Project Ubuntu Blog

Stay updated on the progress of Project Ubuntu

through its blogsite.

Project Ubuntu

Project Ubuntu is a civic engagement campaign/documentary film project designed to highlight the work of community leaders as they work to better their neighborhoods through citizen and volunteer engagement.

"With a van and a plan, we will embark on a 51 week trek across the country to document the challenges facing communities and the champions who have taken a stand. toward funding the trip and the production of the film."

Who are the great minds behind this venture? There are a few, and most are City Year Alumni!

To learn more and to get involved, watched this great summary video through the project's Kickstarter page.

Philadelphia, let's get ready to welcome Project Ubuntu this October and support them in anyway you can.

MLK Day of Service

Monday, January 16, 2012

9:00AM - 2:00PM

Please arrive early to register.

Germantown High School

40 East High Street

Philadelphia, PA 19144

Please join City Year for this inspirational day of service.  Together, we will transform Germantown High School, creating a positive and inspiring learning environment for students and educators while honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Due to limited volunteer slots, please go to www.regonline.com/cymlkdaychampions to register.

For more information, please contact Amanda Finch at afinch@cityyear.org or 267-243-2499.

Do You Like Naming Things?

Via the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:

Are you good at naming things? Do you have a lot of pets, or kids, all with terrific names they've really grown into as dogs, or people?

Well, there's a contest happening to confer a name upon the network of bike/ped trails that snakes through the 9-county region.

The William Penn Foundation is working with DVRPC on a naming contest. Visit the contest website here for additional details. The contest ends on December 16th. The creator of the winning entry will receive $250 and the fame of having his or her name attached to our regional trail network.

Pretty cool. Go for it, Alumni. 


Delaware Valley Regional Plannning Commission: http://www.dvrpc.org/NameOurTrailNetwork/

City Year and the Eagles = Global Sports Team of the Year!

Congratulations to Eagles Youth Partnership and the Philadelphia Eagles for being named the Best Sports Team in the world by Beyond Sport.

Read: Eagles named Beyond Sport team of the year
Read: NFL News: Philadelphia Eagles named as global Sports Team of the year
Read: Philadelphia Eagles win international award for community efforts
Read: Eagles named sports team of the year for philanthropic efforts

Special Announcement - Recruiting City Year Orlando Start-Up Team

"We are convinced that the presence of City Year Corps Members in our schools will help create the supportive conditions our students need to realize their highest potential.”
- Ronald Blocker, Orange County Public Schools Superintendent

As the first snow falls tonight for December 2011, Philadelphia and Orlando cannot really be thought of as similar cities.. until now. After being in the works for two years, City Year Orlando is now on the table for start-up and is eager to welcome the red jackets into their schools.   Consider joining this start-up team and put your skills, idealism and initiative to work for City Year Orlando. Alumni are strongly encouraged to apply. To learn more about this opportunity and how you can be part of bringing City Year to Orlando, please fill out an Inquiry Form. And review the FAQ's.    The following positions on the Orlando Start-up Team are available: Start-up Director School Partnerships Director Recruitment Director Recruitment Coordinator Program Manager 10 Senior Corps members - note: alumni who have already served 2 terms as an AmeriCorps Member may still be eligible to apply as a Start-Up Senior Corps Member due to changes in eligibility regulations.

Super Heroes Make Service Day Success

It did not need to be a large group; just one small group of super heroes would do the job right. Filling over 40 large (30 gallon) paper lawn bags (!), the job was a steady work day and enjoyed among easy company and a warm welcome by the Woodcrest United Church.

Thank you for making a great "Super Hero" Service Day in honor of the late Matt Johnson from the 2010 corps.
 
We are very grateful to those who came out! The Woodcrest United Church and Matt's parents also thank you and appreciate your service.

cyMENTOR KICK OFF





CYGP officially launched cyMentor at Mastery Charter-Shoemaker on Thursday, November 17!  cyMentor is a partnership between iMentor, Mastery, and City Year that matches all sophomores at Mastery with an adult mentor.  This year, 63 City Year alumni were matched with Mastery students! 

Big THANK YOU to all alumni who applied and are continuing to make a difference in the lives of young people in Philadelphia! 

For more information about cyMentor contact cymentor@cityyear.org.

RUN FOR CITY YEAR

Eleven CYGP alumni ran the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday, November 20 to raise money for City Year. The goal was $10K and the runners raised: $10,301. AMAZING JOB!!

Thank you to: Frances Brandt ’10-’12, Staci Carney ’09-11, Brynn (Dutcher) Flynn’04-06, Mike Flynn ’04-06, Tim Galaz ’10-12, Ashley Moffett ’09-11, Arianna Neromilitios ’99-01 , Zein Tawil ’08-09,Thao Tran ’10-12, Caitlin Tritch ’10-12, and Dorothy Wong ’08-10.

"Super Hero” Service Day in Memory of Matt Johnson ’09-10

Matthew Johnson was an incredible corps member who served in ’09-10 and passed away during his year of service.  The CYGP Alumni Board will host a service day at Matt’s church in Mt. Airy on Saturday, December 3 from 8:30 am - 1:00 pm. 

Projects include leaf raking, painting, building shelves, and general fix up / cleanup of the community. Bring your gloves and extra rakes if you have them. 

Please come out and join the alumni and serve in memory of Matt.

Check out the Alumni Calendar for more information and contact Arianna Neromiliotis (arigirl81@gmail.com) to RSVP.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: City Year Recruitment Alumni Team

As we continue to grow, City Year needs help from the alumni community to recruit the corps!  If you are interested in supporting the CYGP Recruitment Staff with outreach events, customer service, and admissions please send your resume and a statement of interest to Jana Curtis (jcurtis@cityyear.org). This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to gain experience in the areas of HR or nonprofit management.

DONATIONS: Foyer of Philadelphia

Alise Parrish ’08-09 is collecting winter coats and toiletries for Foyer of Philadelphia, a non-profit that provides transitional housing, job training, and support services for LGBTQI youth in Philadelphia who have aged-out of foster care or are homeless.  Contact Alise (alise.parrish@gmail.com) if you want to help out!

LACY: NEW "give a year.” Partnerships and LACY Partnerships

City Year recently announced three new "give a year.” partnerships and four new LACY partnerships -- bringing the total to 46 schools and 10 employers!  Check out the Career Center  on the City Year Alumni website to learn more about these exciting opportunities exclusively for City Year alumni.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES POSTED
Administrative Assistant – American Paradigm Schools
Audience Development Account Executive – Philadelphia Business Journal
Volunteer Initiative Coordinator (Commission on Literacy), AmeriCorps VISTA – SERVE Philadelphia: Mayor’s Office on Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service
Parks and Recreation Volunteer Engagement Support Coordinator, AmeriCorps VISTA – SERVE Philadelphia: Mayor’s Office on Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service

Highlights: CY SERVES

City Year SERVES was a bright success on Saturday, November 5. The Christy Rec Center in Southwest Philadelphia was completed turned into shades of bright yellow in the halls and blue in the gym. Inspirational quotes now greet visitors at the door and the outdoor basketball court has crisp lines now for the players (who were already lined up and ready to play). 


Inside the gym a mural was put on the back wall behind the basketball net. Only at an event such as City Year SERVES can a blank wall end up like this at the end of the day. 

Thanks to all who attended and pitched in to turn this center into a beautiful place for children to spend time and enjoy enrichment activities. 

Via NPR: Interrupting Violence With The Message 'Don't Shoot'

At the start of the month NPR's Fresh Air program hosted guest David M. Kennedy, the author of Don't Shoot One Man, A Street Fellowship, And The End of Violence in Inner-City America. The interview allows the listener to walk next to Kennedy through over 15 years of his work in making cities safer and transformed, not suppressed. Kennedy gives a very raw account of his work and how it started and succeeded; his compassion and focus throughout time is truly inspiring. Anyone who has witnessed city violence will take away a message that can be spread and help heal our violent and hurting cities. Kennedy's main conclusion is of a model that includes everyone -- when promoting change in violent communities it must come from the community itself in all aspects.

Kennedy is the director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control, and professor of criminal justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. 

To read a summary of the interview or to listen to the interview in whole:

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/01/141803766/interrupting-violence-with-the-message-dont-shoot

City Year SERVES

City Year SERVES is the new name for the event that we called Serve-a-thon. New name, same great event.

Come join City Year to revitalize the Christy Rec Center in Southwest Philadelphia. We hope to build community and inspire residents in restoring and beautifying this critical recreation center.  Your service will transform Christy into a brighter, cleaner, and safer place for children to learn in summer camps, after-school programs, and other enrichment activities.

Location: Christy Recreation Center 56th & Christian Streets Philadelphia, PA 19143  
Registration Opens:8:30am
Morning Program: 9:00am
Service: 9:30am
Lunch:1:00pm
Depart: 2:00pm

Register for the event at www.regonline.com/cityyearchristy
For more information please contact Amanda Finch at afinch@cityyear.org or 267-386-7014.

Run For City Year

There are two ways to get involved with this great event:

• Register to Run, or 
• Support a City Year Runner 

Run For City Year is City Year's running-based fundraising program to support City Year and the great work performed by its corps members. Alumni are registering with friends and raising money together. It is not too late to consider running yourself or to support a runner. Come check it all out here.

http://www.runforcityyear.org/ycm/

Meet & Greet Thank You!!

It was wonderful event, and a big hit with the corps. Your time and experience are invaluable things and on behalf of the CYGP 2011-12 corps and CYGP Alumni Board, I thank you for making that afternoon's event a huge success.

We look forward to seeing you at future events!

Arianna Neromiliotis

City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumni Board Chair

50 Web Applications for Teachers via Gazette

If you know a teacher, pass this along. A great resource from Teacher.net where they know that teachers don't teach subjects, they teach students.

http://teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/allison-gray/50-web-apps-for-teachers/

http://teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/october-2011/

What Steve Jobs Can Still Teach Teachers via Fast Company

This is an interesting take on an article about Steve Job's view in the classrom...
http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2011/10/what-steve-jobs-can-still-teach-teachers/

Original article below, published by Fast Company:
http://www.fastcompany.com/design/2011/what-can-steve-jobs-still-teach-us

photo from Flickr.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigalakos/839742222/sizes/m/in/photostream/

One Great Idea

Do you have a great idea for Philadelphia? Share it.

Back on 1/11/201, The Philadelphia Inquierer and The Daily News launched the community-focused initiative One Great Idea. Each Tuesday on Philly.com a new video is posted featuring One Great Idea suggested by someone who loves the region.

See the videos here:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/One_Great_Idea_videos.html?cmpid=124488704

Do you have a great idea to suggest? Do it!

Shel Silverstein's Poems Live On In 'Every Thing' via NPR

A decade after his death, the beloeved poet and illustrator has a new book out -- and we love it. Read a review on it below and let us know your favorite poem after you've visited its pages.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/20/140566486/shel-silversteins-poems-live-on-in-every-thing

High Volunteerism Can Mean Lower Unemployment Rates, Study Says

"States in which a big share of people volunteer, vote, and participate in other civic events tended to suffer the least-drastic increases in joblessness during the downturn, according to a new report" by by the National Conference on Citizenship.

Read the full review here:
High Volunteerism Can Mean Lower Unemployment Rates, Study Says

City Year Opening Day, Friday October 7, 2011

Celebrate City Year Greater Philadelphia’s 15th Anniversary Corps!

Drexel University: Main Auditorium (3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia PA)

The ceremony begins at12:00 (doors open at 11:30)

Please RSVP by September 30, 2011 to Robyn Lorfink, Events and Marketing Director (rlorfink@cityyear.org)

Alumni Meet and Greet

Alumni Meet and Greet – Monday October 10, 3:00-5:00 pm (Columbus Day)

Broad Street Ministry, 315 S. Broad Street (Broad and Pine)

Join the Alumni Association to introduce the 2011-2012 corps to the Alumni community that served before them! This event helps orient new corps to their service year and connects them to the alumni network. Alumni will talk with small groups of corps members about the joys and challenges of the service year, LACY plans, and your City Year experiences. Location: TBA (Center City area).

RSVP to Arianna Neromiliotis, Chair of the CYGP Alumni Board at arigirl81@gmail.com   (please include your corps year and the name of your team or school).

Join the City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumni Board

The CYGP Alumni Board works to keep the alumni community in touch and informed about developments at City Year. They plan events, fundraisers, and networking opportunities for the corps and alumni. It is a great leadership opportunity and a fun way to continue to make a difference in Philadelphia. If you’re interested in joining the local Alumni Board, please email Brendan Morrissey (bmorrissey@cityyear.org).

Have you checked in yet??

Register for the NEW Alumni Website - http://alumni.cityyear.org/

City Year relaunched the City Year Alumni website in August with a fresh look and upgraded features, including a brand new Online LACY Career Center.

Joining the new website is free and available to the full City Year community including corps members, alumni, current staff and staff alums from across the country. Log in to reconnect, upload your resume, and learn about give a year Partnerships and LACY Partnerships.

cyMentor – City Year needs more male mentors for Mastery students!

cyMentor matches 10th grade Mastery Charter School students with CY alumni and other supportive adults to help them achieve their academic, personal, and career goals from the time they are paired through high school graduation. Pairs will get to know each other through a unique combination of weekly email correspondence and monthly group events. City Year needs more male mentors for the young men at Mastery. Visit the cyMentor website for more information and email Alicia McLamb (amclamb11@cityyear.org) know if you have any questions.

Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?

The country's achievements in education have other nations doing their homework... (article from Smithsonian.com)

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html#ixzz1ZGeSt8G3

Once-troubled 'Mayor of Girard Ave.' elects to turn his life around - Philly.com

Read this summer spotlight that Philly.com reported on Toby Rich this summer.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-06/news/29625568_1_city-hall-rich-question-news-conference

Summary: Toby Rich, who spent years battling addiction and other demons, is now a columnist and well-respected City Hall fixture.

Once-troubled 'Mayor of Girard Ave.' elects to turn his life around.

"There's nothing wrong with loving yourself," Rich shouted into the microphone. "When other people see that you love yourself, they learn to respect you and they want to love you, too." His story will inspire you and any type of work you do.

Powerhouse in the White House - Alumni Spotlight on Jason Mayer

Jason Mayer, City Year Alumnus 2002

Soon to be abroad, we caught up with Jason Mayer a decade after serving with City Year in Philadelphia. 

By: Reneé Di Pietro

“There are many people in this world that work hard. Many of them, however, get so caught up in working hard that they forget to enjoy what life has to offer,” says Joie Johnson about Jason Mayer, our summer alumni spotlight. “Not only does Jason have an amazing work ethic, but he still finds time to enjoy and make the most of his life, no matter what hand he is dealt. Perhaps it's balance that makes him different—he successfully balances work, marriage, service and a general enthusiasm for learning new things.”

Jason Mayer grew up outside of Philadelphia in the Lower Merion area. When it was time for college, he applied and was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate degrees in history and international relations. He then moved to New York City for a year to work with a public relations and advertising firm.

“It was a really good job market that year, easy to get a job,” he remembers.

He did not stay long though in New York, he knew his next steps needed to be put in motion for graduate school; yet there was one more thing to do first.

“I had always wanted to do a service year, and it made perfect sense between college and graduate school,” Jason says. “I was introduced to City Year in Philadelphia and was invited to a corps member roundtable when I was in college. I knew right away it would be an amazing place to spend a year.”

Jason can still recall the corps members he met while visiting the City Year Greater Philadelphia office with Joe Banner, City Year Greater Philadelphia’s Board Chair; their testimonials and stories struck Jason deep. 

He applied to the City Year service sites in Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Chicago. “I wanted to go wherever most needed,” he says.  Philadelphia was very happy to receive him, just as he was happy to begin his service work in the city he truly wanted to give back to. His team was a service learning, office-based team that worked with 8^th graders on addressing stereotypes about their race, age and genders. He still communicates and has a close relationship with the teacher whom he worked with 10 years ago.

“Jason is an exceptionally dedicated person,” says his wife Jennifer Mayer. “He has the strongest and longest lasting friendships of anyone I've ever known. To become friends with Jason is to become an important part of his life forever.  His dedication extends to his professional life and personal endeavors as well.” 

Jason recalls how his team got off to the normal, slow start in the beginning of the year and then through getting to know each other and working together, they grew into a powerhouse. They combated more than stereotypes with their students; they literally put the discussions right into their students’ hands that year, physically. The year culminated with an empowering event on the topic shared with their peers, parents and community members at the National Liberty Museum in downtown Philadelphia. The evening event was covered by the local news stations as the students showed how they cared about each other, their school and they demonstrated how they were overcoming stereotypes through their art projects, music, and history studied that year.

At the end of his service year, Jason felt extremely gratified and proud of the work they had all accomplished together. “To this day it is my proudest accomplishment,” he says.

Aside from the impact his service had on his life, something else happened that year that changed and redirected Jason’s path. Two weeks into his corps year, the attacks of September 11^th gripped the nation. From that event on, Jason knew what he would do with the rest of his life.

“City Year shaped my path indeed and on the day the 9/11 attacks occurred, I knew after that year that I wanted to find a career that combined public service and international relations,” he says. “And I have done so,” he adds.

Jason recently completed a stint on the National Security Staff at the White House and is now beginning his career as a Foreign Service Office with the State Department. He followed his gut into his studies for a masters degree at Georgetown University in international security and a law degree at American University.  He is humble as he speaks about his successes in his career. You have to pull it out of him that not only did he work at the White House but is following his dreams of living and working overseas and representing the United States abroad.

“He is driven, passionate, witty, kind and refreshing,” says Joie Johnson, who met Jason through New York Stock Exchange, Euronext Government Affairs Office. She knows no matter where Jason works, no matter the changes in his life, or how busy he is, he always makes time for the people and things that are important to him. 

With the bright future ahead and the milestone behind, Jason still holds his service year in the highest regards in all that he has accomplished. While living in Washington, D.C., Jason joined and became the co-chair of the City Year alumni board in D.C, as well as member of the City Year Washington D.C. Site Board of Directors. His term with the Alumni Board as their chair just ended this spring.

“City Year really remains the fondest moment of my life. It was a real void to me being away from it, from the service. I was happy to get involved and become closer with some of the board members, and networking with the corps members, having pot luck dinners,” he says as he remembers all the events they did together.

Jason also got his wife Jennifer involved with City Year as a mentor. They met while in law school and Jennifer practices law today.

“She a real lawyer, I’m a fake lawyer,” he laughs. “She defends murderers,” he says, speaking of her with great admiration. He looks forward to their weekly date nights that happen as often as they can. “We were married in August 2009,” he says.

Both of them are now anticipating their move abroad, which is part of Jason’s new job. They are extremely excited for all the different areas of the world they are about to experience. 

Jason’s future goal is to be an ambassador for the United States, “the main guy in the country.” He also could see himself running for public office one day.

When you ask his friends where they see him down the line, good friend and former City Year team member Dallas Shumaker says, “He is unafraid of being himself and he is amazing. He is never afraid to speak his mind and, don't tell him I said so, but he's always right. And somehow, he never makes you feel dumb or silly for being wrong. I could see him being the President of the United States. He is destined to be in such a position.”

Joie also agrees that the options are limitless. “Probably a better question would be, ‘Where do I not see Jason in 10 years?’ The world is his oyster. He will thrive in whatever he chooses to do and will no doubt continue to live a balanced and exciting life.” 

Alumni Highlight Quick Box: Jason Mayer

Q: What is your favorite book or movie? Why?
A: I don’t think I have an absolute favorite movie, but I love Almost Famous.

Q: What was your favorite City Year founding story? Why?
A: I like Stone Soup, because it’s a warm-hearted message and also makes me hungry.

Q: What do you think it takes for a corps member to be successful in an organization like City Year and beyond?

A: Humility and patience. Everyone’s opinion matters. True leaders are those who are humble and put the group’s needs and priorities before their own.

Q: Who taught you humility and patience?

A: My mom for sure—I definitely learned those traits from her—but it took me the better part of my corps year to truly operationalize them.  Coming in to my service year, I had a vision of how I wanted to be perceived but initially it really didn't work out that way.  I am so grateful to City Year that it ingrained in me the importance of team building and working through problems as a group.  The outcome often matters less than the process.

  

Q: How many City Year sites do you predict will be open by 2020? Where would you like to see one?
A: Between 26 and 30. Baltimore.

Q: What has been your proudest moment in life?

A: When I walked into the White House for my first day of work in 2010. 

Q: What advice would you give a new corps member?

Be really, really patient. There are days, weeks that are incredibly frustrating whether kids are not cooperating, team challenges or business. But don’t loose sight of the over all experience … this is really a marathon.

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

Congrats to the 2011 CYGP Corps

By: Alessandra Hankinson

Julian Clark, City Year Alumnus 2010-2011

Great leaders are not often described as great characters. Usually, there is an external impression of men and women being great. City Year members leave remarkable impressions in the schools that they serve. They capture the dynamic of leadership in their roles, and leave a sense of fulfillment on the students whom they’ve mentored. 

For example, a recent City Year graduate, Julian Clark used his leadership to inspire, motivate and influence the youth he served.

As a corps member this year, Julian is described best as a dedicated, honest, realistic, humble, patient, self-aware, and calm person—and also as someone who is aware of others. He anchored his teammates through a successful service year with his confidence, morality, ethics and respectfulness.

“Julian always did what it took to leave service partners content with the work that he provided,” says his project manager, Thuy Ta. “He normally did more than what was asked of him to secure the partnerships that City Year has, and gave everything his all.”

The influence of the work that Julian did with his after school program, City Year Sports League (CYSL), is a true testament that he puts his heart into his service. With the CYSL program, Julian was able to provide athletics for the students at James Rhoads Elementary. At the same time, he was able to use that program as an incentive to make sure that students attended class, had acceptable classroom behavior, and completed their homework. With his dedication to the CYSL and to the students at James Rhoads Elementary, there were always over 40 students who attended the program and he was like a big brother and a coach to all of them.

Many other corps members, like Julian, have used their leadership and influence to help navigate the success of the students who they have mentored. City Year is a program that works because of the individuals who put their hearts into serving the Philadelphia community.

The City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumni Advisory Board celebrates its graduated 2011 corps. Congratulations on completing 10 months of service, and best of luck to you all in your future endeavors!

Congratulations Michelle Kreischer 2011 Banner Starfish Award Winner!

The 2011 Banner Starfish Award was presented to Michelle Kreischer last week at the City Year Graduation Ceremony

Persistence, Ingenuity, Selflessness, and Humility. These four characteristics describe our 2011 Banner Starfish Award Winner. With an unwavering commitment to service, a creative spirit, and the ability to rise up again and again to overcome adversity, Michelle Kreischer embodies what it means to be recognized with this award.

“Call me dramatic, but I knew a few other highly qualified corps members that applied for the award and was shocked when my name was called. I work with amazingly talented and passionate people that are imagining an idealistic future through their own unique ventures and ideas. There have been a few times when I've sat in the Idealistic Journey sessions with my fellow senior corps members and am in awe of them,” Michelle says. 

She is a true advocate for quality and equal education. Her work at James Rhoads Elementary School and her commitment to creating a partnership with the Center for Literacy, helped to maximize tutoring time with the students whom she and her fellow corps members served.

In choosing Michelle, we were struck by her deep commitment and clear vision that she exemplified throughout her entire service year.

“She truly is like meeting Mr. Holland,” her supervisor says, in regards to her commitment to her students and love of music.

Michelle plans to continue to combine her love of music education with her calling to be a teacher.

“Starting in August, I will be teaching K-6th grade music at Mastery Charter School-Smeldey Elementary.  It will be my first time teaching full time and I'm very excited about all of the possibilities,” Michelle says. She plans to create a music program that will expose her students to music in a holistic style. She wants to ensure that her students have a chance to physically demonstrate the musical elements they will learn and have within them already.

Teaching and Tweeting

Excellent nod to City Year staff alum Meenoo Rami.. an amazing English teacher in Philadelphia.

Read the story here from Philly.com.

Support the Banner Starfish Award Fundraising Drive!

Please support our efforts over the next two weeks as we close in on our fundraising goal for the Banner Starfish Award. This award is given to a graduating corps member each year and any donation amount that you can pledge is sincerely appreciated (donations may start as low as $5)!

Please visit our website to donate now before June 14, 2011. Our website can be found here: Banner Starfish Award Fundraising Drive.

To learn what our past recipients, Julia Hall (2010) and Pearl Jonas (2009) are up to now, read our alumni highlight stories on our blog.

The 2011 Banner Starfish Award will be presented at the City Year Graduation on June 14, 2011 at the Gershwin Y, located at Broad and Pine Street.  We invite you to attend and be a part of this great event!

Grills & Games

Alongside some of our more professional venues and events coming up this Spring, 2011 also includes a BBQ at the end of April on Saturday, April 30^th.

We are excited to invite you to a day of grilling and games with fellow alumni and their families and friends.

We will have an assortment of light food and refreshments and welcome additions you would like to add to the grills or snacks.

A donation is welcomed of $3 if you will be eating the food we will be providing.

Please RSVP by Friday, April 15.

Looking forward to seeing you,

The Philadelphia Alumni Board

Recap

Who: You, family and friends (unlimited)

What: Spring BBQ

When: Saturday, April 30^th

Raindate: Sunday, May 1

Where: TBA

Alumnus Joey Plum Excels as KIPP Teacher

Congratulations to City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumnus Joey Plum! 

Joey served in Philadelphia with the '04 and '05 corps; he led many developments within the Youth Corps and Young Heroes program. 

Today he is recognized as a winner of the 2010 Excellence in Teaching Award by KIPP.

Joey is a Math teacher in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, and recognized for his outstanding standards for himself and his students.

Alumni Spotlight - Down To Specifics With Artist Julia Hall

Julia Hall
Professional Artist
Team Leader of City Year Greater Philadelphia Youth Corps
Joe Banner Starfish Award Winner

By Reneé Di Pietro

Vine swinging monsters. Light house halos. A hungry caterpillar. Where the Wild Things Are? Julia Hall will show you.

She arms herself for life by seeking out as many different perspectives as possible, and surrounding herself with diversity in all its forms. Being a native of South Jersey and New York City, Julia grew up spending her weekends in museums. After she attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and graduated as a painting major, she has had her art work featured in numerous galleries, museums and universities. Julia also has had opportunities to work under premier sculptors, antique restorers, painters, and woodworkers, which is a profession her father shares.

“The hands-on approach helps one master artistic skills,” she says.

So how did this artist end up at City Year for a second year of service? Julia is currently the team leader for the Young Heroes Youth Corps.

“I decided to serve two years because I wanted to give back to the city of Philadelphia, which has been my home off and on for about eight years,” she says.

Julia originally arrived in Philadelphia for schooling but also chose the city because she was inspired by William Penn and his ideals, founding the city on equalities, liberties, green spaces and a political utopia setting that guaranteed free and fair trials.

“I went to Quaker school as a child,” she says. “I grew up hearing a lot of the City Year founding stories.” Her favorite is the story of The Traveler.

“It’s an interesting play on perspective and how you get what you expect [out of life].”

For the past two years Julia has been focusing on her students’ expectations for themselves and using unique methods to challenge and support them—specializing each method for each student. She believes that every person needs specific tools to build the life that he or she envisions. Therefore when Julia walked into Jay Cooke Elementary School in North Philadelphia last year, she immediately focused on finding out about each of her students’ desired career paths. She wanted to make sure that by the end of the year, these students could have the tools that they would need to walk these paths.

“Two of the largest hurdles to overcome last year were the absent of a school art program and changing students’ perceptions of themselves, their self worth and potential,” Julia says.

She went to work at once and asked all her sixth grade students where they wanted to attend high school. Many responded the neighborhood school, Olney High School. Other students did not know where and had never thought of other options. Over Thanksgiving break, Julia spent her free time researching every high school option possible for the students and diagrammed out a summary sheet for each school including its academic requirements, its strengths, its special programs and focuses. She shared this information back with the undecided students and next asked about what career paths interested them. Armed with a new list to research, she again diagrammed each of these careers, what they are, what their life paths look like, and what is it now that these students could be doing to prepare themselves for these careers.

“I took my students out of the classroom for one on one time to work on clarifying their ambitions. I explained that the more one prepares, the more attainable everything becomes,” she says. “I would give them customized step-by-step goal sheets outlining what they needed to do and where they needed to do it to reach the top. If a student said they wanted to be a doctor, I would ask, ‘What kind of doctor?’”

Specificity. Julia continues today to support students to specifically see what their futures can hold for them, particularly with one of her students from last year. She knows she has reached him, especially in focusing on his future.

“He is one of my students that I have formed one of my strongest bonds with. We have a pact that I will continue pestering him until he graduates from Yale, or MIT or Harvard.” she says. “This pact is the thing I will carry with me after I am done serving this year, and something I take very seriously. I plan to help him get scholarships and to do my best to nurture his dreams.”

“The students I work with deserve people to stay in their lives, even when things get tough,” she notes. “My main goal in life now is to continue helping kids to realize that they are special, and that they hold all the tools they need to achieve great things in the future.” Julia understands that she is working on a micro level but believes her actions are combining with other little pushes towards something bigger – “my students’ futures.”

For another part of her service last year, Julia worked with students and community members to create murals for outside of their school. For the initiate phase of the project, she sought out community involvement and ideas. She asked neighbors about their perspectives on art and how they viewed the neighborhood. The community loved being asked and welcomed Julia’s lively, colorful murals. They have thanked her for brightening up the neighborhood and for caring as she does.

“The Logan community has touched my heart, and the talent of its citizens has been driving force in everything I did last year,” Julia says.

Julia’s vision is that the Logan community becomes a “Mecca for artistic and scientific thought.” She hopes this area of the city will stand as an example of successful public education one day.

“This goal can only be achieved if the young people of this community believe in themselves and are exposed to the tools they need to put their goals into action,” she says. Making it evident as to why Julia starts with her students’ career paths first.

“She has an uncommon drive to help people,” says Chrissy Leggio, a close friend to Julia and current artist and graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. “She is kind and helpful, always with deep sincerity.”

“I love helping students forge their own paths the same way that others helped me to build my own,” Julia says.  “My life plan has changed because of my time with City Year. I am now more interested in artistic mediums that reach a larger public audience as opposed to a select group of viewers. I am interested in creating more murals, public art projects, and also a children’s book series.”

Her mural art project ideas are not only for local eyes. Julia envisions a mural project yet to be done that spans from ocean to ocean of the country. “It would be a common thread to follow on a road trip that revealed or focused on some part of our history,” she says as she is still playing with the idea.

Today, Julia is looking forward to the current projects she is doing with her students through the Young Heroes program.

“The best part about my week is the student alumni program we run after school called Stop Motion. The kids are making art projects and working on scripts for their projects,” she says.

Julia explains how the program is teaching kids a new filming process of taking a photo and moving one thing in the photo slightly different before taking the next photograph. Similar to the techniques used to create the drawings and animations for the television show South Park.

Julia was the recipient of the Joe Banner Starfish Award last year, given each year to an exceptional, graduating corps member from the City Year Greater Philadelphia Alumni Board. She is using part of her award funds towards the Stop Motion projects that her students are creating and it is her hope to enter these projects into contests that could result in her students receiving money for college.

“It is a long shot,” she says, “but I think it will be worth trying because they’re doing such a great job with the animation.”

With dreams of her own, Julia’s looks forward to changing up her original future goals. Instead of pursuing a fine arts path, she hopes to attend graduate school next year for leadership in nonprofit management. She would like to take her career into an artistic direction and focus on public works of art. Julia thinks she will be in Philadelphia for a while but also can see herself one day in California doing work there. Wherever she will be, it is certain that she will continue to view the world through more than one or two lenses. She will see something some of us miss, the multitude of paths possible to anyone when given the correct tools to build.


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


Alumni Highlight Quick Box: Julia Hall
Q: What is your favorite book or movie? Why?
A: My favorite book is Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, because of its humanist philosophy.

Q: What was your favorite City Year founding story? Why?
A: I have a lot of favorites; many of the stories are ones I grew up hearing, so this is a tough question. My ultimate favorite story is the Traveler. I like the point it makes that your perspective is everything.

Q: How many City Year sites do you predict will be open by 2020?
A: I hope that by the year 2020 City Year has at least 35 domestic sites.  

Q: Where would you like to see one?
A: I would like to see a site open up in Camden, New Jersey.

Q: What skills or qualities do you believe are your strengths?
A: My strengths are my work ethic, my tenacity, creativity, and my openness.

Q: What five things make you unique?
A:  I have actively sought out a life of variety, which has led me to a collection of experiences that are unique to me.  My artistic point of view, sense of humor, dreams, memories, and ideas are what are most unique to me.

Q: What has been your proudest moment in life?
A: I don’t have a singular proudest moment, but the thing I am most proud of has been maintaining the friendships and relationships I have made over the course of my life.