia
Email: amclamb11@cityyear.org

City Heroes & Young Heroes Program Volunteer Opportunity

Hey Alums, spread the word and join up if you like to transform Saturdays into your Hero Days : )

The Young Heroes and City Heroes programs are looking for enthusiastic volunteers who want to:
- Be role models and mentors
- Serve the community
- Make a commitment
- Develop skills in young people
- Have Fun!

The Heroes Program is a Saturday leadership development and community service-learning program for middle and high school-aged youth. Heroes discuss issues, raise ideas, and participate in fun and engaging workshops to better understand how social issues affect our community and to identify ways that they can be a part of the solution. Heroes then work together on diverse teams to help solve the problems they learned about through hands-on community service. The program starts with Orientation in December and then continues for approximately three Saturdays a month from December through May.

Please note that Heroes is NOT a drop-in program – students who apply and are accepted are expected to attend consistently. The same expectation applies for the group leaders who mentor and support them. City Year needs the support of committed young people ages 18-26 to volunteer as “Group Leaders” during the 6 month Heroes Program.

As a Heroes Group Leader, you will lead, mentor and engage a team of 8-10 Heroes throughout their “semester of service.” You will facilitate team discussions and reflection activities to guide their personal development. As a Group Leader you guide your team in taking direct action against injustice through powerful and transformative community service projects. As you help Heroes learn, develop and grow, you will build long-lasting relationships with the great young people in our program.

Call or email today for an application:
267-386-7029

City Heroes - Shonda Brinson, sbrinson10@cityyear.org
Young Heroes - Theresa Moran, tmoran10@cityyear.org

Calendar Events for September 2010

September 2010

• Monthly Newsletter Pilot - Welcome. If you are reading this then you are apart of our pilot newsletter. Share your comments with us, we love to here from you. 

• Join our Facebook Network titled: City Year Alumni in Philadelphia. Stay up to date on alumni, corps members and City Year's different Pepsi Refresh projects as well as upcoming events, the October Alumni Happy Hour, Serve-a-thon and the Alumni Meet and Greet with the 2010-2011 Corps

• Interest Event for the recent 2010 graduates to join the CYGP board. Email us if you like to check out the application.