May 30, 2023: Our favorite busy work – mailing out the award letters and scholarship checks for the annual Meringoff Valedictory Prize (MVP) competition.  This year, we’re sending $59,000 (!!) in scholarship funds to 47 graduating high school seniors from 25 of our grantee partner nonprofits.  In brief, they floored us with their essay, poem, and video submissions.  They also reminded us of the many, many ways these nonprofits are changing lives and greatly expanding horizons of NYC youth.    

May 23, 2023: At CARA’s end-of-year celebration for its Youth Leaders, we loved meeting the College Coaches from New Settlement -- another MFF grantee partner! -- working on the Taft High School campus in the Bronx.  CARA trains Coaches from community-based organizations, like New Settlement, who are based offsite at large public schools like Taft.  At these schools, Coaches in turn train and supervise Youth Leaders, high school students who very effectively guide their peers through every step of the college application process. 

May 22, 2023:  Administrative Judge Anne Marie Jolly, who oversees all of NYC’s Family Courts (above center) after swearing-in the latest cohort of Court Appointed Special Advocates.  Thes volunteers, who receive extensive training and ongoing supervision from CASA staffers, will receive assignments from Family Court judges to work with foster care youth with particularly complex cases in the child welfare system.

May 18, 2023:  For months, we’ve been wanting to see New Settlement’s NXT LVL Dancers, and we finally got our chance.  This incredibly savvy and talented troupe opened the 10th annual College Decision Day program at the Police Athletic League in Harlem, a fitting start to a wonderful celebration of student achievement!

May 11, 2023:  We were thrilled to be one of the judges at the EGF Pitch Fest, where the eight founders of emerging nonprofits in the EGF Accelerator’s current professional development cohort gave a group of potential funders their elevator pitches.  These impressive young leaders are deploying innovative approaches to career development, literacy, college advisement, high school debate, HBCU matriculation, and community organizing.  We’ll certainly be hearing more from this group!

May 5, 2023:  Lunch and Learn Part 2 – As part of MESA’s redoubled efforts to inject job readiness and career exposure into the school day, it hosted a lunchtime panel featuring journalism professionals.  (L to R) Chalkbeat reporter Alex Zimmerman, Fox 5 anchor Arthur Chi’en, Pix 11 photojournalist Vinny Shields, Pix 11 segment host Monica Morales, and City and State editor-in-chief Ralph Ortega discussed their career paths, the difference between reporting and storytelling, and networking’s vital role in career advancement.

May 3, 2023: After students at the School for Human Rights presented their newly created websites for proposed businesses, their Investor Mentors (above) gave invaluable feedback about business management and wealth creation.  Sample student initiatives included a clothing line, college scholarship directory, career readiness program for teens, and several companies to provide seniors with transportation, tech access, intergenerational programming, and increased recreational opportunities.  MFF funding will support Ownership’s efforts to grow its pool of volunteer Mentors, who each invest $1,000 to launch their mentee's wealth-creation journey.  

April 26, 2023:  We loved learning about AileyDance for Active Aging during our visit to the Hamilton Senior Center on the Upper West Side.  Ailey Instructors Amos and Lorena (who were terrific!) taught their enthusiastic students the “Wade in the Water” section from Mr. Ailey’s masterpiece, “Revelations”, which clearly resonates with dancers from all backgrounds. 

April 25, 2023:  At this morning’s Meet the Grantmakers panel, we heard how some of our philanthropy colleagues – specifically from the Gilman, Brooklyn Community, and Pinkerton Foundations – set expectations and manage communications with current and prospective grantee partners.  Each foundation, of course, is different, but these three (as well as the Meringoff Foundation!) maintain ongoing and mutually beneficial relationships with the organizations they fund.

April 21, 2023:  Thanks to Zoom, CARA now conducts ongoing trainings for its peer college counselors much more frequently.  In today’s session, Bridge Coaches – local college students working at their alumni high schools – shared best practices for ensuring that high school seniors and their families make the most informed decisions possible about college matriculation. 

April 18, 2023:  At the annual Debater of the Year Competition, the two top scoring students from each grade paired off in the finals, arguing the pros and cons of a hypothetical but timely 14th Amendment case on affirmative action in college admissions.  The six debaters displayed great aplomb as they stated their cases before a panel of judges, volunteers from the Bloomberg L.P. legal team.  But the youngest students really knocked it out of the park, with 10th grader Jessica Baba besting upperclassmen to take first place.  (Alas, no photo of the proceedings as federal courthouse visitors had to check our phones.)    

April 12, 2023:  At a special Read Alliance event, a panel of current and recent Teen Leaders interviewed Jay Sidhu, the CEO of Customers Bank, about his book “Never Ever, Ever Give Up”.  Sidhu’s journey from penniless immigrant to corporate chief was written to inspire young people, and the Read panel – as well as the audience of Read Teen Leaders -- peppered Sidhu with probing and insightful questions.

April 3, 2023:  We love how so many alums of New Settlement Girls Program come back to lead workshops there.  This evening, we sat in on a self-defense class taught by social workers / alumnae Kayla and Limarya, who began the session with a group exploration of what triggers anger.  Prior to the class, we got to sit down with several of the participants who told us about the incredibly supportive community they’ve found at New Settlement.

March 31, 2023:  Lots of activity at Eagle Academy Foundation’s fifth-annual All Male College Fair.  Students from Eagle’s six campuses – all five boroughs, plus Newark – attended this event, which attracted Admissions representatives from 100-odd public and private colleges and universities, near and far.

March 28, 2023: In today’s session of TKU’s Design for Accessibility series, we learned that the first step of UX Design is outlining the “persona” of website users.  In the above example, program participants compiled the attributes of potential visitors to the site of a summer tech bootcamp for teens.  TKU has redoubled its efforts to create programming that will prepare its neurodiverse users for entry-level jobs in tech.

March 17, 2023:  Congratulations to the Eagle Academy Brooklyn boys basketball team for clinching the PSAL citywide championship over Thomas Jefferson in the game’s last seconds with a three-point shot by Eddie Munyak (far left).  Wow!!

March 14, 2023:  At today’s Lunch and Learn Zoom, NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper spoke about his unit’s role in combatting subway crime.  Their efforts got a great assist from Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams, whose “Cops, Camera, Care” funding added 1,200 officers to the transit beat.  The results are impressive – crime rates are down 17% so far this year and now on par with pre-Covid levels.

March 13, 2023:  We had a wonderful lunch with alums of the very first Gibney Pro cohort (left to right, Tori, Claire, and Kenley, along with Jessie from the Gibney Education staff), who told us about the many ways this professional development program jump-started their dance careers.  Prior to lunch, we all had the incredible treat of sitting in on the Gibney company’s rehearsal run-through of Bliss.

March 8, 2023: NYE’s Brad Grimm provides incoming juniors an overview of the Meringoff Fellows Program at Flushing High School.  During the next year, Brad and his colleagues will act as the “private college office” for this group of 30 students, working with them on all aspects of their college inquiry, application, and decision process.  This hands-on approach is especially needed as Flushing High School only has one college counsellor for its 375 students. 

March 5, 2023:  Groove is now part of the Rubin Museum of Art’s monthly Family Sundays program and our friends there shared this photo of its successful inaugural session.  We were thrilled to learn that the workshop was co-facilitated by six high school students, whose internships are supported by the Meringoff Foundation.

February 24, 2023:  The culminating performance of NDI DREAM Project Winter Camp was joyful and super fun!  Proud to say that MFF got a wonderful shoutout for our grant support to help the organization expand DREAM’s capacity by training additional teams of instructors and physical therapists for its all-abilility-inclusive classes.

February 22, 2023:  We had a great catch-up with Gregg Roberts and Det. Jason Anazagasty of   OPTIONS, the youth development program that is a key component of the NYPD’s wide-ranging Community Policing initiative.  Great to hear that OPTIONS will be opening a new community center in Crotona, Bronx and that the program is now working with School Safety Officers, who often have close relationships with the students OPTIONS serves.  In addition, 1,000 high school students will work with  OPTIONS in July and August through the Summer Youth Employment Program.

February 17, 2023:  Futures Ignite’s student Ambassadors practiced their elevator pitches, to be perfected by the organization’s Spring Gala fundraiser, where these high school students will network with guests.  We were thrilled to jump into the fray with our own pitches, and offered lots of pointers along the way.  Can’t wait to see these highly-engaged teens in action at the big event! 

At the close of the session, several of the students told us why they joined the Ambassador program.  Our favorite quote  -- “I wanted to give back because you turned my chaos into a straight line; this would not be possible without you guys.”

February 15, 2023:  During our catch-up Zoom with Executive Director Kate Fenneman Stokes, we learned that the recent Winter Gathering (photo above, which she sent us) attracted 55 of the program's current college students.  Not counting for Scholars in foreign study or out-of-town internship programs, that’s 100% attendance!  Scholarship Plus does a remarkable job of creating a strong sense of community for first-gen students attending an exciting slate of top colleges. 

February 10, 2023: February 11, 2023:  During our Zoom check-in with Executive Director Gayle Villani, we learned that the Alumni Workforce Initiative pilot – launched with seed funding from MFF – is going exceptionally well.  Five highly engaged high school and college alums of Go are receiving paid training while assuming increasing responsibilities as they work with current students.  In doing so, they show their younger charges what Go success looks like!

February 2, 2023:  We now understand why Eagle Brooklyn’s boys basketball team is ranked #2 in the NYC Public School Athletic League, as they trounced Carnarsie High School.  It was very cool to watch this game live on YouTube.

January 31, 2022:  Through the Petrie Foundation’s Bold Solutions to Re-Engage program, several friends of Epic joined its Alumni Action Council to explore the tensions which prevent young people from attending or persisting in college.  During this highly interactive gathering, we all submitted a variety of questions that will inform upcoming interviews the Alums will conduct with higher education stakeholders as they further explore this important topic.

January 31, 2023:  We loved sitting in on a professional development session for Urban Dove’s Junior Pathways program.  This exciting pilot helps recent alums, currenlty working in entry-level positions at the school’s two campuses, get on track with career advancement and continuing education.

January 23, 2023:  In the latest of HHF’s webinars on hearing loss, Dr. Richard Salvi of SUNY Buffalo discussed Hyperacusis, a condition where every day noises are painful to the ears.  Dr. Salvi described his lab’s research with rats linking elevated stress levels to Hyperacusis.  Thirty years ago, Salvi received an Emerging Research Grant from HHF “which was instrumental in getting my career going”.

January 7, 2023: Forty L.O. alumni, currently attending a range of top colleges, returned to their old Long Island City stomping grounds for the first in-person Fireside Chat since the pandemic.  At this eagerly anticipated annual event, all 200 of Legal Outreach’s current high school students gather to learn about the college experiences of their slightly older peers.  The alums made one fact abundantly clear – the academic rigors of Legal Outreach left them VERY well prepared for college.

December 18, 2022:  Rock Band is an exciting collaboration with the Music Therapy division of Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.  It was fun to see Extreme Kids rocking out their version of War’s classic, Low Rider.

December 16, 2022: During our Zoom check-in with Brooke and Michele from NDI, we learned that the Dream Project is poised to serve more pairs of disabled and non-disabled teen dancers, with several dance instructors and physical therapists now in the training pipeline.

December 15, 2022: During our year-end check-in with Executive Director Danielle Guindo, we learned that Teen Leader literacy tutors will assume even greater leadership roles as Read greatly expands the number of elementary schools it serves.  MFF was the very first funder of Read’s professional development work with teens and we’re beyond thrilled to see this work deepening and expanding.

December 5, 2022:  Program Manager Darlene Okpo led an extraordinarily interactive discussion of resume dos and don’ts at Bloomberg L.P.’s midtown headquarters, with lots of insightful back and forth between corporate volunteers and 11th and 12th graders from University Heights High School in the Bronx.  Following Darlene’s presentation, the volunteers rolled up their sleeves to critique students’ first drafts.

December 3, 2022:  We loved sitting in on a curriculum planning session during the two-day convening of AileyCamp directors from nine cities across the US.  As the directors introduced themselves, it was exciting to see how many of them advanced their careers through AileyCamp, often starting out as instructors, program assistants, or in the case of the Berkeley, California director, as a camper!  This annual convening was launched a decade ago with seed funding from the Meringoff Foundation.

December 1, 2022: At VI’s holiday party / cultivation event, Founder and President Dr. Scarlett Magda updated guests on the organization’s current initiatives in Kenya.

November 28, 2022:  It was a treat to have an in-person site visit with colleagues from the Altman and Tiger Foundations. Co-Founder Evin Robinson gave us a great overview of AOT’s work prior to our observing teens demonstrating the functionality of web sites they designed.

November 22, 2022: We’ve attended many info sessions for prospective college students, but this was our first-ever session for prospective graduate students.  Justine Herrera at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health gave a great overview for Scholarship Plus Scholars beginning to think about life after college.

November 18, 2022:  TKU hosted a “lunch and learn” with John Plohowski (above left), the Chief Communications Officer for TD Bank, who also oversees the recruitment and retention of the bank’s neurodiverse workforce.  In his conversation with TKU board member Harrison Lung, Mr. Plohowski addressed a vital topic not often discussed in career panels – how to keep the job you just landed.  “Be curious, be a good listener, ask good questions, and do your homework!”

November 16, 2022:  Webinar presenters from NYSCF, the Veteran’s Administration, and Yale University discussed the findings of their recently published paper on researching stem cells from U.S. military veterans which uncovered a biological predisposition for PTSD.  NYSCF’s cutting-edge research is both deep and broad!

November 13, 2022:  Our friends at DMF sent us the link to the 3rd annual Danny Awards, held live at Symphony Space.  Singer/pianist Devin Gutierrez (above) was one of the ceremony’s honorees, who all demonstrated that disability and incredible musical talent can – and do – harmoniously coexist.

November 13, 2022:  Guest artist Ian DaSilva conducted a master class for MOVE's Young Professionals, teaching a grueling West African harvest dance that really tested their endurance and athleticism.  With lots of water breaks, the YP's mastered an incredibly challenging and uplifting piece!

November 10, 2022:  Great introduction to this emerging nonprofit, which leads boxing and jiu jitsu classes out of the Boys Club of Harlem.  We were really struck by how well jiu jitsu Blue Belt Coach Rich and Purple Belt Coach Andrew connected with their students.  Looking forward to learning more about their work!

November 9, 2022:  TV/media personality Charell Star was an outstanding host for CASA’s annual Fall Luncheon.  In her moving opening remarks, she spoke of her own days in foster care where the local public library branch was a safe harbor.  However, after being moved to a new foster home with no advance notice – a common occurrence in the foster care system – Charell was unable to return her borrowed library books.  As a result, she was afraid to enter a library branch for years afterward because she didn’t have the money to pay overdue book fines.  Simply heartbreaking.

November 8, 2022:  Staff members from the Brooklyn and Bronx Team UD Charter Schools gathered at the network’s Bronx campus for a professional development day.  We were really struck by their collective sense of community, collaboration, and good will.  Following the day’s kick off (pictured above), we attended the very first session of UD’s Junior Pathways pilot, a workforce program to create career paths for recent alums currently working in entry-level positions at Urban Dove.

November 7, 2022:  HHF staff gave Stephen and Stuart an informative – and cautionary – presentation on the Keep Listening public information campaign.  The pervasive use of headphones and ear buds set to loud volumes often leads to permanent hearing loss.  HHF is using a diverse roster of musicians and influencers to help spread the word.

November 3, 2022:  We weren’t surprised to find The Reading Team’s Harlem headquarters filled with small groups of Kindergartners through fifth graders receiving supplementary literacy assistance.  But we were didn’t expect to see a group of volunteers from Columbia University leading the older students in some really fun math games!

November 2, 2022: Our friends at the YWCA sent us this picture of newly-hired College Success Manager Nikitta Johnson’s class for YW LEAD high school juniors, who are just beginning their college inquiry journeys.   MFF is a proud and long-time supporter of the YWCA’s college access programming.

October 27, 2022:  We sat in on an open rehearsal of Epic Next’s latest student-created play, “Fixed…Or You Do Not Exist”, a funny and provocative piece exploring the red-hot issue of classroom censorship.  While this preview was for a select audience of professors at Columbia Teacher’s College and Trustees from The Pinkerton Foundation, the high school creators performed with confidence and aplomb.

October 25, 2022:  Recently appointed interim principal Sarah Weeks updated us on BSA’s current school year in general and the Advanced Placement classes supported by MFF in particular.  Under Ms. Week’s leadership, the school is beefing up its math and science course requirements to ensure that more students are college- and AP-ready.

October 20, 2022:  During our visit to UD’s Brooklyn campus, we popped into a girls volleyball game.  MFF capital funding helped to ensure that this sports-based charter school has a state-of-the-art, fully equipped gym.  Our visit coincided with an alumni open house, so we got to speak with some recent graduates, as well several staffers.  Oh…the UD girls won!

October 18, 2022:  TKU hosted a fascinating talk by Andrew Montgomery, an iOS Developer at Tumblr who was diagnosed with ADHD at age 23.  Andrew candidly discussed his academic challenges and varied career path in the world of tech.  His best piece of practical advice – “make mistakes and learn from them”.

October 13, 2022: Principal Carrie Amon was a wonderful tour guide for our first visit to Dos Amigos, S2’s recently launched dual-language elementary school in Inwood.  Now serving Pre-K through grade 2, the school, when fully enrolled through grade 5, will be a feeder for S2’s existing middle school 20 blocks south in Washington Heights.  And next year, S2 opens its high school, fulfilling an ambitious goal of providing a comprehensive, high quality educational continuum in Upper Manhattan.

October 10, 2022:  The conference room at the Dechert law firm was crammed with Young Professionals about to be matched with corporate volunteers to assist them with personal statements for their college applications.  Before the session began, we spoke to several of the YPs, who had just begun their year-long internships at major NYC corporations.  All felt VERY confident in their new roles thanks to the intensive training Genesys Works provided them this past summer.

October 8, 2022:  It was wonderful to check in with Executive Director Martha Kamber, who gave us a very comprehensive overview of the Y’s overall operations.  We were particularly excited to learn that the young woman in YW LEAD continue to have a leg up on their college applications – all 19 seniors began the school year with completed college essays and a finalized list of the colleges they’ll be applying to.  The Meringoff Foundation was the first institutional funder of this leadership development program and we’re proud to see it continue to grow and thrive!

September 26, 2022:  We had a great check-in with Dr. Scarlett Magda and Katie Fox at VI, where we learned additional details about their organization’s important work building the capacity of veterinary education in Kenya, and how MFF’s significant challenge grant is supporting VI initiatives in Africa and South America.

September 17, 2022:  This morning, we popped into the College Access Program’s online orientation for new students.  So exciting to see that this fall, they’ll be back on the NYU campus for the first time since March, 2020.  Here’s to a great year of in-person college prep and mentorship!

August 22, 2022:  At the Youth Ambassador Showcase, several Young Adult Leaders who spent this past summer working at Queens Defenders presented their “passion” community service projects.  Meikaj (above), a rising freshman at Delaware State, walked us through a website of college inquiry resources, which were in short supply at his high school.  Other projects included a directory of trusted legal resources for undocumented New Yorkers, online tutorials for makeup application techniques to boost self-confidence (and perhaps make some extra income), a guide to fostering emotional literacy in children, and a campaign to expand the scope of Black Studies taught in the DOE.  Wonderful to see Queens Defenders nurture such diverse ambitions!

August 17, 2022: We were blown away by the quality of the final presentations by PENCIL’s Career Explorers, who spent their summer being mentored virtually by volunteer professionals from several leading NYC-based corporations.  Ethan (above right), with guidance from Wendy Huang at Bloomberg, created a Weather and Sports App to assist outdoor athletes.

August 16, 2022:  Wonderful visit today to NDI’s week-long Dream Camp, an inclusion program for disabled and neurotypical young dancers.  The Meringoff Foundation is a proud supporter of DREAM Project (Dancers Realize Excellence through Arts and Movement), which was co-founded by NDI Artistic Director Kay Gayner (at left), who remains actively involved.

August 12, 2022:  At the kick-off panel for the 4th annual Teen Summit, held this year at the Ford Foundation, Teen Leader Masrura (second from left) told us about tutoring Julian, a second grader in Brooklyn who went from only being able to read the sentence “I see Sam” to a whole page of text in under a minute.  “I learned so much from Julian, but most importantly, to never give up.”  And fellow Teen Leader Devin (far left) told us how Read gave him the incredible opportunity to interview Alicia Keyes!   

August 11, 2022: Hands down, our favorite booth from Futures Ignite’s Youth Block Party was Word Up Community Bookshop, an independent bookshop at Amsterdam and 165th Street (which is 20 blocks south of FI).  They were giving away gently used children’s books (and we may have brought home a copy of P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins, which we’ve never read…).  Next time we’re in the neighborhood, we will absolutely go shopping at this wonderful community partner! 

August 10, 2022:  Four incredibly impressive Scholarship Plus alums – including Joselyn (above), a 2022 Dartmouth grad now interning at IBM – gave the current cohort of 20 rising college freshmen excellent tips about picking a major and researching internship opportunities, plus lots of other great advice on college and career. The panel also included graduates from U. Rochester, Yale, and SUNY Stony Brook pursuing careers in marketing, venture capital, and tech product management.

August 9, 2022:  Unbelievably, we’ve never seen Alvin Ailey’s iconic “Cry”, but that was corrected this evening at Lincoln Center’s BAAND Together Dance Festival.  Ailey’s Constance Stamatiou gave a memorable performance, all the more impressive as it was outdoors in Damrosch Park on the hottest, most humid night of the summer (so far….).

August 5, 2022: “Game Arcade Showcase” was the culminating public event in TKU’s National Science Foundation grant collaboration with NYU and CUNY.  In brief, the universities are using TKU’s programming to study best practices in tech education to neurodiverse youth.  “Coin Chase” (above) was Andrew’s fun and engaging showcase entry.

August 4, 2022:  A post-pandemic first for us – an in-person Career Panel!  In the last two-plus years, we’ve been to lots of virtual panels, but it was great to finally be in an actual physical workplace.  Read’s Junior Committee Board Chair Ariana Sadoughi arranged for four of her colleagues at Morgan Stanley to discuss their careers in Finance and then sit down to assist Read’s Teen Leaders in creating their first resumes and cover letters. 

August 2, 2022:  So exciting to be at Go, which is back to fully in-person summer programming at four NYC sites, including Grace Church Upper School (above).  We got to catch up with Executive Director Gayle Villani, who told us that summer students are thriving with Go’s blend of academic and enrichment programs, as well as its social supports for themselves and their families.

August 1, 2022:  At today’s CRISP (Career Readiness Internship Summer Program) professional development session, TKU’s Deane Pless led this summer’s cohort in a discussion of Job Counseling and Workplace Fit. Three days a week, CRISP interns are at their virtual job sites and for the two days, they work with TKU staff on soft skills development.  Today’s class also featured a guest speaker from PwC, who discussed his career path from CPA to managing his firm’s Tax Technology unit.

July 27, 2022:  Always great to visit our friends at Gallop’s Sunrise Stable in Howard Beach, Queens.  The stable was fully activated, with group therapeutic riding classes, individual hydrotherapy classes, instructor trainings, and through a pilot supported by MFF, job skills trainees working in various capacities in the barn.  Oh…we also made a new friend, Priscilla, Gallop’s mini-pony mascot, pictured above with Executive Director James Wilson (left).

July 25, 2022:  At New Settlement’s day camp for the youngest members of its Girls Program, we met Axel, who demonstrated the pie charts and bar graphs she created based on the distribution of various berry-flavored candies in a packet of Welch’s Fruit Snacks.  Who knew that math could be so tasty?

July 22, 2022:  So great to check in with five members of the YW LEAD Class of 2022.  Tasfiya is off to Hunter, Shanoya to FIT, Ife to SUNY Stony Brook, Garance to the Newhouse School at Syracuse, and Brianna to Brandeis as a Posse Scholar.  They each went into great detail about all that YW LEAD did to help pave their way to college.  Ife summed it up for everyone – “without this program, I wouldn’t know how to express my dreams.”

July 21, 2022: At BTNY’s Open House, college Teaching Fellows Beatrice and Leo talked about learning to adjust curriculum in real time while standing in front of a classroom, while rising high school seniors Emanuel and Raquel told us about how well BTNY prepared them for the high school application process.  This latter pair in particular fielded the many audience questions thrown at them with impressive maturity and poise.

July 20, 2022:  Master Class is a five-week stipended learning opportunity which gives rising college freshmen the soft skills they’ll need to be internship-ready.  Today’s focus was on Networking, and we were happy to weigh in during the session on what we’ve gleaned over the years.

July 18, 2022: Such a pleasure to meet Destiny, CASA’s first-ever Youth Fellow.  As a CASA alum with lived experience in the foster care system – and now a fulltime college student – Destiny will spend her year at CASA coordinating its Youth Advisory Board and helping her peers “continue to use their voice to heal, while forging new trajectories in their life experiences to break generational curses”.  We very much look forward to working with Destiny!

July 18, 2022: It’s a really busy summer at Eagle Brooklyn – 36 alums and current students are moving desks and painting classrooms through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), 135 rising 7-9th graders are enrolled in the Summer Excellence program for optional academic credit (made possible in part by the Meringoff Foundation), and the entire incoming 6th grade class is expected for the weeklong Summer Bridge program in August.  Plus, our friends at New York Edge are providing an array of sports, arts, and enrichment programs every afternoon.  Principal Rashad Meade updated us on all, and it’s always a pleasure to spend time with him, his colleagues, and his students.

July 13, 2022:  Our tour of NYSCF’s Midtown West lab felt a bit like traveling to the future, with rows of gleaming machines in climate-controlled glass cubes tended to by researchers in white lab coats.  While it is all incredibly complex, this high-tech work boils down to something pretty simple – in the next year or two, test patients with macular degeneration will have the above “patches”, created with their own stem cells, inserted into their eyes to restore full vision.  Incredible!

June 29, 2022:  MOVE’s artistic exchange with the Scottish National Ballet has gotten off to a great start.  For the last four days, 16 young dancers – eight from each company – worked intensively with choreographer Malik Washington on a new piece, with thrilling results.  This blended ensemble will further develop the piece in Scotland in July and perform it there at an international youth dance festival.  Happy travels, MOVE!

June 27, 2022:  At the Urban Dove Team Charter School Brooklyn campus graduation, we loved how the faculty sports coaches paid tribute to every one of the 46 graduates, designating each “Comeback Dove”, “Love Dove”, “Resilient Dove”, “Optimist Dove”, etc…  And student speaker Latyah (above), whose family experience included severe housing instability, talked about UD as “the only place that truly felt like home to me.”

June 27, 2022:  At BSA’s graduation ceremony, class Valedictorian Wilson H. discussed the life lessons he learned from his teachers as “all the pieces necessary for my future.”  While there, we also presented a Meringoff MVP $1,000 scholarship to Miah R.  Congratulations to all members of the BSA Class of ’22!

June 21, 2022:  DMF’s Prom Dance Party was maybe the liveliest virtual event we’ve ever attended.  Every Zoom square was jumping!

June 16, 2022:  The first half of the Spirit Gala featured young dancers in the Ailey family presenting works by Artistic Director Robert Battle.  We loved seeing such exciting emerging talent on stage while experiencing Mr. Battle’s vast choreographic range.  Above, alums from AileyCamp dazzled in The Hunt.  It was especially meaningful to share this special evening with our friends from Gibney Dance and MOVE|NYC|.

June 15, 2022: The newly-reconstituted Gibney Company’s evening of premiers at New York Live Arts in Chelsea was truly memorable – the choreography was exciting and cutting edge, and the young dancers’ artistry and technical prowess a marvel.  In a word, WOW!!!!

June 14, 2022:  So nice to be reintroduced to former MFF grantee partner, Reading Team of Harlem.  This literacy program didn’t miss a beat during the pandemic and is now providing center-based reading instruction/tutoring to students at its on-site center, school partner sites, and in an exciting new development, at 10 additional Harlem preschools.

June 13, 2022: MVP Part 2 – At the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS), we met MVP semi-finalists Miranda and Elliott, who each received a $1,000 scholarship.  They’re respectively bound for the NYU and SUNY Albany.

June 13, 2022:  At PS 199, the final student performance after NDI’s year-long residency with 4th graders has been a rite of passage for the last 25 years.  Due to the pandemic, however, last year’s 4th graders missed out.  In response, NDI held a special 13-week residency for this group, now in 5th grade.  Their culminating final performance was great a great success, with joyous dancers delighting staff, families, and guests.

June 10, 2022:  Stephen and Stuart checked in with Ailey/Fordham BFA students Jeremiah, Bryan, and Da’Juan (middle row, left to right), all recipients of scholarship support from the Meringoff Foundation.  We were so impressed by the insights of these three, who have really fused their dance and academic training in thoughtful, productive, and meaningful ways.  What a wonderful investment in tomorrow’s arts leaders!

June 8, 2022: The New York Divas, a Brooklyn-based step ensemble, is one of many grassroots community sports programs that partner with BKYSC.  After aging out of the Divas in high school, many of these young women will enroll directly in BKYSC’s array of tutoring, college prep, basketball, arts, wellness, volleyball, and gardening programs.  The Meringoff Foundation has supported the expansion of BKYSC’s girls program and we’re thrilled that attendance has quadrupled in the last year.

June 6, 2022: Epic alums, now staffers, Amoy and Dalissa (top of circle) lead an ice breaker exercise for 10th graders at the HS for Law, Advocacy, and Social Justice.  Through Epic’s in-school residency, students address educational inequity by studying and writing about education-themed news stories from around the county.

May 24, 2022:  Congratulations to our good friend and colleague Shirlee Taylor, Executive Director of The FAR Fund, for receiving the Champion of Hope Award at DMF’s annual Gala.  Shirlee is truly a pleasure to work with as she and FAR provide vital financial support and technical assistance to DMF and several other of our grantee partners; we couldn’t think of a more deserving honoree!

May 24, 2022:  Stuart presents $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors Jessica and Ana Maria (L-R) at MESA’s College Decision Day.  This pair was selected by their school to submit essays in our annual Meringoff Valedictory Prize competition.  Their well-written essays brought home to us that MESA has created an incredibly nurturing and supportive community for its students.

May 19, 2022:  MOVE’s gala was incredibly fun, but also demonstrated why this organization is so successful.  Before the culminating performance of current and former dancers (above), there were short excerpts from the Limon, Gallim, and Martha Graham dance companies, all featuring MOVE alumni who are now members of these prestigious companies.

May 17, 2022:  At today‘s Transformative Career Development working group session, several SSN member nonprofits – including MFF grantee partners CARA and Tech Kids Unlimited – tackled the big question of how to measure student progress in work-based learning.  It’s exciting to see NYC’s youth development providers of all stripes tackling career exposure and workforce readiness.

May 11, 2022:  New York Edge’s first-ever gala was a huge success, with 400 guests at Gotham Hall paying tribute to three high-profile honorees and collectively raising $1 million for the organization’s incredible array of after school programs.  But the student performers were the real stars of the show!

May 7, 2022:  It’s not exactly like being there, but…  We Zoomed into Go’s celebration of its graduating eighth graders.  For the last several years, these formerly struggling students have spent their school year Saturdays and several weeks during summer break receiving intensive academic supports.  As graduates, they’re at grade level and prepared for the rigors of high school.  But this isn’t goodbye, as many grads return to Go as volunteers!   

May 3, 2022:  Thanks to our friends at the Edwin Gould Foundation for Children for inviting us to PitchFest, where EGF Accelerator Fellows introduced an audience of potential funders to the exciting youth-serving nonprofits they founded.  These emerging nonprofit leaders had lots of great approaches to share, including mental health through horticulture, youth development through mixed martial arts, exposure to careers in STEM, math instruction made fun, reinvigorated school libraries, and academic prep for NYC’s specialized high schools.  

April 26, 2022:  The Brown Club of NYC’s Social Justice webinar series highlighted CARA in an inspiring program.  After co-founders Janice Bloom (top left) and Lori Chajet (top center) gave an overview of the organization, three former interns discussed how CARA informed their subsequent careers and deepened their commitment to educational access.

April 26, 2022:  MESA Co-Executive Director Arthur Samuels conducts a mock interview with 10th graders preparing for their upcoming interviews with JPMorgan Chase and Accenture, thanks to a partnership with CareerWise New York.  If successful, these students will spend half of their school days during junior and senior years working at back office tech jobs for leading NYC corporations.  The MESA team has done a great prep job, as demonstrated by the poise and focus of the mock interviewees.  

The simplest but most effective advice we’ve heard in ages – “the resume gets you the interview, the interview gets you the job.”

April 25, 2022:  In today’s installment of HHF’s Hearing Health Hour webinar series, Dr. Sharon Kujawa from Harvard Medical School spoke about Hidden Hearing Loss.  Our layman’s takeaway – years of excessive and persistent noise exposure, through cranked-up headphones or loud workplaces, will progressively degrade structures in the cochlea, resulting in permanent hearing loss.

April 14, 2022:  We sat in on a virtual planning session for Legal Outreach’s newest program offering, the Social Justice Committee.  Youth participants have decided to highlight an area of direct concern to them – low-income students who are arrested for subway fare evasion – through a written op-ed and a filmed mini-doc.  This group displayed great passion and smarts.

April 12, 2022:  Sgt. Charles Harper from the NYPD OPTIONS team gave an excellent presentation on the negative impacts on teens of a variety of drugs and controlled substances.  His audience of 9th graders at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts readily responded to his straight talk with many questions.

April 10, 2022:  MOVE alums Charles and Nyoka (respectively at the ABT School and Juilliard) demonstrating an audition piece for aspiring Young Professionals during application callbacks.  They also embody the incredible artistry that MOVE will refine in its next incoming cohort. 

April 7, 2022: As we watched Vrouli (above) in her therapeutic riding session at Gallop’s Forest Hills stable, we chatted with her mom, who gushed about her daughter’s participation in the Job Skills pilot program. “After two years of staying home during the pandemic, this program was a godsend for Vrouli.  She’s mucking stalls and she’s happy.  She gets it that the horses are dependent on her.”  The Meringoff Foundation provided this program’s seed funding.

March 21, 2022: Always a pleasure to check in with Principal Rashad Meade, who informs us that after a rocky pandemic school year, Eagle Brooklyn is finally getting back to normal.  We also learned that Eagle’s basketball team made it to the Citywide championship at Barclays Center, losing out to South Shore High School in the final game.  Pretty impressive run!

March 17, 2022:  The virtual panel “Women, Technology, and the Future of Work” showed us (once again!) that AOT has access to an incredible range of industry leaders who freely share their professional expertise and career journeys.  In today’s session, top tech executives from Chase Bank, PwC, TikTok, SAP Software, and Webster Bank discussed their opportunities and challenges as women in a male-dominated industry.

March 16, 2022: YW LEAD hosted a Women’s History Month career panel with four women in a variety of roles at Citizen’s Bank, including Business Analyst Glenda Jackson Eaddy (above).  In addition to discussing their educational and career paths, the participants shared what they learned from their women role models, including the importance of having a strong work ethic, being a lifelong learner, deploying empathy in the workplace, and never being afraid to ask for help.

March 14, 2022: Groove NYC is back in person, and we were thrilled to take their class at the McBurney YMCA.  It was a joyful – and vigorous – hour of free-form movement, leaving us sweaty with aching legs (but feeling good!).  We can’t wait to see this work when it returns to NYC public school settings.

March 1, 2022:  As an introduction to TKU prior to its virtual wine tasting fundraiser, program participant Terrance Bobb – now a student at BMCC – told us how TKU’s workshops developed his love of coding and graphic design.  The Meringoff Foundation supports TKU’s College Access Program, which launches students like Terrance on their college inquiry journeys.

February 26, 2022:  While MOVE's Young Professionals were excellent in rehearsal (see post from February 24), they really kicked it up several levels for the actual performance at the Mix, Mingle, and MOVE event.  These kids really are phenomenal!

February 24, 2022:  During our visit to the Winter Intensive, MOVE’s Young Professionals blew us away – as always – with their quick mastery of intricate choreography.  Can’t wait to see the final version at this weekend’s showcase performance!   

February 15, 2022: Congratulations to Epic Co-Founder Jim Wallert on the publication of his new book, “Citizen Artists: A Guide to Helping Young People Make Plays that Change the World”.  During the virtual book launch, Jim and several of Epic’s young creators were interviewed by master teaching artist Eric Booth on how they create timely and thought provoking touring theater pieces.

February 15, 2022:  In her first State of the NYPD Briefing, recently appointed Commissioner Keechant Sewell reaffirmed an emphasis of empowering youth through diversion programs like OPTIONS as integral to the Department’s crime reduction strategy.  The Meringoff Foundation is a proud and long-time supporter of OPTIONS.

February 9, 2022: Best setting ever for a meeting with a grantee partner – the High Bridge between Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.  It was great to sit in the sunshine with Molly Delano and discuss fundraising strategies for Futures Ignite’s expansion!

February 5, 2022:  At CPA’s annual Health Fair, Pre-RN students Kristina, Jessica, and Chelsea gave an excellent presentation on STIs and STDs (and explained the difference; we had previously thought these terms were interchangeable).  As very few sexually active teens use protection, the prevention information they conveyed was critically important. 

January 31, 2022: Dr. Regie Santos-Cortez opened her webinar on “Chronic Childhood Ear Infections and Related Hearing Loss” with a brief discussion of how her career trajectory was changed by being awarded an Emerging Research Grant (ERG) from HHF in 2011.  After this seed funding, she received major funding from the National Institute of Health and subsequently invited to create her own lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  The Meringoff Foundation is proud to support ERG and is hopeful that its current crop of young hearing researchers will receive similar career boosts as they fight hearing loss from multiple vantage points. 

January 20, 2022:  Over 30 LO alumni, all current college students, returned for the annual Fireside Chat to dispense invaluable advice about college life to 160 of the program’s high school participants.  Maille (above), currently attending Mt. Holyoke, had something especially important to say about Impostor Syndrome: “We’re all here (in college) for a reason…you have to step back…I’m no less smart than anyone else on campus, even if they’ve had more material advantages.”

January 19, 2022: Staffers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York led a Professional Exposure Program (PEP) session on Think Like an Economist.  For the breakout, we posed several questions that economists might use to survey consumer willingness to pay for a given product – in this case, a pair of sneakers.  Meringoff seed funding helped launched PEP at Legal Outreach.

January 8, 2022:  35 CPA graduates spanning 20 years (!) turned up for the program’s annual Alumni Day to answer the current crop of seniors’ questions about college and work life.  We love this event, which always drives home College Prep Academy’s long-term impacts on its participants, who had great advice to dispense:  “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself if you don’t know what you want to major in, take time to explore….build your networks, they’ll be advantages in the future….believing in yourself is a full-time job….get a good night’s sleep!….by dorming, I’m starting to learn adult responsibilities which I never would have faced if I had stayed at home…be realistic and responsible about your finances.”

December 16, 2021:  We really enjoyed our introduction to the New Jewish Home’s Geriatric Care Development program.  GCD trains high school students to become Certified Nursing Assistants, a key frontline position facing critical shortages.  100% of high school participants go on to college, where they overwhelmingly major in health care-related fields.  Plus, they have their CNA certification for meaningful – and well paying – summer jobs.

December 13, 2021:  What a treat – we got to Zoom with Lisbeth, Jai, Ashley, and Jason, four of CARA’s  Youth Leaders at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx.  This group of seniors (and one junior, Ashley) work one-on-one and in groups with their graduating peers to help them stay on track with their college applications; they also lead FAFSA workshops for parents.  As the Youth Leaders perform a vital role in their school community, they are also mastering life-long skills in time management, meeting facilitation, patience, and empathy.  Our favorite quote – “There is often a lack of resources in communities of color.  We’re showing our peers that there’s enough for everyone and that we are in fact the resources!”

December 9, 2021:  Stuart stopped by the BKYSC Ball (and posed for a pic with Co-Founder Lyle Friess, above right).  Proceeds from the event will allow an additional 100 girls and young women to participate in BKYSC’s menu of sports, arts, and academic programs.

December 8, 2021:  It’s coming down to the finish line for the seniors in the Meringoff Scholars cohort at Flushing High School.  Their college applications are mostly all submitted and now their thoughts are turning to college life, which makes today’s session on budgeting and financial literacy especially timely.  

December 6, 2021:  During today’s college essay workshop for juniors at WHEELS (Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School), Danielle and Matthew discussed the importance of imagery in the essay’s opening scene, then contextualizing that opening.  With support from MFF, writers from Writiopia are spending the semester teaching WHEELS students the tools to write their very best personal statements.

December 5, 2021:  Dance Weekend, Part 2 – Christina Dooling from Complexions Contemporary Ballet led a master class for MOVE’s Young Professionals, who as always rose to the challenge of learning complex, technically challenging new repertory.  It was also great to see four MOVE alums – all currently at the Juilliard School – taking part in the class as Peer Mentors to the younger students.

December 4, 2021:  Today’s pantry distribution included wrapped holiday gifts and children’s winter clothing, in addition to the usual heaping bags of fresh produce and meats.  MFF is proud to support S2’s Family Support Program, which assists 150 families in the School in the Square community.

November 29, 2021:  Bryan Hutcheson performs Brice Mousset’s Bird as part of the virtual Fall BFA Concert for students in the Ailey/Fordham program.  Bryan is one of three young men receiving full scholarships to attend this prestigious conservatory and liberal arts partnership; multiyear MFF funding makes these scholarships possible.

November 16, 2021: During our visit to FOW’s new storefront office, we met Jociel, a WHEELS senior and Posse Scholars finalist.  Jociel had LOTS to share about all that he’s gotten from Friends of WHEELS.  “The college trips have been so helpful.  At Skidmore I saw something different which completely changed my approach…thanks to FOW, networking is a really important part of my college search…I’ll be sure to build my networks during college.”

November 13, 2021: CAP’s Marilyn Sommer – who seemingly knows EVERYTHING about the college search and application process – led an introductory session for the parents of 9th-11th graders through an overview of what they should expect.  While she covered many specifics, Marilyn’s primary message was for parents to support their children’s paths to college by giving them “agency” – i.e. the freedom to make informed, well-researched choices about higher education.

November 10, 2021: Today’s career panel introduced the YW LEADers to women working in a variety of careers, including online higher education, interior design, corporate recruitment, and UX design.  In breakout sessions, the girls got to have more intimate conversations with these professionals (and potential mentors).  Crystal Pang told a small group of us about her career as a UX researcher and gave lots of great advice.  “Pursue your interests but also be realistic about your need to make money….do a good job and ask the right questions to combat biases against women in the tech workplace.”

November 8, 2021:  Today’s session of the College Access Program (CAP) focused on the importance of self-advocacy skills for special needs students.  As we see in the above slide, educational accommodations in high school are the responsibility of parents and schools; in college, they’re solely the student’s responsibility.  In the two years since CAP’s launch – with support for the Meringoff Foundation – this program is providing ever increasing numbers of high school students with the tools they’ll need to make informed decisions about their next academic steps.

November 5, 2021: Day One of Read Alliance’s College Workshop Series for Teen Leaders (all high school Juniors) provided a broad overview of the college inquiry and application process, including college size, type, and location, as well as majors, minors, pre-professional tracks, opportunity programs, and reach vs. safety schools.  Subsequent sessions will explore all of these topics in far greater detail.  Seed funding from the Meringoff Foundation helped get Read’s youth development and college access programming off the ground.

November 2, 2021: It was thrilling to be at Gibney’s long-awaited Joyce debut.  The newly revamped company dazzled and the audience responded in kind.  Congratulations to our dear friends Gina Gibney and Nigel Campbell on this memorable program, and for creating such a vibrant, effective model of a socially and civically engaged dance company.

October 28, 2021:  Had a great visit at Sunrise Stables with (left to right) GALLOP’s Director of Community Engagement Cher, Program Manager Jenny, and Director of Development Jean (plus Peter Pan, who loved all the attention!).  We got a comprehensive update on all of GALLOP’s activities, including the jobs training program we’re supporting.  There’s now an amazing pipeline in place where youth/young adults start out as therapeutic riders, move on to the Youth Leadership Program for soft skills development, then become volunteers, paid Jobs Skills interns, and eventually paid permanent employees.   We’re very proud to have assisted in the development of this well-structured continuum of service.

October 25, 2021: During the webinar “One Ear, Two Systems: The Relationship Between Hearing and Balance”, we learned how disorders of the vestibular system can impact balance and spatial orientation.   Dr. Jennifer Stone from the University of Washington also informed us that HHF-funded researchers are studying the potential of vestibular hair cell regeneration in concert with their work on auditory hair cells.   

October 22, 2021: Team UD Brooklyn Student Ambassadors Celesia and Milly toured invited guests through their new – and newly renovated – high school in Midwood, Brooklyn.  These student leaders, like so many of their Team UD peers, are now thriving academically and socially after negative experiences at their previous high schools, much larger institutions that failed to meet individual needs.  Plus, the Midwood campus has lots of really cool bells and whistles!  

October 18, 2021:  While AOT has really thrived in the virtual world, it was great to have an in-person, outdoor meeting with co-founders Evin Robinson and Jessica Santana.  This past summer, 86 students interned virtually at 55 companies in the Tri-State area, earning a salary total of $404,000!  AOT’s extensive employer and intern prep has paid off beautifully -- 100% of companies want to come back next summer and all interns enthusiastically reported that they grew professionally and personally though their placements.

October 13, 2021:  At “Coffee with the SP Team”, a virtual info session for Scholarship Plus’ friends and supporters, we met recently-hired social worker Shari Simon (above), who is working to ensure that students get the mental health supports they need to thrive in college.  It was also great to learn that the incoming cohort has grown to 20 students and that its members are getting internships and mentorship from WNYC, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Sony Music Publishing, LinkedIn, and Microsoft.

October 7, 2021:  Sgt. Charles Harper (center) was presented with a Hemmerdinger Award by Police Foundation Trustee Dale Hemmerdinger (left) and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea (right) at the Police Foundation's annual gala.  Sgt. Harper mentors youth through the OPTIONS program, which receives support from the Meringoff Foundation.  Congratulations Sgt. Harper!

October 6, 2021: The Media MKRS first ever graduation celebrated 30 young adults who worked in a total of 78 paid media internships thanks to the training they received at Reel Works.  Viacom’s Dayo Harewood (above), who is also a Reek Works trustee, got right to the point: “The importance of Media MKRS is providing employers like Viacom with a source of skilled employees who are close to our audience.”

September 28, 2021: Great to get a virtual preview of Holding Space, which will be part of Ailey’s upcoming season at City Center.  It was choreographed by Jamar Roberts, a former Ailey dancer who is the Company’s first-ever Resident Choreographer.  Can’t wait to see this piece in person!

September 23, 2021:  One of our favorites at the 2020 Doc Lab screening at the Museum of Modern Art was “A Sweet Recovery”, which chronicled the pandemic struggles of a bakery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  Filmmaker Nehru Madan (above) introduces himself at the post-screening talkback.

September 22, 2021: NYSCF’s webinar on The Aging Brain described a landmark study where frozen white bloods cells from 50 adults -- some of whom eventually developed dementia -- in a decades-long longitudinal study were converted into stem cell lines by Dr. Scott Noggle (above) and his colleagues at NYSCF.  Harvard researchers then studied these lines to better understand the molecular causes and effects leading to Alzheimer’s and other dementias.  This work will hopefully lead to genetic markers and personalized treatment for those at risk.

September 8, 2021:  AileyCamp’s recap of Summer ’21 featured wonderful interviews with campers and their parents who talked about the importance of male staff as role models, the high expectations staff placed on youth, the persistence the young dancers demonstrated, and the magic of going from confined living rooms for virtual instruction to the freedom and excitement of performing live onstage at NJPAC.  Jasmine (above left, with her son Nicholas) echoed what all of the campers and parents expressed: “it was an amazing experience!”.

August 29, 2021:  Once again, MOVE’s Young Professionals knocked it out of the park at their culminating performance of the new pieces they learned during the three-week Summer Intensive.  It’s exciting and so very encouraging to see our grantee partners resuming their in-person programming!

August 21, 2021:  At today’s virtual cooking class, Chef Jessie guided us through simple recipes for black bean burgers and fries.  Looks really tasty!  This new course offering at KEEN is made possible through MFF Gen 2 support. 

August 18, 2021:  MOVE was buzzing with activity -- two concurrent classes for SWEAT, the summer intensive for college dance majors, three classes for the Young Professionals college access program, and one class for “The Babies” pilot, a high school access program for talented middle schoolers.  As always, the dancers displayed great talent, even while wearing masks!

August 13, 2021: Although AileyCamp was virtual all summer long, the instructors and campers from NYC and Newark – who only met each other in person for the very first time yesterday – somehow pulled off a miracle by presenting a seamless live performance onstage at NJPAC!!  So many highlights, but our favorite was the West African sequence. 

August 13, 2021: Read’s annual Youth Summit featured several guest speakers, including Ojinika Obiekwe (above), the entertainment anchor for PIX 11 News.  Oji began her 20-year career at the television station as a college intern and advanced through hard work and being a collegial, respectful co-worker.  Her simple advice – “you get what you give”. 

August 13, 2021: At TKU’s CRISP – College Readiness Internship Summer Program – culminating program, participants gave brief presentations on what they accomplished and gained during their internships.  Sam (above inset) talked about the info links he created with HTML coding for beanz Magazine.  On the non-tech side, he also acquired money management skills and learned about workplace etiquette through TKU’s job coaches. 

August 12, 2021: Youth participants in the NYPD OPTIONS Learn to Earn program presented the various projects they’ve been working on this summer in partnership with NYPD officers and peer mentors.  Focus areas include video production, podcasting, photography/photo gallery websites, and community building (which involves deep dives in the history, demographics, and assets of, as well as the challenges facing, specific NYC neighborhoods).  As part of this presentation, Tanniah (above) introduced her short video exploring inequities in public school funding.

August 10, 2021: It was terrific to check in with co-founder Ron Russell, who shared the exciting news that Epic will be greatly expanding the number of schools it works with during the 2021-22 school year.  We also visited the summer Epic Next program, where high school students research, write, and perform plays dealing with complicated issues relevant to their daily lives.  Above, a group of Epic Nexters put the finishing touches on their piece exploring the links between school segregation and housing segregation. 

August 2, 2021: Nancy Goodman, a Trustee of the Berk Foundation (inset above), reviews sketches from members of the TKU Digital Agency who are designing her organization’s new logo.  Nancy gave the team feedback on which direction she wanted to go in, allowing them to further refine their initial ideas.  Through the Digital Agency, TKU participants use their tech skills to design logos, websites, and apps for paying clients.

July 30, 2021:  Melissa Gonzalez, a highly respected retailing consultant, spoke to Read’s high school tutors about Finding Your Passion.   She suggested that while we may be passionate about our hobbies, a love of cooking doesn’t necessarily mean we should open a restaurant; however, she asked us to think about which aspects of our recreational passions – organization, precision, and creativity for cooking – can be channeled into a meaningful "non-culinary" career.

July 29, 2021:  We popped into the College Prep Academy’s Student Health Research Presentations for rising seniors enrolled in the Pre RN program.  Myra (above right, inset) discussed many aspects of strep throat including prevention, transmission, treatment, and the serious consequences of prolonged lack of treatment.  Like her fellow students, Myra was a confident and exceptionally well-informed presenter.

July 28, 2021: It’s so heartening in a time of physical retrenchment to visit Reel Works’ newly renovated and expanded offices that doubled in size during the pandemic.  And exciting to see Summer Lab, which we’re proud to support, in full “IRL” swing.  We also met filmmakers Jonathan, Marvin, and Daphne.  All of their recent films are in varying stages of post-production and we look forward to seeing the final cuts at live screenings this fall.

July 24, 2021:  Yisbell and Cynthia (above, L to R) are S2’s Family Support team.  In addition to coordinating the bi-weekly food pantry (where we happily pitched in with some bag stuffing and toting), they are working to ensure the economic success of S2’s parents and caregivers, most of whom are natives of the Dominican Republic.  We love this “big picture” approach – when parents thrive, so will their children!

July 23, 2021:  What a treat – we had our catch-up meeting with Executive Director Adam Green on RTB’s Herreshoff 12½, a classic wooden sailboat that students built by hand over two-plus years.  The contrast between RTB’s intensely industrial Hunts Point neighborhood and the view from the Bronx River as it feeds into Long Island Sound couldn’t be more dramatic.  Every day, RTB connects its young participants to the wonders of the natural world that are literally in their own back yard. 

July 21, 2021:  At BTNY’s virtual open house, we got to meet several Teaching Assistants – near-peer college students – and current students.  The college students, like NYU senior Olivia (above), crowed about this summer’s crop of young people seeking admission to competitive college-prep high schools: “this is the most motivated group of middle school students you’ll ever meet, they’re so, so impressive”….“even at 8:45am, these kids are eager to participate and their enthusiasm is especially welcome and quite unexpected after a year of virtual learning.”  After meeting some of those students, we’d have to agree with their TAs' assessments!

July 19, 2021:  As part of today’s College Access session on the college admissions interview, three student volunteers were asked to speak for a minute on a common topic (sushi, Netflix, and summer) without using filler words such as “you know” and “like”.  It was, like, way harder than you’d think, you know….?

July 16, 2021: Queens Defenders’ Young Adult Leaders are the hard-working staff of a weekly food pantry distribution that operates out of QD’s new Community Justice Center in the heart of Far Rockaway.  Our funding of the Young Adult Leaders initially focused on the teens’ academic tutoring to much younger students but now supports their work with the larger community on simple tax prep, applications for subsidized housing, and emergency food and clothing distributions.

July 12, 2021:  During an informational webinar, Dr. Lisa Goodrich, the scientific director of HHF’s core Hearing Restoration Project, gave us a crystal clear overview of the groundbreaking hair cell regeneration research being conducted by the Project’s national consortium of top scientists.     

July 1, 2021:  We sat in on an info session for Exalt alumni conducted by the staff of Marcy Lab School, a free year-long coding intensive for young adults interested in highly paid software engineering careers.  We’re proud to support the many ways that Exalt links its alums to educational and professional opportunities.

June 28, 2021: AOT hosted a three-day Internship Bootcamp in advance of 80 of its high school participants being placed in paid summer internships at private tech firms.  The kick-off session was on email etiquette, which takes on added importance as all of these internships are now virtual.  A panel of engineers from Panorama (above) augmented the instruction with their own advice on email Do's and Don'ts. 

June 24, 2021: We loved that the Ailey Spirit Gala featured choreography of several Ailey Company dancers, who set their pieces in unique backdrops including a basketball court, the Vessel at Hudson Yards, and the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Park.   

June 24, 2021: At Eagle’s graduation, we were delighted to see that Meringoff Valedictory Prize winner Omar Moussa was selected as the class Salutatorian.  Above, the University of Albany-bound Omar is larger than life in a video profile shown at the ceremony.

June 22, 2021:  As demonstrated by the many thrilling performances at tonight’s virtual gala, MOVE’s young dancers have clearly thrived artistically during the pandemic.

June 18, 2021:  During the Opening Doors to the Future closing ceremony, students at Bronx High School of Business talked about their experiences as paid interns, including MVP semi-finalist Oscar (top right).  As ODF is a bilingual program, Oscar spoke in Spanish, with the English translation appearing on screen.  Several of the internship site managers spoke as well, and all were ecstatic about the students’ great work.  

June 11, 2021: As part of Read Alliance’s ongoing professional development work with its high school literacy tutors, Ariana Sadoughi and four of her colleagues from PwC led a workshop on personal budgeting.   The Meringoff Foundation is proud to have provided the seed funding to launch this supplemental but vital programming.

June 9, 2021:  Our very first in-person gala in over a year was thrilling!  Isaac Mizrahi hosted a “Supper Club” event featuring live cabaret, comedy, and spoken word.  The evening’s honoree was Lisa Price (above right), founder of Carol’s Daughter beauty products, who discussed her experiences as a foster parent with comedian Michelle Buteau.  It was wonderful to see so many people turn out to support CASA’s vital work with foster care youth, and that life in NYC is getting back to normal!

June 9, 2021:  It’s a small world! During Scholarship Plus’ annual Awards Night, where the new cohort of college scholars are introduced, we re-met Maliha, a University of Pittsburgh-bound senior at Flushing High School.  Maliha is also a Meringoff Scholar at New York Edge’s college-prep program at Flushing and she was a semi-finalist in our annual MVP scholarship competition.  Congratulations, Maliha!

June 4, 2021:  YPC members hit the big time today as they performed on Stars in the House, the popular web series that draws an amazing roster of top Broadway stars.  As always, these young choristers wowed us with their passion and talent.

May 27, 2021: MIT-bound Denisse (above) was one of several outstanding scholars highlighted at Legal Outreach’s virtual gala.  In addition to pursuing her own career in tech, Denisse, as inspired by her instructors at LO, wants to give back to the next generation as a STEM mentor.

May 26, 2021:  Reel Works’ virtual gala was extra glittery, with appearances by Eddie Huang, Issa Rae, and LL Cool J (above).  So much of RW’s success is predicated on those who’ve “made it” giving back to NYC youth looking to forge careers in film and media.

May 25, 2021: During BTNY’s virtual gala, we met Tiffany, mom of 8th grader Aiden, who told us how much she appreciated this 10-year program to assist her and her son in all of his educational transitions: from middle school to a competitive high school, then on to college and career.  Tiffany also stressed how important it was for Aiden to be in a supportive community of students with similar academic goals.

May 24, 2021: Dr. Anil Lalwani, an ENT at Columbia Presbyterian and a member of the HHF board, answered questions about hearing loss and balance issues during a webinar for the HHF community.  Dr. Lalwani is a clear explainer of complex auditory processes and we learned quite of bit, including that about 9% of dementia cases can be traced to undiagnosed hearing loss.

May 24, 2021: Jociel (inset), a senior at WHEELS, moderated his English class’s reunion with the Writopia creative writing instructors who helped shape their college application personal statements. During this session, each senior selected the “diamond” at the heart of their statement and read it aloud.  Our favorite: “I dance to express, not to impress”.

May 20, 2021: The Meringoff Valedictory Prize award letters are almost in the mail.  We’re thrilled to be sending a total of $86,000 in scholarship checks to 58 high school seniors who have excelled at 31 of the youth-serving organizations we’re so proud to support.  

May 20, 2021: We sat in on the last session of the OPTIONS financial management course.  It was fascinating to hear Joel (above) tell us what he learned: “Before, I knew how to save my money but didn’t know how to grow it.”  Some other great quotes from his fellow students: “I am more aware of my spending habits and look forward to being more mature about how I spend”….“I now understand the difference between needs and wants”….“this course gave me the the motivation to save”…. “I always thought investing was for the suits…I’ve now developed a positive mindset around money.”

May 19, 2021: In a highlight of CWP’s Writing Our Future virtual gala, high school senior Widgie (above) read a powerful poem inspired by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death.  We are proud to report that Widgie was also a Finalist in our MVP essay competition and received a $1,500 scholarship.  

May 17, 2021:  Epic student Luan (top left) and alumni Hailey (top right) and Lizette (bottom right) lead a national discussion on “Nothing About Us”, a play researched and written by Epic students which explores segregation in NYC schools.  Meringoff funding has supported this work’s extensive touring schedule.

May 13, 2021:  Four Microsoft professionals, including Zach Owens (above), discussed their career paths and professional lives with a group of Scholarship Plus college students.  Zach et al gave lots of well-earned advice: “be inquisitive and flexible…follow people you trust…take risks and get out of your comfort zone….don’t be afraid of failing.”  They also had great insights into Microsoft’s corporate culture and the importance of continuing education.

May 10, 2021:  Today’s Transition to College workshop session focused on credit cards, personal debt, budgeting, and credit scores.  As most incoming college Freshmen have no credit history, this critical session will help LO alumni establish themselves financially in an informed and responsible manner.

May 7, 2021:  Thanks to our friends at DMF for sending us a link to the latest installment of Dance Break.  It was wonderful to see longtime student – and MVP nominee! – Umi (at left) co-leading this midday musical stretch with Ms. Juliana.  We danced a bit, then got back to work!

May 2, 2021:  Congratulations to MOVE co-founder Chanel DaSilva, who was commissioned by Parsons Dance – with support from MFF – to choreograph “On the Other Side”, which received its world premier at The Joyce’s current virtual season.  Chanel’s timely piece is set in eight taped-off boxes onstage, where the Parsons dancers, like all of us during the past year, cope with the restrictions of physical separation.  Powerful and beautiful! 

April 27, 2021: The “We Are Epic” 20th anniversary benefit featured the voices of many program alumni, who talked about how the organization planted in them the seeds for social, political, and civic engagement.  We particularly loved hearing from Jael Baez (above), who now teaches high school and “opens up opportunities for teens the way Epic did for me.”  Congratulations, Epic, on 20 year of inspiring young New Yorkers! 

April 24, 2021: Metro Center’s College Prep Academy held an in-depth, day-long workshop on Financial Aid Final Steps for college-bound seniors and their parents.  Using financial aid awards as a jumping off point, CPA’s in-house expert Marilyn Sommer walked everyone through NY State grant programs, loan options, unanticipated expenses, private scholarship opportunities, and financial aid appeals.  Like so many of our grantee partners, CPA is with its students every step of the way in the college inquiry/application/matriculation/retention process!

April 20, 2021:  Two YW LEAD alums, Zenzele, who attends SUNY Binghampton, and Chara (above), who attends Dartmouth, spoke to college-bound high school seniors about their experiences with race relations and campus life at PWIs (predominantly white institutions).  They both stressed how helpful supportive peer communities have been to them, and encouraged the current YW LEADers to not be afraid to ask questions and avail themselves of campus resources.

April 16, 2021:  IfeMichelle kicked off the Mic Check reading with a powerful poem about a Black mother’s hopes in difficult times.  This monthly program gives several of NYWC’s workshop participants an opportunity to read publicly and soak in the love of a very receptive audience, who made great use of the Zoom Chat feature.

April 14, 2021:  In today’s introductory workshop, two senior managers at Deloitte gave us an overview of the four steps of Project Management: Goals, Parameters, Resources, and Plan Creation.  In doing so, they drew upon their own experiences with a simple project – a shopping trip to Costco in the early days of Covid – and a complex project  – a multiyear consolidation of an international corporation’s tech operations – to illustrate each step.  This topic clearly resonated, as 140+ PENCIL participants tuned in.

April 13, 2021: Finding Your Passion was the first session of HEAF’s career exploration series for middle schoolers.  A panel of professionals (above) working in diverse arenas – academia, fashion, finance, accounting, media, and real estate – talked about their wending career paths and answered students’ excellent questions about first jobs, finding mentors, and keeping their professional passion alive during a pandemic.

April 9, 2021: We really enjoyed our morning volunteering at S2’s food pantry, which serves 175 families in the school community who have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic.  Director of Community Development Cynthia Carrion has done an outstanding job organizing the volunteers and donations fueling this vital effort, of which MFF is proud financial supporter.    

April 5, 2021:  Great to hear Mateo Askaripour talking about his debut novel “Black Buck”, a biting satire on a young Black man working at a tech start up.  As PENCIL’s young participants are preparing for their own summer internships at a variety of companies, Mateo’s tales of his own experiences as a start-up intern were especially welcome.  His best advice: “That which makes you different is your super power.”   

March 30, 2021: Stephen and Stuart had a wonderful check-in with the team from MOVE, who had lots of great news to share.  Some highlights: four seniors admitted to Julliard and USC, the top two dance conservatory programs in America; plans in place for fully in-person summer programming; and MOVE’s newly established alumni peer mentoring program.

March 25, 2021:  Jay Hyne, Director of U.S. Regulatory Relations at American Express, moderated a panel discussion with several of his fellow Amex attorneys working in a variety of capacities at the corporation.  Panelists discussed their undergraduate majors, decision to attend law school, wending career paths, and the importance of cultivating mentors in academic and professional settings.  This session was part of LO’s ongoing Professional Exposure Program, which received seed funding from the Meringoff Foundation.

March 23, 2021:  The Catch the Beat open house gave a wonderful overview of DMF’s history and program offerings.  We were particularly excited to hear DMF staffer Juliana (above) speak about the organization’s incredible – and rapidly growing – menu of virtual programming, which MFF Gen 2 funding helped to launch and continues to support.

March 19, 2021:  The guest speaker at Eagle's weekly community Town Hall was NYC Police Commission Dermot Shea, who brought along three Police Officers who all graduated from Eagle Bronx.  Commissioner Shea and the Eagle alums spoke about their career paths, the intersections between their educational values and law enforcement work, and the importance of creating stronger bonds between the NYPD and the communities it serves.  Commissioner Shea was particularly passionate on this last point, as he was in describing the vast array of careers available in the NYPD to Eagle graduates.   

March 18, 2021: As part of LO's recently-launched Professional Exposure Program, Rick Gropper, a Principal at Camber Property Group, led students through an in-depth presentation on all stages of the real estate development process.  He also fielded lots of great questions from his highly engaged student audience.  The Meringoff Foundation provided seed funding for this terrific new series of electives.

March 12, 2021: Exalt’s Alumni Liaison Ikim Powell led a panel discussion with three program alumni who reflected on the many ways Exalt has positively impacted the direction of their lives.  The code switching, interviewing, analytical, computer, research, and money management skills they learned at Exalt have all proven to be essential.  And as actively engaged alumni, they continue to find a wealth of educational workshops at Exalt.  Our favorite quote: “Graduation is just the start…Exalt is always there for you!”.

March 10, 2021:  During a Community Conversation on Youth Philanthropy and Social Justice, we learned about a program at WHEELS where 9th graders research community needs and the nonprofits addressing those needs, then grant $5,000 (!)  to one of those nonprofits.  Best of all, students like Kevin (above) become more engaged in their Washington Heights community while interning or volunteering at the organizations they’ve been introduced to through their grantmaking research.

March 8, 2021: As part of today’s introductory College Decision workshop, Epic’s Deb Morris talked about her own college decision-making process, as did her colleagues Ron Russell and Jim Wallert.  This was a prelude to getting Epic’s seniors to begin the process of elimination among the several colleges where they’ve already been accepted.  There are so many variables – location, campus life, academics, and make-or-break finances.  Fortunately, decision deadline is May 1, so seniors have time to ask themselves – and their prospective colleges – lots of hard questions.

March 6, 2021:  During today's Health Careers Panel, Dean Russo discussed his educational and employment path to becoming a Physician Assistant, and additionally discussed paths to becoming an RN, NP, and MD.  Dean also did a great job of explaining the difference between PAs and NPs -- essentially disease diagnostics vs. patient care -- which we've never quite understood.

March 5, 2021: Epic’s Ron Russell working one-on-one with Onindita, a student in the ReMix program at Bronx HS of Writing and Communication Arts, as they prepare to film scenes from Zarka’s Curse. This funny/dark student-written play centers on a corporate executive who tasks his personal assistant to find a quick fix to end societal racism (!), which somehow leads to an encounter with an ancient sorceress found on the Dark Web (!!).   Such fun to see how Epic’s students create their art.

March 4, 2021: Exalt staffer Jordan McRae led a great introduction to the college inquiry process for a large group of program alumni.  He and his colleagues made a particularly effective case to counter the skepticism of a few alums about the value of a college education, while strongly emphasizing that the decision to attend college needs to be well-informed.

March 2, 2021: Cathy Metcalf has been leading an elective on American Sign Language at HEAF’s afterschool program.  Today’s class focused on counting and money, and as a result, we are now almost ready to count out the cost of a candy bar at our corner deli.

February 28, 2021: In an Instagram Live chat, TKU Director of Operations Cristina Ulerio talked with former TKU staffer about his career path to becoming a Market Data Analyst at Bloomberg.  With his infectiously upbeat manner, Malcolm discussed the opportunities and supports for people with disabilities in the tech workplace.

February 24, 2021:  Staff social worker Shari Simon’s weekly wellness session for college students focused on stress reduction by taking things off of their plates – literally.  During the workshop, we each listed all of our responsibilities, typing them over an image of a dinner plate to determine which were necessary and which were needless stressors.

February 20, 2021:  Such an honor to participate in a writing workshop for essential workers, one of NYWC’s newest programs.  Workshop Leader – and retired nurse – Elena Schwolsky and her group of talented writers / frontline medical workers have created a nuturing, mutually supportive community of truly talented writers. 

February 18, 2021: It was wonderful to catch up with several of Read Alliance’s long-time reading tutors, who told us about the vital hard and soft skills they’ve acquired while working to get struggling young readers on track.  The tutors also gave the professional development programming MFF supports at READ a big thumbs up.  But our favorite quote from the meeting was about something pretty elemental: “I can’t begin to tell you how important a steady paycheck has been during the Pandemic.”

February 9, 2021: Dan was one of several volunteers from digital media company .Dash who led a Zoom session on Interviewing Skills 101 for 25 students from the HS of Applied Communications in Queens.  Much of the formal presentation, before breaking off into small practice groups, focused on the specific dos and don't of virtual interviewing for this new age of ours.  

January 31, 2021: Members of the Scottish Ballet Youth Company continue their collaboration with MOVE, which began last year with a two-week visit to the New York.  Now, the young dancers from both companies spent two weekends together over Zoom, creating new pieces that were premiered in an intimate performance for friends on both sides of the Atlantic.  The above untitled work was choreographed by MOVE’s Chanel DaSilva.

January 30, 2021: What a treat to attend the weekly EagleUp Town Hall featuring guest speaker Robert F. Smith, the noted investor and philanthropist.   Responding to questions from Eagle students, Mr. Smith talked about his upbringing in Denver, sense of community, career path, leisure interests, reading recommendations, and philanthropy.  Mr. Smith also told us about the joy he experiences “in figuring things out”, which he attributes as key to his success.

January 28, 2021: In his annual State of the NYPD address, Commissioner Dermot Shea repeatedly stressed the importance of the Department’s youth prevention work, which the Meringoff Foundation is proud to support.

January 20, 2021: We stopped by the weekly meeting of the Meringoff Scholars at Flushing High School, where New York Edge is a key partner.  Today’s topic was navigating the CSS Profile, a cumbersome and complex financial aid form.  This profile, which provides much more detailed information on family finances than the FAFSA form,  is required by the Financial Aid offices of over 400 highly competitive colleges.  The session’s ice breaker, a presidential trivia contest, was lots more fun.

January 13, 2021: In a briefing for NYC Police Foundation supporters, Deputy Commissioner John Miller (above) and NYPD officers embedded in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Santo Domingo police forces provided an overview of the Domestic and International Liaison Program.  Made possible by the Police Foundation, this program allows far-flung NYPD officers to solve crimes committed back home in addition to giving them an invalauble perch from which to assess outside terrorist threats. Fascinating!

January 9, 2021: At the Metro Center College Access Program’s annual Trailblazers Panel, program alumni discussed their educational and career paths with the current crop of CAP seniors.  The panel included a law school student, fashion merchandizer, COVID contact tracer, and a newly-appointed municipal judge in Yonkers (Karen Best, above).  Of all the great advice they gave, perhaps the best was “Marilyn and Pat [longtime CAP staffers] are always there for you.”

December 18, 2020: The highlight of the Gay Men’s Chorus holiday concert?  For us, it was the Youth Pride Chorus performing “Hope (Is the Thing with Feathers)” alongside Cyndi Lauper.  We are proud to support YPC’s creation of music and community among local LGBTQ youth.

December 16, 2020:  During this evening's gala, DMF staffer Juliana Beekmans told guests about the organization's extensive range of virtual programming.  This past spring, the Meringoff Foundation was proud to provide a Gen 2 grant to help launch these important offerings.

December 10, 2020:  Sunil Gulati, former President of the United States Soccer Federation and current lecturer in the Columbia University Economics Department (top left), moderated a timely Community Conversation on First Generation College Pathways during the Pandemic.  A panel of WHEELS high school seniors, college student alumni, and educators discussed the additional challenges first-gen students face in this incredibly challenging time.  Our takeaway – there is amazing grit and focus in the WHEELS community. 

December 10, 2020:  At Fall Demo Day, teams of Tech Flex Leaders – high school juniors and seniors – introduced the websites they designed this past semester for several hypothetical nonprofit clients.  The well-designed web pages and polished student presentations were all the more impressive as the pandemic prevented these young techies from ever meeting in person, no small feat for a group-based assignment.

December 3, 2020:  KEEN’s virtual fundraiser featured a surprise appearance by actor (and former KEEN volunteer) Adrian Grenier, but the real star of the show was Jack (above).  We couldn’t imagine a more compelling advocate for KEEN’s range of sports-based fun than this effusively satisfied consumer!

December 3, 2020:  It was great to finally “meet” S2’s Director of Community Development, Cynthia Carrion (top left, above).  During the Pandemic, she’s spearheaded the school’s emergency food  program, which to date has served 400 of S2’s families through twice-monthly distributions.  Cynthia gracefully navigates an ever-shifting network of food, personal care, and PPE donations while mobilizing a growing army of volunteers.  The Meringoff Foundation is proud to support this impressive, essential initiative.

December 1, 2020:  This group of students and volunteers just completed several whirlwind rounds of Speed Networking.  It was great fun to – however briefly – meet so many of OppNet’s motivated, directed, and very outgoing high school juniors.

November 21, 2020:  KEEN packed lots of fun into this morning’s KEEN-O-Copia gathering.  The highlight for us – Mr. Richard from American Ballet Theatre teaching us a dance from Swan Lake.

November 19, 2020:  At HEAF’s Virtual Open House, we sat in on an 8th grade Humanities class focusing on social entrepreneurship.  As part of his lesson, Mr. Soto (inset, above) led students in a case study of the DC-based Young, Black, and Giving Back Institute.

November 17, 2020:  At the launch of Gibney’s expanded professional company, we were treated to live excerpts from two works to be performed at its inaugural Joyce Theatre season next year.  The dancers were outstanding and reminded us how much we’ve been missing live performance.  It was an extra bonus to see these works introduced by MOVE NYC’s Nigel Campbell, who serves double duty as Gibney’s Co-Artistic Director.

November 17, 2020:  Next time you find youself in Midtown Manhattan, visit the Fire Zone's new Rockefeller Center home.  The central exhibition brings visitors through several real-life scenarios and teaches us how to easily prevent devestating fires at home.  This education center is also an exciting tribute to the outstanding work of the men and women of New York's Bravest.  

November 10, 2020: Great to visit Cora's storefront dance studio, which has just reopend with a host of saftety protocols and a newly reconfigured floor plan.  (The hands-free toilet is also pretty cool!) 

November 2, 2020:  Read's 20th annivsary gala got off to a rousing start, with a performance by Arturo O'Farrill's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.  And what a successful event it was, raising $1.25 million -- wow!!

October 30, 2020: Today’s session of the Meringoff-funded College Access Program focused on Troubleshooting Social Situations in College.  Guest speaker Bella (above) shared lots of great advice from her experience as an undergraduate and now current graduate student at College of Staten Island where she mentors fellow autistic students.

October 28, 2020:  The highlight of tonight’s virtual gala?  An informal conversation between TIAA CEO Roger Fergusson, former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns (top row), and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker.  They discussed the importance of programs, like HEAF, that level the playing field for low-income youth of color by setting high expectations and creating opportunities for economic mobility.

October 27, 2020: Nice on-screen credit at the Show Up for Science gala, moderated by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta (above).  This informative and entertaining fundraiser featured some incredible star power, including Jane Krakowski, Kelly O’Hara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Billy Porter, Yo Yo Ma and Victor Garber.  But the real stars were NYSCF’s scientists, who told us about their cutting edge research harnessing the power of stem cells to combat a broad array of diseases.

October 23, 2020:  JPMorgan Chase volunteers have put together a four-part financial literacy series for Exalt alumni.  Today’s session focused on digital money management tools and featured introductory remarks by Jason Rosenberg (above), the bank’s US head of Government Relations.  Great to see so many top Chase executives turning out for Exalt’s youth!

October 20, 2020:  Participants in RW’s Narrative Film Lab got an extraordinary treat:  Ellen Lewis, Martin Scorcese’s go-to casting director, cast professional actors to participate in “table reads” of  the teen filmmakers’ yet-to-be filmed scripts.  Actors and screenwriters gathered above for a post-reading Q and A.

October 15, 2020:  GALLOP Executive Director James Wilson held a Virtual Town Hall, where the organization’s stakeholders asked questions about program offerings, Covid protocols, volunteer opportunities, and Joker the horse’s wellbeing.  It was a terrific forum for keeping the GALLOP community connected and informed during the Pandemic.

October 14, 2020: In her sobering presentation, Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System, Dr. Ovita Williams from the Columbia School of Social Work explored how social inequalities lead to African American children having disproportionately high rates of foster care placement.

October 9, 2020: During a socially distant catch-up on the back deck of RW Executive Director John William’s home, we were introduced to Pilot (above).  After an initial torrent of mostly friendly barking, Pilot calmed down and the meeting proceeded with appropriate decorum!

October 8, 2020: As part of its week-long public launch, Chocolate Milk Café released daily videos promoting various aspects of the organization’s work promoting breast feeding among African American new moms.  Today’s installment was a discussion between founding board members Vickie (left) and LaShanda, both of whom are Board Certified Lactation Consultants.

October 5, 2020: The Epic Next Film Festival launched today with the first of 13 weekly releases of two student-created short films.  Collectively, these works will explore how systemic racism manifests itself in education and the arts.  You can check out “Testing Connections” (above, written and directed by Epic alum and Smith College student Liv Dunbar) on the Epic Theatre Ensemble YouTube channel.

September 29, 2020:  The Young Adult Leaders in Far Rockaway, Queens played Jeopardy! -- with a focus on workplace professionalism -- at today's workshop led by United Community Schools.  Meringoff funding supports this five-month training series, which will allow these high school students to continually up their game as they tutor younger students in the community.  And in case you were wondering , the correct response to the above is "What is proofread?".  

September 23, 2020:  At the annual Barn Dance fundraiser – virtual this year – Evan’s parents (with their son, above) spoke about all that he has gained through therapeutic riding at GALLOP.  Proceeds from tonight’s event will support newly seeded rider scholarship and horse care funds.

September 12, 2020:  Teens Crew coordinator Chris started today's session with a "dice breaker" where we all had to answer a question about ourselves based on a roll of the dice.  Lots of fun activities followed, including name game, music freeze tag, and an op art marking project. MFF is a proud supporter of Teens Crew and Girls Crew. 

August 27, 2020: The NYPD OPTIONS program, where cops mentors teens, presented an overview of its recent activities.  Student participants discussed their storyboarding work, where they created violence de-escalation scenarios for their peers, as well as their experiences in financial management workshops and podcast development labs.  Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. (above), who sat in on this session, was duly impressed and lavished praise on Options and its student reps.

August 26, 2020: Today’s PENCIL Student Town Hall was a terrific recap of a summer crammed with virtual professional development opportunities for NYC youth.  Rising college freshman Aiko (above) had a memorable experience in the pilot Career Explorers program: she spent five weeks with a mentor from the Real Estate Board of NY learning about real estate development as she conceived and structured a mixed-use real estate development project in downtown Flushing.  What an amazing opportunity!

August 22, 2020:  MOVE hosted a showcase of works in progress after the second week of its three-week summer intensive.  It was exciting to experience four iterations of Alex Anderson's "Diminish", performed by sophomores (above), then juniors, seniors, and finally, a senior soloist.  Powerful art is being created in living rooms across NYC!     

August 20, 2020: OppNet board members Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz introduced the five current  students and recent alums profiled at the organization’s virtual gala.  Pretty cool to share a Zoom screen with James Bond and Blanche DuBois!

August 18, 2020:  It was wonderful to catch up with CASA staff and members of the Youth Leadership Council, which is preparing to onboard several new members this fall.  As part of their 30 hours of paid training, there will be beefed-up modules on community organizing and career readiness.  Current YLC members are also spending more time empowering their fellow foster care youth, in addition to educating adults working in the foster care system.

August 14, 2020: MOVE’s summer intensive – now virtual – felt as close to in-person as possible, as evidenced by the young dancers’ intense focus and strong ties to their deeply committed instructors.  During a break from ballet class, visiting instructor Alicia Graff Mack gave an overview of the Juilliard School’s dance division, which she directs (!!).  As Juilliard is the brass ring that MOVE’s young professionals would love to grasp, this access was incomparable.

August 13, 2020: At today’s UX Design Showcase, AOT-ers presented their prototypes for hypothetical apps, including Caleb (above), who walked us through the features of “Travelers ‘R’ Us.

August 11, 2020: We had a great time at DMF’s Luau Dance Party, where DJ Juliana spun great tunes that got all of us moving.  And it was such fun to see so many of the revelers dressed for the tropics!

August 11, 2020: At Career Café, 20 college student MediaMKRS were matched with industry professionals for targeted and concentrated networking in small breakout rooms.  We got to spend time with Sound Engineer Keith Hodne (top left, above), who recently worked on high profile documentaries about Michael Jordan and the trial of O.J. Simpson.  It’s exciting to see the  MediaMKRS getting such incredible access!

August 10, 2020: As part of their ongoing college advisement work with the Meringoff Scholars at Flushing High School, Starr Alexis and Brad Grimm (above) led a very helpful session on EOP, HEOP, and SEEK, the alphabet soup of college Opportunity Programs.

August 7, 2020: Instructor Sarah Miles demonstrates the progress of her sugar snap plant as part of RTB’s summer programming focus on the local environment.  All youth participants are planting their own as well, having received care packages of seeds, soil, and lots of other cool stuff from their mentors at RTB.

August 4, 2020:  We listened to lots of clips from works in progress at TKU’s podcast class, one of many virtual courses on offer this summer.  The topics were incredibly varied: an aborted trip to an abandoned castle, the Simpsons, Fibonacci sequences, and an original story of pumpkin-headed people.  Can’t wait to hear the final cuts!

August 3, 2020: As part of a summer-long workshop on Academic Rigor, BSA Humanities Dean Matt Malloy led a high-level discussion of "Scaffolding" vs. "Differentiation" for school leadership.   We learned a ton: scaffolds are the built-in supports teachers deploy to assist an entire class (i.e. providing a handout with definitions of the new vocabulary words found in an unfamiliar text); differentiation is targeted support for struggling students.  BSA’s thoughtful approach to staff development is impressive.

July 31, 2020: WHEELS students in the school's Environmental Justice Institute presented their impressive and attainable plans to create a green corridor along 182nd Street and improved access to Highbridge Park.  For the last two years, these high schoolers have been spurred by local environmental advocates to reimagine greener, healthier, and more interactive local streetscapes. 

July 30, 2020:  Epic’s Producing Young Playwrights program presented a staged reading, featuring Epic teaching artists (above), of “Systematically”, written by 2020 high school graduate Mekhi Tudor.  Through this program, playwright N’Sangou Njikam mentored Mekhi during the development of his play, which parallels the impacts of the Black Panthers on a grandfather and Black Lives Matter on his grandson.  In the small world department, Mekhi was also a winner of a Meringoff Valedictory Prize scholarship!

July 29, 2020: "Navigating the Workforce as a Woman" was an enlightening panel where three women corporate professionals -- Beth Choisez from Jet Blue (above), Shanthi Blanchard from Spinster (a start-up that assists women entrepreneurs), and Priyanka Negi from Deloitte -- discussed mentors, mentees, formal and informal support networks, confidence, likability, and their own techniques for succeeding in predominantly male workplaces.  Their audience of high school interns -- mostly young women -- peppered this trio with questions. 

July 28, 2020: As part of HEAF Summer Quest's Industry Immersion program, high school students are being coached by corporate volunteers from a variety of companies -- Bloomberg, Chanel, Barclay's, HSBC, and Related, to name a few -- on marketing presentations for student-created "dream projects".  Fanelysse (above) reviews her proposed music festival with volunteer mentor, Forbes reporter Noah Kirsch.  Sometimes these matches strike fire -- Fanelysse just landed an internship at Forbes!

July 27, 2020:  Sat in on a Go Bridging session where Social Worker Colin led an intimate workshop for rising 6th graders to explore their excitement and apprehension about transitioning from elementary to middle school.  This year's transition is especially fraught since no one, not even the grown ups, knows exactly what to expect in September.

July 24, 2020:  This photo doesn’t remotely do justice to the breadth of S2’s weekly food distribution program for hard-hit families in its school community.  A dedicated team of volunteers has secured donations and steep discounts from a myriad of sources.  As a result, families needed a good-sized shopping cart to transport home their shopping bags full of staples, fresh produce, toiletries, and PPE.  We were thrilled to spend part of our day helping to stuff bags and repackage KN95 masks.  Congratulations, and thanks, to the S2 community on its successful response to urgent local needs.

July 22, 2020: Eagle’s summer academic enrichment program is in full throttle and we popped into several classes with Principal Rashad Meade, including Reading Intervention, ELA, and Karate (!).  But our favorite was 8th grade math, where we actually were able to come up with the correct answers.  It was also encouraging to hear Mr. Meade’s thoughtful plans for Fall reopening, which include in-person academics and virtual electives.

July 21, 2020:  At Epic Next, much has changed while much remains the same.  This summer, students continue to research and write short dramatic works exploring educational inequities, but they’re being produced for Zoom and not the stage.  It all still begins with the essentials, as Epic Co-Artistic Director Melissa Friedman (above) works on monologue development with first-year Epic Next-ers.

July 19, 2020: KEEN has created a virtual summer camp for the month of July on the theme of outdoor camping, and just like in real life, the day ended with “Campfire”.  This session featured storytelling by Counselor Kristi – who was in fact camping in her Airstream trailer! – and a dance party with DJ Hop (with furry friend, above), who got all of us grooving in our Zoom boxes!

July 13, 2020: For its GO Summer program for academically struggling younger students, GO Project has created a wonderful inverted pyramid.  Students start the day in small classes of eight or nine, move to even smaller reading sessions where one master teacher works with three learners (above), and then proceed to one-on-one tutorial sessions.   GO’s paid summer staff is being augmented with student teachers from Hunter College to ensure that every GO Summer participant is getting the academic and social/emotional attention they need.  What a terrific collaboration!

July 10, 2020: In today’s art class with Miss Victoria, Extreme Kids created their own summer dessert concoctions.  Ty’s “lemon frosting carrot" seems like the perfect complement to a hot summer day! 

July 9, 2020:  OppNet’s career panel featured three young professionals who each pulled a career 180: Mohamed (top right) left a lucrative job in Finance to join The Peace Corps, Justine (bottom right) made a mid-career move from a White Shoe law firm to CitiBike, and Usama (bottom left) ditched med school a week before classes began to pursue a career -- now successful – in stand-up comedy.  Fascinating to hear about their unexpected career paths, which they all agreed went from "passive existence…to a quest for self actualization". 

July 6, 2020:  During this morning’s Intro to College Philosophy, rising high school seniors discussed Kantian Ethics.  Instructor Miranda Young, a PhD candidate at The New School, demanded – and received – much from her highly engaged students, who in daily, hour-long classes over a five-week semester, are experiencing the intellectual rigors they’ll face in a typical college seminar.

June 30, 2020:  YW Lead alum Zenzele Franklin, now a rising senior at SUNY Binghampton, was the guest speaker at College Talk Tuesdays, a program for rising high school seniors.  As today’s session focused on the link between college major and career, Zenzele discussed her decision to major in Computer Science as a means of becoming a UX Designer. 

June 29, 2020: Class Valedictorian -- and MVP essay competition semi-finalist -- Arisleida H. gave an assured an poised commencement address where she urged her fellow graduates to continue raising their voices for changed.  The program also featured keynote addresses by Harlem Children's Zone founder Geoffrey Canada and screenwiter/producer/actress Lena Waithe.  Best of luck, Aris, at Bard College in September, and best wishes to everyone in the BSA Class of 2020!

June 25, 2020:  We really felt the love at the closing ceremony for CHCF’s Opening Doors to the Future program at Bronx HS of Business.  The highlight for us – Christian V’s terrific remarks about all that he’s learned from his ODF mentors and internship placement.  Congrats, Class of 2020!

June 24, 2020: “Keeping the Wheels of Justice Moving” was a fascinating discussion of the challenges faced by women of color in the criminal justice reform space as they navigate the world of philanthropy in a post-Covid landscape.  Participants included Exalt Executive Director Gisele Castro, JustLeadershipUSA Executive Director DeAnna Hoskins, and JPMorgan Chase VP of Global Philanthropy Monique Baptiste. Our main takeaway – philanthropy requires true humility and an ability to really listen to and learn from the frontlline experts.

June 22, 2020: CASA’s Haas Williams co-moderated a workshop on the needs of LGTBQ youth in foster care.  Two of the panelists, Rosie and Brieanna, are members of the Meringoff-supported CASA Youth Leadership Council, where they draw on their own experiences in foster care to advocate for lasting change.  Today’s session was attended by nearly 100 case workers and volunteer advocates, as well as a few Family Court judges.  These young people are truly speaking truth to power.

June 22, 2020:  During this morning’s virtual visit, we joined seventh graders at the Bronx Latin Middle School on a virtual visit with Jim and Keeper, a setter mix with a really gripping backstory.  He was separated from his family in Puerto Rican during Hurricane Maria and spent a year living on the streets, where he was hit by a car and lost one of his front legs.  For the last two years, Keeper has been living with Jim on the Jersey Shore where he’s physically active, highly social, and very affectionate.  Such incredible resilience!

June 17, 2020:  Wesleyan-bound WHEELS senior Yolnely Compres co-hosted tonight’s WHEELS UP virtual benefit, which honored Dr. Mara Minguez, a professor at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, Word Up Bookstore, and Youth Philanthropy Initiative.  All of these honorees have deep and longstanding ties to the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School.

June 16, 2020: Sadly, this year’s College Decision Day couldn’t take place on stage at the legendary Apollo Theater.  Happily, this celebration featured congratulatory messages from several luminaries including former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Good Day New York Co-host Lori Stokes…and LMM!!

June 13, 2020:  During this morning's graduation ceremony for the CPA, counselors paid tribute to the small groups of students they each worked with and higlighted their college choices.  Plus, we got to give a (very brief!) congratulatory speech!

June 12, 2020: This impressive team of young consultants from Bain took time out from their workday to individually advise small groups of Read’s high school literacy tutors on resume prep and interview skills.  Thank you, Bain!

June 11, 2020: Bakary Dunne, a high school participant in the Meringoff-funded CWP 2.0 program, participated in Community Word’s online fundraiser.  After reading a forceful poem decrying many forms of bigotry, he was interviewed by teaching artist Bria Hardin. 

June 8, 2020: Kadijat and Vasiki, who just graduated from UPenn and Colby, most capably emceed Scholarship Plus Awards Night, the annual celebration of the organization’s departing college Seniors and  incoming Freshmen.  We were thrilled to see that our recent challenge grant inspired a new “donate by text” component to the program.  The result? --  $11,000 in new contributions!!

June 5, 2020:  At the year-end Youth Leader Conference, CARA Peer Leader Jaden described his successful efforts to organize a college fair at his high school.  Other CARA-trained students presented their own successful college access projects, including a college march, family FAFSA workshop, and "College Application Checklist" Zoom conference for high school juniors.  Thanks to CARA’s work, this impressive peer outreach is leading to greater numbers of first-gen students realizing that college is an accessible goal.

May 28, 2020:  One of the two student speakers at tonight's virtual gala was Vanessa S, who was also a runner up in the annual Meringoff Valedictory Prize essay competition.  In her remarks, Vanessa talked about how the Legal Outreach matras of "no excuses" and "short term pain leads to long term gain" have prepared her for college.  The event was a great financial success, raising $8,000 -- and counting -- over its ambitious $300,000 goal! 

May 27, 2020:  At tonight’s Reel Works Un-Gala, film director Cathy Yan and married actors Simone and Dorian Missick received Changemaker Awards, while teen filmmaker Jaire Marshall was recognized for his short film, Invasion of the Culture Snatchers.  Check out Jaire’s funny but disturbing take on gentrification at  https://vimeo.com/396715729. 

May 21, 2020: Lovely to see our friends from Ailey, who updated us on the virtual plans for this summer's camp, which will feel remarkably like the in-person experience.  Looking forward to viisiting with the campers in July! 

May 15, 2020: The exuberance of David's performance wonderfully captures the spirit the DMF's first-ever Virtual Open Mic event.  Gen 2 funding supports the development and expansion of the organization's online programming.

May 11, 2020:  Our friends at Adaptive report that the repaved road leading up the steep hill to its base lodge/HQ  has been a great success.  This past winter was the first without ruts, potholes, or washouts, making access a snap.  MFF provided the seed funding – and a community challenge – to bring this long-overdue project to fruition.

May 7: 2020:  The Meringoff Valedictory Prize award letters and scholarship checks are prepared and about to be dropped in the mail.  This year, we received a record 69 essay submissions from high school seniors who were selected by our youth-serving grantee partners.  We strongly suspect that the $84,000 in scholarship awards -- also a record! -- will be put to especially good use this year.

May 1, 2020:  Tonight’s Open Mic reading by NYWC workshop leaders and participants was a celebration of distinctive voices, styles and approaches; the dozen or so readers – as is always the case at an NYWC workshop or reading – demonstrated the incredible talent in our midst.  Congratulations, all!

April 30, 2020:  Our friends at The FAR Fund hosted a talk by psychologist Arietta Slade on the particular challenges faced by special needs kids and their families in this age of Covid.  Dr. Slade was enormously reassuring, cutting all of us lots of slack.  Clearly, she addressed a great need, as over 300 families pre-registered.  Shout out to TKU for ensuring that the tech connection was seamless.

April 28, 2020: Here's the agenda for today's really fun Zoom play session.  Jasper's live music was definitely the highlight for us, but we also enjoyed the Wind Dance.

April 23, 2020: PENCIL launched its Principal for a Day program with a webinar for over 100 business leaders, where four NYC DOE principals discussed the challenges they face in this era of virtual classrooms.  While students and families are indeed facing daunting hurdles, it was heartening to hear about some of the unexpected silver linings, including increased student engagement and teachers having an opportunity to teach what they are passionate about, rather than teaching to the test.  The consensus was that virtual learning would become an important educational component even after students return to their classrooms.

April 20, 2020:  LO’s Transition to College Workshops thoughtfully introduce high school seniors to many of aspects of college life.  Today’s fascinating session explored responsible and irresponsible use of social media in a campus setting.  Director of College Access Bethsheba Cooper led this nuanced and incredibly informative discussion.  (Oh…everyone on the call wore a crazy hat, adding a bit of fun to staid Zoom.)

April 13, 2020: Sat in on a rehearsal for “At the Rialto”, a remix of “The Merchant of Venice” by students at the Evander Childs HS Campus.  Pictured above are Shylock (Marasia Coates Pena, on left) and Jessica (Miladys Sanchez), who both knocked it out of the park!

March 30, 2020:  Took part in our very first virtual public creative writing workshop, wonderfully led by Marcy Wolf.  We were utterly unsurprised by our fellow writers’ talent and great stylistic variety, but totally wowed by where they Zoomed in from – Maine, Chicago, the Berkshires, Connecticut, Minneapolis, Ontario, India (!)…and Brooklyn.

March 12, 2020: Four MOVE dancers spent an intensive five days with four dancers from the National Ballet of Scotland’s Youth Outreach Program and jointly created “Citizen”, an amazing 11-minute piece that beautifully combined traditional Scottish and American movement elements.  

February 28, 2020: While visiting the NYPD’s OPTIONS youth outreach/violence prevention program, we met D’Angelo, a college freshmen who has been working with his local precinct for the last five years.  D’Angelo is leaving town next fall to attend the Georgia State Police Academy and then resume his college career.  He also wants to continue building bridges between the community and the police.

February 25, 2020:  Attended a fascinating discussion by legal journalist Dahlia Lithwick on upcoming Supreme Court cases impacting reproductive rights.  Lithwick posited that an exclusive focus on Roe v. Wade was a mistake, as several lower-profile cases could severely limit access to family planning clinics. 

February 20, 2020: Sat in on the very first session of Read’s newly expanded training program for high school students who will work as paid tutors to struggling young readers.  Interestingly, a recent NY Times front page article discussed how phonics was highly effective but seldom deployed in reading instruction.  Read Alliance has been using this approach since its founding 20 years ago!

February 13, 2020:  We were thrilled to see that the CWP 2.0 pilot has partnered with NYU's Steinhardt School of Education.  As a result, the high school participants, who are creating technology-informed art, now have direct and meaningful exposure to life on campus (sessions take place at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering).  What an exciting value-added! 

February 4, 2020:  Great introductory visit today to Queens Defenders’ storefront in Far Rockaway, one of two hubs in the borough for its array of youth programs.  During today’s after school session, local teens tutored elementary schoolers.

January 30, 2020: Gibney Accelerator participant Loreal Quiroz gave a workshop performance that used dance, spoken word, and video projection to explore how the proliferation of plastic waste is choking our planet.

Janaury 17, 2020:  At Gallop's Forest Hills stable, we were excited to visit the organization's Youth Development pilot program, which provides job training, therapeutic riding, and social supports to special needs public school students.

January 8, 2019: We loved hanging out at Scholrship Plus's winter gathering, where current college students networked and shared their challenges and triumphs over the last six months.  The ongoing financial, professional, and emotional supports they receive from Scholarship Plus are allowing this impressive group of young adults to truly soar!

December 20, 2019:  We were thrilled to attend the graduation ceremony for the latest cycle of Exalt participants who successfully completed in-class trainings and internship placements.  Each graduate read moving accounts of how their mentors, both at Exalt and placement sites, helped to facilitate personal transformations.   

December 16, 2019:  The Opening Doors to the Future cohort at Bronx High School of Business gave this college and career prep program huge thumbs up.  Through ODF, participants are improving their grades and attendance, gaining professional experiences through paid internships, and viewing college as a realistic and attainable goal.  

December 15, 2019: Stephen hosted a group of MOVE’s young professionals at tonight’s mainstage performance of Lazarus and Revelations.  During intermission, the group got to chat with Ailey dancer Jacqueline Harris (third from left in front row) about her dance training and subsequent career.  A truly memorable evening!

December 12, 2019:  During our visit with the Meringoff Fellows at Flushing High School, we met seniors Andrea, Ashley, and Kashya (left to right).  All three were adamant that the Fellows program prepared them well for the college inquiry process, and that unlike their non-Meringoff peers, they weren’t sweating their upcoming application deadlines.

December 4, 2019:  Swellegant and super fun evening on the town at the Ailey Gala with our friends from Gibney Dance, Cora Dance, and MOVE(NYC).

December 2, 2019:  Art installation?  Nope – just equipment storage!  Great introductory visit to this sports-based youth development organization.

November 23, 2019:  During today’s visit to GO’s Saturday session, we got observed staff members assisting eighth graders and their parents on the cumbersome and complex high school application process. We met Jackie (above right) who has been working with Hannah (on left) to finalize the list of best-fit high schools for Jackie’s son.  Jackie gave us a moving and heartfelt account of the many ways GO has facilitated his academic growth, while giving her the skills to be a forceful parent advocate.   In addition, Hannah walked us through the database she created so parents and teens can more efficiently research their high school choices.   

November 19, 2019:  Attended the NYC Youth Funders’ presentation on #DegreesNYC, a consortium of nonprofits, government agencies, and funders looking to improve college graduation rates for first-gen Black and Latinx students.  We look forward to learning more about this important initiative.

November 18, 2019: We so enjoyed meeting Taianna, Mark, and Josefine, three of the four inaugural participants in the Gibney Accelerator.  This program offers technical training, professional development, and mentorship to young dancers contemplating next steps in their performing arts education.  They are pictured with Jessie Kardos (far right), who oversees the program; the Meringoff Foundation provided the Accelerator’s seed funding.

November 14, 2019:  At Thurgood Marshall HS in Harlem, we sat in on Writopia’s writing workshop for college application personal statements. Writopia’s talented creative writing instructors are spending 20 sessions this semester guiding Marshall seniors toward compelling and persuasive college essays.  Meringoff support will allow this work to begin during the spring semester of 11th grade.

November 13, 2019:  Attended Cora’s community yoga class this morning led by City Councilmember Carlos Menchaca.  Great start to the day, and amazing to see an elected official engaging with his constituents in such an deeply personal way.

October 28, 2019: LO's high school Freshmen are already preparing for their upcoming summer internships at leading NYC law firms.  In today’s session on first impressions, we studied the above image.  Is it an old woman with a prominent nose or an elegant young woman looking over her shoulder?     

October 24, 2019:  At the annual Convocation, Eagle students sign the Legacy Book and in doing so, pledge to continue their journeys of achievement and service.  They also received the much-coveted senior cardigan; the young men created a major photo-op as they modeled their new sweaters!

October 16-18:  Met so many great colleagues and learned so much at the National Center for Family Philanthropy conference in Chicago.  Too much info to cram into one posting, but our most important takeaway was from former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who urged attendees to “make grants that make you uncomfortable”.

October 8, 2019:  We couldn’t imagine a better way to spend an early fall afternoon than joining Row’s coaching staff in a motor launch on the Harlem River.  Incredible to see the teamwork of these young oarswomen.

October 3, 2019:  Thanks to Charlotte’s ongoing commitment to KEEN’s programmatic expansion, the Meringoff Foundation was honored at its annual fundraiser.  Sadly, Charlotte couldn’t attend (for a happy reason – she was on her honeymoon!), so Stuart filled in.  This festive event’s standout star was program participant Yahaira, who wowed the crowd with her infectious enthusiasm for all things KEEN!  

October 1, 2019:  During their Upstate college visits to St. Lawrence University, SUNY Potsdam, and Mohawk Valley Community College, Epic seniors also enjoyed the Adirondacks scenery at Buttermilk Falls.  The Meringoff Foundation is a proud long-time sponsor of these horizon-expanding college trips.

September 23, 2019:  Several of us visited Camila Diaz’s terrific class which addressed the digital divide, part of Exalt’s pre-internship skills training curriculum.  We also enjoyed our tour of Exalt’s airy new Battery Park offices, which comfortably accommodate the organization’s growing numbers of youth participants.

September 19, 2019:  Attended a fascinating panel on "Is Giving by the Wealthy a Good Thing?".  Phil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy (center) cited the many societal benefits facilitated by such giving, while Rob Reich of Stanford University (right) argued about the dangers of unelected individuals dictating public policy through their targeted giving.  This timely debate was moderated by Lorie Slutsky (left) of the NY Community Trust.  

September 10, 2019:  Attended a "sneak peak" breakfast unveiling the main design themes of CMOM's new home on Central Park West in the former Christian Science Church edifice.  When the new site opens in a few years, CMOM will finally have a permanent physical space that fully accommodates its far-reaching vision of what a children's museum should be.  

August 25, 2019:  Curtain call for Summer Finale Showcase, an artistically adventurous program performed flawlessly by MOVE’s Young Professionals.

August 13, 2019: PENCIL summer intern / rising college freshman Wei speaking at the culminating event for interns and their employers.  Wei won a $2,500 scholarship for his beautifully observed essay describing his workplace experiences this summer.  A particularly impressive achievement, given that Wei came to this this country five years ago without knowing a word of English.  The Meringoff Foundation underwrote the $6,000 in scholarships awarded to the four top essay writers in this annual summer competition.

August 13, 2019 At Breakthrough’s first-ever College Application Boot Camp, Kirsten, Elijah, and Emmanuel, all rising seniors at Brooklyn Latin High School, work on winnowing their lists of colleges to explore.  To paraphrase Kirsten, “it’s not so much that we’re learning new stuff, because Breakthrough has already taught it to us, but Boot Camp gives us the time and space to actually apply what we’ve learned.”  (Note: two of the above students are identical twins!)

August 8, 2019:  Got to be a fly on the wall at the first planning meeting of the WHEELS Alumni Council.  Recent college grads Amrika, Chesnivel, Caroline, and Karla are launching their nonprofit careers, yet they all want to give back to the high school that queued them up for success.   An inspiring and impressive group!

August 7, 2019:  It was a real treat to meet Sabrina, Savannah, and Xiurong at Deloitte, where they are summer tech interns; they received their placements through PENCIL.  This trio of rising college freshmen will respectively be off to Tufts, NYU, and Rochester in the fall.  It was terrific to hear about their individual takeaways from their internship experiences, and to meet their staff supervisors, who raved about their job performance.

August 1, 2019:  “Professor Post” dispenses his transit trivia knowledge as guest lecturer at a TKU summer session on game design. 

July 31, 2019:  At Epic Next, Executive Director Ron Russell helps student writers/actors block out their newly created play on bullying.  Each summer, Epic Nexters produce two or three issue-oriented plays based on their original research and in-person interviews with affiliated stakeholders.  These plays then tour the region, generating discussion after public performances for educators, students, and community leaders.

July 25, 2019:  We were thrilled to be the only YWCA outsiders invited to the youth-planned dinner launching the YW LEAD Alumni Council.  Very exciting to see how this college access / leadership development program has grown over the last five years.  And so proud that Meringoff has been there since the very beginning!

July 25, 2019:   Our visit to the College Prep Academy coincided with its pre-RN students’ final presentations on an array of health topics, including rising senior Samantha’s PowerPoint on the negative health impacts on teens of vaping. 

July 23, 2019:  AileyCampers going through their paces.  This summer was a bit challenging, as the host school’s gym – and primary dance rehearsal space – was out of commission.  The ever-resilient Camp staff made it work, and Campers continue to thrive.

July 11, 2019:  Although Workshop leader Arva Wing (above) and the writers at Center for Independence for the Disabled have been meeting weekly for years, they couldn’t have been more welcoming.  It was a real treat to join them in today’s session, where we shared our creative written output with each other.

July 10, 2019:  Great fun to tag along with these Scholarship Plus college students – most of whom are interning this summer at WYNC – on their tour of the Whitney Biennial.

July 2, 2019:  Our friends at NY Edge sent us this photo of student artwork on display in BankUnited’s Herald Square storefront.  Tom Cornish, the Bank’s COO, was honored at NY Edge’s recent fundraiser and continues to support the organization in generous and creative ways.

June 26, 2019:  Sat in on several College Boot Camp classes, including this one where college counselor Edsel discussed the pros and cons of Early Decision and Early Action with a group of OppNet’s rising high school seniors.

June 25, 2019: Marine Lance Corporal Kaleb Woodson, Eagle Academy Class of ’18, was a guest speaker at the school’s 8th grade graduation ceremony.  Kaleb spoke about how overcame many academic challenges during his school days thanks to the encouragement of Prinicpal Meade and Eagle’s outstanding  teaching staff.

June 20, 2019:  At School in the Square's very first graduation ceremony, (L-R) Alyssa, Brnadon, Mya, Daniel, and Ashely at podium spoke about their experiences as the members of the school's inaugural incoming class, with school founder Evan Meyers looking on.  Lots of emotion at this wonderful event, which was entirely translated into Spanish as the vast majority of S2's families are first-gen Americans from the Dominican Republic.

June 12, 2019: So proud of this year’s crop of Meringoff Victory Prize winners, whose essays about their experiences with Meringoff-funded youth organizations moved and inspired us.  Each MVP received a $2,500 scholarship during our fourth-annual awards ceremony at Hill Country BBQ.  Pictured left to right are Naim from Urban Dove, Jacob from Eagle Academy, Lewis from NYSCF, Jensen from Reel Works, Ndeye from Legal Outreach, Stephen Meringoff, Jadelyn from Rocking the Boat, Rupali from NYU Metro Center College Prep Academy, Mian Hua from Breakthrough New York, M.J. from MOVE(NYC), Stuart Post, Joseph from Friends of WHEELS, and Charlotte Meringoff.

June 8, 2019:  MOVE’s sensational benefit concert featured a mix of professional and student performances, though as is always the case with MOVE, it was hard to tell them apart.  At the close of the ceremony, founders Nigel Campbell and Chanel DaSilva paid tribute to the company’s very first graduating class of high school seniors, all of whom are heading off to top college-tier dance conservatory programs.

June 6 2019:  We had a blast at this training session at John Adams H.S. in Ozone Park, where teachers from around NYC learned how to incorporate Experience Groove dance techniques into their classrooms.  

June 3, 2019:  Sat in on a training sessions for the highly interactive Hats & Ladders app, which guides teens through a range of career options based on personal interests and values.  The Meringoff Foundation is part of a funders consortium supporting the app's imminent rollout for participants in the upcoming Summer Youth Employment Program.   

May 23, 2019:  While attending the Passing the Torch ceremony for this year’s graduating seniors, Stuart was most pleasantly surprised to receive this award in recognition of MFF’s early and ongoing support of YW LEAD.  "Y’s Guy"…!!

May 17, 2019: Had lots of fun at this morning’s party for the College Prep Academy’s graduating seniors.  Stuart especially enjoyed meeting Meringoff Victory Prize runner up Cassandra (left) and finalist Rupali.  The pennants behind us represent some of the schools CPA grads will attend in September.

May 16, 2019: This morning, we met Janelle (left) and Madeline, writers/writing instructors who are spending several weeks at Harlem’s Frederick Douglas Academy helping high school juniors craft personal statements for their upcoming college applications.

May 13, 2019:  So pleased to be invited to a dinner hosted by Grantmakers for Thriving Youth – they’re in NYC for an annual conference – that highlighted SSN’s groundbreaking Elevating Student Voice program.  Fatou (left) and Omar were incredibly engaging dinner companions as they told us about their efforts to create programming that addresses unmet needs at SEO, the after-school college prep program where they’re both long-time participants.  The Meringoff Foundation is a proud supporter of Elevating Youth Voice, which gives teens from SSN's 60-plus member organizations the skills to advocate for and implement change.

May 10, 2019:  At a visit to the Ailey arts in ed residency at Dual Language MS 247 on the Upper West Side, we got to see 7th graders putting the finishing touches on the Hand Jive routine from Grease.  (Apparently, tweens still love this movie!)  We were thrilled to learn that about half of the students enrolled in AileyCamp, of which MFF is a long-time supporter, come from in-school programming like this.

May 4, 2019:  Not that many high school debaters make it to Broadway, but thanks to the rigorous training that Thursday Williams has received at Legal Outreach, she’s debating constitutional law four times a week at the Helen Hayes Theater in the Tony-nominated “What the Constitution Means to Me.”  Oh…Thursday -- whose Playbill bio is above -- and the show were terrific!

May 3, 2019: Lehman College senior / BMCC alum Bhawnah discusses “transfer shock” with Out In Two program director Jonathan Matamoros at a workshop for current Out In Two-ers about their impending move to four-year colleges.  Out In Two does a wonderful job making this difficult transition as seamless as possible for its participants.

May 1, 2019:  We visited this CPR class, part of BCC’s CERPA (Certified Recovery Peer Advocate) training program and the college’s first “stackable credit” offering.  With stackable credits, students take a series of classes over a few months and receive a certification that leads to immediate career advancement.  As these classes are fully credited, students can pursue a subsequent academic degree at any time.  While the MFF-funded Youth Associate certification course of study doesn’t launch until the fall, it was great to see the larger program in action.

April 30, 2019:  The NYPD Emerald Society’s Pipes and Drums corps provided a stirring opening to the Police Foundation’s annual gala.  One of the event’s highlight was the presentation of Hemmerdinger Awards to several NYPD officers for truly outstanding service to their communities.

April 17, 2019: Great, informal vibe at Career Night, where a wide range of professionals, many from and/or working in Washington Heights, mingled with high school seniors at a “mocktail” party.  Alas, we split just before this group photo was taken.

April 12, 2019:  Great to visit MiB’s new, beautifully renovated storefront space.  While there, this youth photography class striked a pose, with cameras purchased through a recent MFF Gen 2 grant award.

April 10, 2019:  At HEAF’s annual Career Day in Harlem, we really got to know members of the senior class, working with them on resume tips, interviewing skills, and general networking. 

April 3, 2019:  Sat in on this day-long workshop for health educators, one of many sexual health topic areas covered by Planned Parenthood’s Training Institute.

March 26, 2019:  What a treat to spend time with Mahogany, a member of CASA’s Youth Leadership Council (above left, with program coordinator Devin Arey).  Through CASA and the YLC, Mahogany has found her voice and become a formidable advocate for older teens like her aging out of the foster care system.

March 23, 2019:  The vast majority of School in the Square’s students have volunteered to attend MFF-supported after hours prep sessions for the upcoming State exams.  We were amazed to see so many kids hitting the books on a Saturday morning!

March 21, 2019:  After a routine check-in meeting at HEAF, we got to spend time with student ambassadors Issa and Pharell.  The duo’s enthusiastic commitment to their multi-year college inquiry process was proof positive that HEAF’s approach is working beautifully.

March 16, 2019:  At the College Prep Academy’s Career Day, there was targeted programming for high school students as well as their parents.  We loved sitting in on a panel for parents led by NYU’s Director of Career Services Paula Lee (L) and CPA’s Marilyn Somer.  Their common-sense guidance about being a “coach” to college-bound teens, rather than a “snowplow parent”, was very well received.

March 15, 2019:  Great to see Benj, a former TKU participant we’ve met on previous site visits, as the guest speaker at the College Access Program, which was launched with MFF Gen 2 support.  Now a freshman at Vassar, Benj gave his college-exploring peers the lowdown on campus life.

March 10, 2019:  Cora’s Youth Company in action at the organization’s annual cultivation breakfast.  It was particularly exciting to see the breadth and depth of Red Hook’s support for this much-loved community resource.

March 6, 2019:  This trio from Breakthrough (L-R, Ezria, Kim, and Samia) participated in Shark Tank, the centerpiece of SNN’s annual Youth Voice Summit.  Jst like the TV show, teen participants from several NYC youth development providers presented well thought out and researched ideas for improving programming at their individual organizations.  This Breakthrough student presentation to expand an existing peer mentorship program was particularly compelling.

February 26, 2019: Our friends at Adaptive sent us this great pic -- after its first weekend on display, the traffic cone was filled to the brim with pledges and cash donations from members of the Adaptive community.  They all met the Meringoff challenge to support the repaving of the dangerously rutted road leading to the organization’s mountainside lodge.

February 22, 2019:  It was an unexpected thrill to spend time with (L-R) Izzy, Chris, Crystal, Ruth, and Rashira.  Through CARA, these college students all work in their high school alma maters, providing one-on-one guidance to high school seniors and their families on navigating the college application process.  Exciting to see how such an impressively mature and intelligent group is exceeding this rigorous program’s high expectations.

February 20, 2019: Summer Internship alumni (L-R) Maaz, Tangema, Shadia, and Jennifer discussed their on-the-job experiences and answered many questions posed by prospective interns.  The group of three high school seniors and one college freshman displayed remarkable poise as they gave lots of great and very practical advice.

January 23, 2019:  Attended gifts, a site-based work created by Cora founder Shannon Hummel.  Two dancers and an audience limited to 30 were sequestered in a 20 x 30 storage container for a highly intense, provocative, and satisfying hour of dance and enforced confinement.

January 9, 2019: Tis the season for returning alumni.  Legal Outreach’s recent graduates, now students at top colleges, convened at LO for its annual Fireside Chat.  At this event, the alums met with grade-specific groups of current students to reflect on how they successfully met the challenges of Legal Outreach’s rigorous multiyear curriculum.

December 21, 2018: Ailey Artistic Director Robert Battle’s great talent and versatility were on full display in this powerful evening devoted exclusively to his choreography.

December 14, 2018:  The WHEELS College March – where the entire student body lines the streets of Washington Heights as the senior class snakes its way to the neighborhood post office to mail their college applications – is always a joyous and inspiring celebration of grit and academic success.  This year’s installment was extra special for the Meringoff Foundation as we got to publicly announce our $27,500 renewal grant allowing Friends of WHEELS to deepen its vital college persistence work for WHEELS alumni.

December 5, 2018:  Stephen with young dancer Bryan Hutcheson, the first recipient of a scholarship to the Ailey/Fordham BFA program made possible by a multiyear grant from the Meringoff Foundation.

December 4, 2018:  So exciting that Cora is fully settled into its permanent new home in Red Hook, where we observed Charisma Glaspar teaching her Level 2 Modern class of seven and eight year-olds.  The Meringoff Foundation provided multiyear seed funding for the gut renovation of this storefront studio.

December 1, 2018:  Noted hip-hop dancer and choreographer Rennie Harris leads a masterclass on the history of street dance for AileyCamp alums.  What a fascinating class to sit in on!

November 26, 2018:  Opening Doors to the Future, CHCF’s young men’s leadership development program at the Bronx High School of Business, is now co-ed!  During our visit, we were particularly impressed with program directors Onyx (lower left) and Isaac (lower right).

November 18, 2018:  We visited three classes at TKU’s twice-monthly Sunday session.  The youngest students were creating desktop-based apps with Java Script, the older teens working on augmented reality slide shows, and the most advanced students pictured above designing a website for a nonprofit client in Arizona.  So much great work taking place!

November 13, 2018:  CASA Executive Director Kerry Moles (far left) with Nigel, Khadijah, Rosie, and Pedro, members of the organization’s Youth Leadership Council.  The Council was formed seven months ago and is comprised of teens in the foster care system, as well as young adults who recently aged out of the system.  Its members planned all aspects of this panel discussion, which offered an unblinking look at life as a foster care youth.  Our main takeaway:  in a world where foster parents and caseworkers can come and go, CASA’s volunteers are unwavering in their unconditional support, advocacy, and friendship.

November 10, 2018:  Epic sent us several great pix from its fall college trips, which were supported by the Meringoff Foundation.  Epic is particularly adept at matching students to colleges and many of its alums end up attending schools they were introduced to on these trips.  The above photo, taken at Hobart William Smith, was part of an Upstate NY swing that also included Buffalo State and Niagara University.

November 5, 2018:  Our favorite of the many fun activities at the Extreme Kids P.S. 15 after school program in Red Hook?  Shaping chocolate chip cookies before putting them in the oven.  (And we will not admit to stealing a bite of raw cookie dough...!)

November 1, 2018:  Amanda (left) and Kassandra (right) at the Friends’ annual Founders Breakfast.  Kassandra oversees mental health services for the NYC Nurse-Family Partnership and Amanda was the very first grant recipient, two years ago, of a Friends micro grant.  Amanda used her grant to become a certified substance abuse prevention counselor and has recently joined the NFP staff as an outreach coordinator.

October 26, 2018:  Brooklyn Youth Part Judge Craig Walker introduces Justin R. at Exalt’s Yale Club cultivation event.  Justin spoke movingly and compellingly about how his experiences at Exalt got him back on track, both personally and educationally.

October 16, 2018:  It was fascinating to chat with staff Senior Scientist Dr. Brigham Hartley during the cocktail hour of NYSCF’s annual science fair/gala.  Hartley, originally from Australia, focuses his research on using stem cells to find a cure for schizophrenia.

October 12, 2018:  Such a treat to meet Carl Jackman, OppNet’s first-ever staff social worker.  Meringoff funding helped facilitate his recent hire.  Lots of luck, Carl, in this important new position!

October 8, 2018:  We really enjoyed this riveting show and Co-Artistic Director Melissa Friedman’s stand-out performance.  Based on real-life rocket scientist Werner von Braun’s career in Nazi Germany and post-War America, the play raised many uncomfortable truths.  It will also be a great learning tool for the hundreds of high school students who’ll be attending during its month-long run.

October 4, 2018:  NFP nurse Carol Wei leads the group in fun literacy games and songs at a Mommy and Me Storytime at the Bed-Stuy branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

September 21, 2018: It was a real honor to be invited by the Foundation Center to speak on a panel about cultivating relationships with family foundations.  Pictured left to right are panel moderator, Tony Matrignetti from the Nonprofit Radio podcast; Foundation Center Senior Librarian Susan Shiroma; past Meringoff grantee partner / newly appointed Executive Director of the Read Alliance Danielle Guindo; and Stuart.  Danielle and Stuart loved sharing tips with grant seekers on how to access the world of family foundations.  Here's the link to the panel:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l04SFKuFw6M.

September 14, 2018:  At this morning’s networking breakfast, keynote speaker Chancellor Richard Carranza outlined four simple but compelling goals for the NYC Department of Education: academic excellence, empowering communities, supporting the Department’s 145,000-person workforce, and advancing equity.

August 29, 2018:  On a sweltering August day, what could be more fun than hanging out with  day campers and staff at Extreme Kids’ Ridgwood, Queens site?  Nothing

August 16, 2018:  Epic’s College Essay Boot Camp workshop felt a bit like a group therapy session.  Through creating theater together, these rising high school seniors – and their adult mentors not pictured – have developed incredibly tight bonds, and as a group helped each other develop compelling and deeply individual essay topics.

August 15, 2018:  At MOVE’s summer intensive, we saw discipline, talent, and loving mentorship in abundance.  Through MOVE, these high school teens are training to attend the very best conservatory-level dance programs to pursue their passion and further hone their considerable skills.

August 9, 2018:  At RTB's annual scholarship awards dinner, RTB Executive Director Adam Green (right) shows RTB alum Sheronda (left, with her mom at center), now a Junior at Penn State, a snapshot of the completed boat she worked on while still in high school.  Sheronda credits her years as a high school boat builder as key to her decision to pursue an undergraduate degree in Engineering!

July 31, 2018:  Sat in on an ice breaker exercise with this group of high school and college students with summer internships secured through PENCIL.  Twenty-five PENCIL interns participated in Telling Your Professional Story, a workshop led by Rachel DuBois, Assistant Director of NYU Wagner’s Office of Career Services.  Rachel encouraged the interns to use personal values to inform career exploration and set themselves apart in the job search process.  This is an interesting approach, where job seekers take a much more active role.

July 25, 2019:  Police Officer Salvatore Tramontana (#10), aka “RoboCop”, keeps up with decades-younger Brownsville, Brooklyn teens on the court.  Meringoff Foundation funding allows the Police Foundation to support NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers as they deeply engage and mentor at-risk youth in a variety of community settings.

July 23, 2018:  We got to sit in on the fourth day of Exalt’s latest career readiness training cohort.    Adjunct instructor Ashley (right) and his teaching assistant (and Exalt alum!) Akim led participants in a discussion of seeing both sides of a controversial issue.  Earlier in the day, the teens’ mock interviews were filmed.  The workshop series gives these young people the skills and confidence to obtain and thrive in competitive internship placements.

July 19, 2018:  It was a great pleasure to take these young dancers to a powerful and thought provoking performance by the Bastsheva Dance Company.  The Move teens were a rapt audience and once again impressed us with their thoughtful insights as we gathered after the show.

July 18, 2018:  During TKU’s Game Design summer course, held in conjunction with the NY Transit Museum, it made perfect sense to invite Stuart, who co-hosts the Museum’s annual Transit Trivia event, to guest lecture.   Teacher had a blast and the students didn’t throw any tomatoes!

July 16, 2018:  Mentors were paired with their mentees, and they all took part in a fun series of ice breakers to get to know each other through RTB’s newly-launched college persistence program, supported in part by the Meringoff Foundation.  Mentors are RTB alumni who are college upperclassmen and recent graduates, their mentees RTB’s 2018 high school graduates heading off to college.  It looks like these matches are going to stick!

July 13, 2018:  Legal Outreach teens presenting highlights from their week at Stroock and Stroock, a major NYC law firm.  During the summer, each rising 10th grader participates in four mini-internships at various law firms, legal nonprofits, and with individual judges.  The Stroock group told us about working with summer associates and staff lawyers on a mock trial, as well as the great lunches these lawyers hosted for them.   

July 11, 2018:  BTNY teaching fellows – and current Columbia students – Clare and Anna during their “College Knowledge” presentation at the organization’s Bronx site.  Each day, Breakthrough’s college-level teaching fellows prepare informal talks about the unique advantages of their individual campuses.  College exposure is a central to Breakthrough’s work with rising 7th, 8th, and 9th graders.

 June 26, 2018:  Eagle’s graduation is always a fun and moving celebration of student achievement.  This year’s ceremony featured two extra-special highlights: a Salutatorian address by Meringoff Victory Prize winner Malachi Wade and a keynote speech by Eagle’s ever-inspiring principal, Rashad Meade.

June 17, 2018: “Honorary Judge” Stuart awarding a ribbon to Gallop rider Emily at the organization’s annual Ride with Pride horseshow on a glorious afternoon in Central Park.  This bucolic event also featured a tribute to Gallop’s tireless volunteers, including Meringoff Victory Prize runner up Katie Mak.

June 16, 2018:  The Vicious Psi steppers from Forest Hills High School traveled to Atlanta to participate in the national step finals.  While in Atlanta, they toured Spellman College, above.  The Meringoff Foundation provided a mini-grant that made this exciting trip possible.

June 14, 2018:  On our way to the Ailey performance at Lincoln Center, we were thrilled to see AileyCamp national director Nasha Thomas leading a master class on the public plaza.  From 1986 to 1998, Nasha was an Ailey principal dancer, but she clearly still has all of her moves!

June 11, 2018:  The Scholarship Plus Awards Night was a three-handkerchief affair:  ten rising college freshmen paid tribute to a teacher who helped them get into this highly competitive program, and the teachers in turn spoke of their students’ inspiring successes.  We’re proud to be a new funder to this hands-on organization that provides supplemental financial assistance -- and lots of “plus” -- to ensure successful college careers for its cohort of low-income, first-gen students.

June 10, 2018:  MOVE(NYC)’s Young Professionals Ensemble all dressed up after their stand-out performances at MOVE’s sensational benefit dance concert.  These teen dancers shared the stage with professionals and more than held their own.  MOVE provides free supplemental training that prepares these kids for success at the most competitive college/conservatory-level training programs.

June 7, 2018:  Eagle Brooklyn Principle Rashad Meade kicks off a professional development session for teachers across the Eagle network.  Mr. Meade and his staff took the lead in planning this day, which included the instructional staffs from the Harlem and Jamaica, Queens campuses.

June 5, 2018:  Alumni Support director Jasmine Daniels led a two-day College Bridge workshop for WHEELS graduates who are rising college freshmen.  This workshop in specific – and so much of Friends of WHEELS’ work in general – is designed to facilitate a smooth transition from high school to college.  Meringoff Foundation funding supports Jasmine’s college persistence work with WHEELS alums.

June 2, 2018:  RTB’s spring launch was a great block party, complete with burgers, dogs, and live music.  But the real highlight was the christening of this beauty, a classic Herreshoff design that students spent two years building.  It joins RTB’s Bronx River sailing instruction fleet.

May 30, 2018:  While at the Ailey Dance Center, we passed the Judith Jamison Education Suite.  Stephen Meringoff requested that the Foundation’s recent capital campaign gift be recognized as a tribute to Ms. Jamison’s storied artistic career at Ailey.

May 23, 2018:  It was terrific to check in with the Meringoff Scholars program at Flushing High School.  During our visit, College Counselor Starr Alexis discussed a range of college prep spring to-dos with this group of high school juniors.  Many of these teens expressed confidence in their ability to navigate the college inquiry and application process through the support they receive from Starr and her colleagues at New York Edge.  After the session, we were thrilled to learn that many of the Scholars’ GPAs have increased 10-20% (!) since joining the program.

May 17, 2018:  We wouldn’t have missed this year’s Barn Dance benefit for the world – founding Executive Director Alicia Kershaw, who recently announced her retirement, was the evening’s honoree.  Fortunately, Alicia will transition to the organization’s board of directors, so she won’t be going far!

May 12, 2018:  Breakthrough’s College Decision Day was a more intimate affair than the HEAF event on May 10, and we were really wowed by the incredibly sense of camaraderie and mutual support displayed by this crew.  Oh…and they really, really like their BTNY instructors!

May 8, 2018:  OppNet College Counselor Nancy Corona leads a budgeting session for college-bound high school seniors.  Our main take-away: stay away from daily take-out lattes!  Nancy was great with the teens and she's a terrific addition to the OppNet team; her hire was made possible in part by Meringoff Foundation funding.

May 6, 2018:  Thanks to a technology assist, the family overcame geographic separation to judge this year’s essay finalists in the Meringoff Victory Prize scholarship competition.   

May 3, 2018:  At the annual Felix Awards fundraiser, Carrie Coon and Susan Pourfar performed a scene from playwright Amy Herzog’s award-winning “Mary Jane”, which addresses the challenges faced by the mom of a special needs child.  Herzog, along with her stage director husband Sam Gold, were the evening’s honorees.

May 1, 2018:  At today’s fundraising luncheon, Charlotte and Stuart loved hearing Abby Goldstein and several of her nursing colleagues discuss the many ways Friends of the NYC Nurse-Family Partnership allows young mothers to achieve their educational goals.

April 28, 2018:  Charlotte and Stuart had a great introduction to Keen’s swim program at the 92nd Street Y, which pairs community volunteers with special needs kids for a fun afternoon in the pool.

April 25, 2018:  We really enjoyed meeting Naiyiri at BMCC’s Transfer Workshop for current Out In Two students preparing to move on to four-year colleges.  An Out In Two alum and current Junior at Lehman College, Naiyiri talked about the opportunities and pitfalls she's experienced in senior college.  She also reminded workshop attendees that the many student supports at BMCC and Out In Two do not necessarily abound in senior colleges.  Through great mentors and internship opportunities, as well as smarts and grit, Naiyiri is effectively pursuing a career in Marine Biology.

April 20, 2018:  The 6 winners of Legal Debater of the Year display their trophies and cash awards as the volunteer judges, all lawyers in NYC, look on.  During the finals of this annual competition in the august chambers of Federal Court in lower Manhattan, the two top Sophomore, Junior, and Senior debaters gave Supreme Court-style arguments in a case involving freedom of speech.  We were really struck with the students’ display of great research and presentation skills, and impressed with their ability to think on their feet as the judges peppered them with questions.

March 23, 2018:  We’re enormously pleased to see the incredible growth of the YW Lead college prep / leadership development program.  The incoming cohort of 40 freshmen and sophomores is a huge increase to last year’s group of 15.  Through YW Lead, these young women will receive great prep for, and assistance with, the daunting college application process. And once they’re in college (in the blink of an eye!), they’ll have the tools to persist and succeed.

March 14, 2018:  During a routine meeting, Executive Director Adam Green took us through the boat building workshop, where we saw this irreparably damaged but classic row boat from the 1940s.  As a fee-for-service project, students will literally strip the boat down to determine its design, then rebuild a new version from scratch.  RTB students have built many classic boats before, but always from an existing plan.  This time, they’ll be creating the plan. What an exciting learning opportunity!

March 12, 2018:  Sat in on a workshop for the young men enrolled in CHCF’s Opening Doors to the Future program at the Bronx High School for Business.  These juniors and seniors, who are all currently placed in afterschool internships, were putting the finishing touches on their applications for summer jobs.  Through this terrific program, the teens are back on track academically and making plans to continue their education after graduation.

February 28, 2018:  Extreme Kids’ monthly “Cocktails & Bureaucracy” parent get together addressed a difficult subject: sexuality and adolescence for children with disabilities.  Blogger / autism advocate Kirsten Lindsmith led the conversation and provided parents with a wealth of resources.

February 22, 2018:  At today’s training for the latest crop of PENCIL Fellows summer interns, we got to meet Asher Kennedy, who was in the very first Fellows cohort back in 2009.  Asher’s introduction to Finance through the summer internship he secured through PENCIL was the start of something big – Asher is now working in a wealth management group at Morgan Stanley!

February 15, 2018:  Members of the Gibney company at the close of “Hands Are For Holding”, a school assembly program that uses dance as a tool for preventing dating violence and promoting healthy relationships.  This highly interactive program, which was a hit with its audience of high school students, was a vivid demonstration of Gibney’s deep engagement with the communities it serves.

February 8, 2018:  These student Ambassadors gave us a wonderful overview of life at School in the Square, a new charter school serving Manhattan’s Washington Heights.

February 3, 2018:  Such a treat to see the talented members of MOVE/NYC in action at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Kids Festival. MOVE provides free pre-professional training for promising young NYC dancers and prepares them to attend the most competitive dance conservatories nationwide.

January 30, 2018:  Rhea Wong (formerly Executive Director of Meringoff grantee Breakthrough New York) leads a discussion on successful foundation site visits for the Catalog’s current members.  The Catalog provides three years of financial support, as well as technical assistance, to a cohort of 15 NYC youth-serving nonprofits.

January 11, 2018:  YW LEAD members with NY State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and NYC Public Advocate Letitia James at the Y’s program marking 100 years of US women’s suffrage.  During the program, some of these young women posed a series of questions to a panel of local women politicians.

January 6, 2018:  Stephen and Stuart attended Metro Center's annual alumni panel.  Despite frigid temperatures, over 30 program alums participated, sharing their hard-earned insights on campus life with the current crop of college-bound seniors.  Interestingly, several panelists noted that good grades alone weren't sufficient to secure coveted internship and employment opportunites; they stressed the importance of gaining "real life" experience via campus and community activities.

December 12, 2017:  Turns out, building freestanding structures out of dry spaghetti and marshmallows isn't so easy.  This team-building session was part of GO's work -- supported by the Meringoff Foundation -- to help its elementary school students successfully transition to middle school.

November 28, 2017:  It was a great pleasure to introduce a newly-formed family foundation to Epic's great work.  Together, we attended Epic Next's performance of "Building Blocks, Colorful Minds,” an original play based on extensive student field research about the lack of STEM education opportunities in urban communities of color.  As expected, the piece was compellingly thought provoking, and it looks like Epic now has a new funder!

November 15, 2017: Stephen was thrilled to host Danielle (far left) and Sabrina (far right), high school seniors and active members of the YW Lead program, at his table at the Brooklyn Historical Society Fall Gala.  It was a great opportunity for these young women to learn more about BHS’s mission; it was also a fun night out on the town!  Danielle Guindo, the Y’s Program Director, joined us as well.

November 6, 2017: Extreme Kids founder and Board Chair Eliza Factor read from her new memoir, “Strange Beauty: A Portrait of My Son,” for an intimate group of the organization’s supporters.   Felix, the book’s subject, was the inspiration for Extreme Kids’ creation. 

October 28, 2017:  Brothers Mustafa and Salah are clearly big fans of the ball pit at Extreme Kids and Crew's new family play space at PS 71 in Ridgewood, Queens.  Meringoff Gen 2 support helped to outfit this fun zone, but this was the first time we've seen it in use.  So great to meet many local families, who all gave the space and Extreme Kids' programming there, a big thumbs up!

October 24, 2017: So great to meet Jasmine Daniels, who was hired in August with support from the Meringoff Foundation.  In her new position as Alumni Outreach Coordinator, Jasmine is working with recent graduates of WHEELS (Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School).  With many of them attending various CUNYs, she is spending considerable time on these local campuses making sure that WHEELS alums are getting what they need to thrive in college.

October 23, 2017: Attended a "College 201" workshop, where a group of highly-engaged OppNet high school juniors learned about the online search tools to help them launch the beginning stages of an informed college inquiry process.  It was great to see Nancy Corona co-lead this interactive session, as Meringoff support helped to fund her newly-created position.

October 19, 2017: The highlight of the wonderful Eagle Convocation ceremony:  the senior class appearing onstage with their spanking new Eagle cardigan sweaters.  This ceremony, where each Eagle senior was urged to "finish the race" and ensure that all of his fellow scholars do so as well, was an inspiring celebration of community responsibility. 

October 16, 2017:  So great to meet the Meringoff Fellows at Flushing High School.  This cohort of 20 hand-picked juniors will receive two years of intensive, hands-on college prep, inquiry, and application guidance from newly-hired SASF staff based at their school.  Can't wait to see where this group ends up!

September 26, 2017:  The Y just forwarded us this terrific photo of participants from the YW Lead program, who took to the streets today to register voters in advance of November's election.

August 16, 2017: We were thrilled to attend the awards banquet for this year’s crop of college-bound RTBers, each of whom received a $2,500 scholarship award.  The Meringoff Foundation provided a $10,000 challenge for these scholarships, which generated an additional $15,000 from other donors.

August 12, 2017:  Epic’s Jim Wallert moderates an audience talkback with the casts of “Building Blocks: Colorful Minds” and “Laundry City” after a double bill performance.  Both works were researched and created by Epic Next students, and reflect various educational inequities they have experienced in their daily lives.  Building Blocks explores the dearth of STEM educational opportunities, and subsequent barriers to employment in STEM-related fields, faced by students of color; Laundry City examines the de facto segregation in NYC’s public schools.  Both of these shows – casts included – will tour in many community settings across NY State.

August 10, 2017:  At Urban Dove’s summer camp in Bed Stuy, teen counselors – all students at the Urban Dove Team Charter School – led what looked like a really fun craft project.  Alas, we were sad to see that no adult-sized t-shirts were on offer…!!  Our visit was also a great opportunity to hear about Urban Dove’s plans to open a second school in the Bronx in 2018 to replicate its successes with struggling high school students in Brooklyn.

August 5, 2017:   Observed a College Boot Camp session for several of Breakthrough’s rising college Freshmen.  BTNY’s director of College and Career Success provided a workshop on the academic, wellness, financial, and career supports available on campus. In the fall, they’ll be off to Lawrence College, Middlebury, SUNY Geneseo, DePaul, Medgar Evers Community College, Babson, NYU, Dickinson, and SUNY Binghampton.  And two of these impressive teens will be getting full-ride Posse scholarships!     

August 4, 2017:  Young associates at Morgan Stanley hosted an incredibly informative panel discussion for PENCIL Fellows interested in careers in finance.  Panelists discussed the importance of grit and persistence, suggested “side door” entrances to competitive corporate internships, and stressed that curiosity, attention to detail, and the ability to make genuine human connections are key ingredients to corporate success.

July 31, 2017:  Sailing instructor Alyssa, a rising sophomore at the University of Albany (and longtime RTB participant), preps younger students at the start of a four-day sail to Connecticut.  Her impressive leadership skills are a wonderful testament to RTB's unique approach to youth development.

July 21, 2017:  Back with TKU, this time to see campers’ final presentations for their "client", the NY Transit Museum, of the subway-inspired computer games they designed over the past week.  While Benji’s Subway Turnstile Dodger looks particularly fun, we will continue to use a MetroCard!

July 21, 2017:  At Extreme Kids’ summer camp in Red Hook, it’s quite clear that the ingredients for incredibly fun and interactive water play are pretty simple: a garden hose and a couple of plastic tubs and buckets.  (It took every ounce of Stuart’s restraint to stay dry.)

July 19, 2017:  Interim Director Gayle Villani (R) attracted some seriously exciting guests to a career panel for middle school students enrolled in Go’s summer program.  Executives from a fashion house, a television production company, and a music record label talked about the career paths that led them to their dream jobs, and answered lots and lots of questions from highly engaged Go kids.

July 18, 2017: At the start of TKU’s week-long summer camp session on designing interactive video games for “client” NY Transit Museum, Stuart spoke to campers about his regular gig hosting the Museum’s annual Transit Trivia contest.  Transportation geeks of all ages get really excited about transit-themed games!

June 19, 2017:  With Meringoff Foundation support, a group of Epic students attended a two-day college tour of Upstate New York, with stops at Hamilton College and SUNY Oneonta.  We were excited to learn that several Epic students who attended a round of fall college trips, which the Foundation also supported, will be matriculating at schools they visited then, including Ithaca College, Buffalo State, Saint Lawrence University, Marist College, and SUNY Albany.  

June 9, 2017:  Attended a training for Early Childhood instructors in the Bronx, as part of CMOM’s “All the Way to K and Beyond” program we support.  Museum educators modeled simple arts and movement exercises that these teachers – and their students’ caregivers – can use to promote early literacy development in everyday activities.  

June 6, 2017:  Here is the 2017 cohort of nine Meringoff Victory Prize winners of $2,500 scholarships.  It was great to finally meet this group of high school seniors, after getting to know them so well through the essays they submitted about their experiences with our grantee partners.  This competition rewards outstanding NYC teens while tangibly demonstrating that great nonprofits can truly change lives.

May 19, 2017:  Executive Director Aaron Zimmerman welcomes guests to the NYWC 15th anniversary celebration.  The Foundation was proud to support this event and the dozens of creative writing workshop groups made possible by its proceeds.

May 18, 2017:  It was a real honor to meet Officers Dan Sendrowski and John Campanella at the Police Foundation’s annual fundraising gala.  They were the first NYPD on the scene after last fall’s terrorist bombing in Chelsea and are truly New York’s finest!

May 9, 2017: Thrilling to see how quickly RTB Board President Carla Murphy used our $10,000 challenge to raise an additional $19,000 in college scholarship support for this year’s graduating seniors at the annual Whitehall Awards fundraiser at the New York Yacht Club.

May 2, 2017:  At Adaptive’s Warriors in Motion Master Chef Celebration, Stuart was interviewed by Carla Hall of ABC’s The Chew about the importance of supporting the organization’s sports programs for disabled veterans.  It was a thrill to meet Carla, and yes, she’s just as warm and friendly in person as on TV!

April 27, 2017:  Communications consultant Marti Fischer leads a workshop for youth serving nonprofits on perfecting their elevator pitches; Meringoff funding supports the Catalog’s work of building the capacity of its cohort members.  Marti’s presentation was absolutely top notch, and as were the workshop participants.  The Catalog’s cohort members are an impressive group!

April 19, 2017:  Stephen and Stuart attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for NYCF’s new headquarters, which combines gleaming, state of the art labs with great public spaces to allow researchers to interact with the general public.  We’re particularly proud of the above named space, which provides a calming respite for NYSCF’s incredibly hard working staff.

April 16, 2017: Congratulations to Gallop rider Leah Kest, who took home the title of Reserve Champion at the Long Island Horse Show Series for Riders with Disabilities!

March 27, 2017: Jim Wallert leads 9th grade English students at the Chelsea Career and Technical HS in a dialogue writing workshop.  Through Epic’s 20-session residency, these students are adapting Antigone to 1990 NYC, where Creon is now the visiting Pope who has banned dancing; his niece, the Mayor’s daughter, defies the edict by dancing with her boyfriend on Fifth Ave…  Drama indeed! 

March 13, 2017: Had a wonderful time at NYWC’s new “Writing Aloud” series at a café in downtown Brooklyn.  Poet Sam Sax kicked off the evening with an incredibly engaging reading of several of his short works.  He then gave the assembled audience a writing prompt (“Write an invented origin story for something you love.  A song, a food, god, your city -- anything you absolutely love.  Begin your piece with the phrase ‘In The Beginning.’”).  We had 15 minutes to write, then the evening transformed into an open mic.  This exciting evening wonderfully blurred the lines between artist and audience.

March 11, 2017:  For the first-time ever, there was a tie in SASF’s annual Step Dance competition.  Nineteen of the organization’s afterschool sites entered a team, but the judges couldn’t decide between Brownsville’s P.S./I.S. 66 Diamond Steppers and Sunset Park’s M.S. 663K Diversity, as both of their sets were off the charts.  After much deliberation, two winners were declared.  Full disclosure: Stuart was one of the ten judges.

March 2, 2017:  The Foundation’s first international site visit!  Katie (center) and Stuart had an inspiring visit with Katie Piper (right) and Carla Cornwell (left) at the London-based Katie Piper Foundation.  After she was severely burned in an acid attack nine years ago, Katie P. founded this organization to provide services to other burns survivors.  We discussed a potentially far reaching grant, where the Meringoff Foundation would support KPF’s work to get the UK’s National Health Insurance to cover increased services to burns survivors.   

Feb 21, 2017: Had a great meeting with Weill Cornell’s Dr. Grace Sun, who just returned from a week in Dodoma, Tanzania (above).  Her team, with colleagues from the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, screened over 2,000 patients and performed 440 cataract surgeries.  While on these semi-annual visits, the NY and Utah doctors also provide ongoing training to several Tanzanian ophthalmologists, which has greatly increased local surgical capacity.   

January 21, 2017: It was great to meet Whitney, seated at desk.  She’s the part-time Academy Program Administrator whose salary is being underwritten by the Meringoff Foundation.  She’s also an Academy alum who went on to earn a BA and Masters in Economics at NYU.  Whitney and longtime program volunteer Jumanah (who just earned her Masters in Music from Columbia) are getting ready to teach an Algebra Regents Exam prep class.  (Stuart discovered that he’s forgotten nearly all of the Algebra he learned 40 years ago!)

January 5, 2017:  Darren, Irie, and Kenneth pose with some of the professional-grade video equipment purchased through our Gen 2 grant; they’re currently “test driving” the cameras with the music video they’re working on.  This equipment will officially debut next month as MiB’s launches video workshops for local youth.  Best of all, these workshops, and all of MiB’s programs which engage young Brownsville residents in the creative economy, will take place in its newly acquired storefront home. 

December 17, 2016:  It’s always a treat to attend UW’s annual NYC Youth Poet Laureate competition, the finals of which were held at the NY Public Library main branch.  Winner Sharon Lin, pictured above with Urban Word Executive Director Michael Cirelli, will spend her year-long reign working to engage local youth in the electoral process.  And as Youth Poet Laureate, she’ll see a volume of her poetry published by an independent publishing house.

December 2, 2016:  Stephen greets the Directors of AileyCamp's nine national sites (Atlanta, Baltimore, Berkeley, Chicaco, Kansas City, Miami, New York, Newark, and Seattle), who met in NYC for advanced training and to share their best practices in youth development.  The Meringoff Foundation supports this annual convening. 

November 29, 2016:  So much to see during our visit to the Eagle Academy Extended Day for middle school students: classes in fitness, martial arts, music production, forensics, step dancing, drumming, and barbering.  Stuart needed a trim, but someone was already in the barber's chair!

November 14, 2016:  Traveled up to the Bronx High School for Business to check in on the Young Men’s Initiative we helped to launch there.  These young men, many of them English Language Learners, are being kept on track through CHCF’s effective and practical infusion of work, life, and academic skills instruction.

November 3, 2016:  At a cultivation event in Dumbo, Brooklyn, Charlotte announces our three-year challenge grant to support Extreme Kids’ expansion to additional schools. Her steadfast support has been key to the careful growth of this outstanding organization. 

 October 25, 2016:  We had the great pleasure of getting a first-hand account of Weill Cornell's on-the-ground work of improving eye care in Tanzania from Dr. Frank Sandi.  An ophthalmologist based in Dodoma, Tanzania, Dr. Sandi has received extensive mentoring and advanced training from his colleagues at Weill Cornell.  The Meringoff Foundation supports this international exchange.  Pictured above are, L to R, Dr. Grace Sun (Weill Cornell), Stephen Meringoff, Dr. Sandi, and Dr. Donald D'Amico (Weill Cornell).

October 20, 2016:  Stephen (right) talks with fellow engineer Paul McCoy (center) at the annual NYSCF gala.  This unique event gives guests an opportunity to meet the men and women on the frontlines of stem cell research.  Mr. McCoy, NYSCF’s Principal Automation Engineer, is designing the machinery used by stem cell researchers to develop individualized treatment options for colon cancer patients.

October 13, 2016:  At NYWC’s poetry salon, writing workshop leaders and participants read their work alongside poetry VIPs Carl Hancock Rux, NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray, and Pulitzer Prize winner Vijay Seshadri (above).

September 27, 2016: At PENCIL’s annual gala, Fox-5 newscaster Rosanna Scotto interviewed several students, who provided disarmingly unscripted observations about their real world experiences with local corporations through the PENCIL Partners program.  

September 22, 2016:  During Katie and Stuart's visit to Manhattan Family Court, we were thrilled to see LIFT staffers assist parents without legal representation in navigating the complexities of family law and the Family Court system. 

August 18, 2016: At the culminating event for PENCIL Fellows, we met many impressive young leaders including Abdoulaye, Sabina, and Kalen. Over the summer, they respectively interned at Theaterworks USA, Brooklyn Public Library, and Golden Touch. Stephen Meringoff delivered the evening’s keynote address and the Foundation once again underwrote the cash awards for the annual PENCIL Fellows scholarship competition.

August 15, 2016:  At the Epic Next summer intensive at City College, the collected group – Epic’s most advanced students – offered supportive critiques to a group of rising 10th graders on their dramatic monologues.  Over the next two years, their monologues, which will continue to develop, will be a key as they apply to college drama programs.

August 11, 2016:  At RTB’s first-ever awards ceremony for its college-bound graduating seniors, Stephen Meringoff looks on as Executive Director Adam Green presents a scholarship check to Kevin F., who is heading to SUNY New Paltz.  All of the seniors wrote essays about their experiences at RTB.  Kevin’s piece was particularly eloquent: “Watching a wooden boat form from a single piece of wood to a full sized 25-foot steamboat is humbling.  As I helped build he boat, I slowly built my character.  Having dedication and passion for creating something larger than I had ever imagined is my greatest achievement so far….Seeing that boat develop made me realize I too could develop and become something.”  The Meringoff Foundation contributed to the scholarship fund that directly supports young leaders like Kevin.

August 10, 2016: At TKU’s summer camp program at NYU Poly in downtown Brooklyn, students learn “Scratch” coding to facilitate digital storytelling.  Each week of this eight-week program covers different topics, including video editing, 3-D printing, and creating customized tech tools for actual clients like the NY Transit Museum and Pace University.

August 8, 2016: At KAVI’s summer program on the campus of Wingate High School in Crown Heights, high school students spent their first four weeks in intensive leadership and workshop facilitation trainings.  For the last two weeks (when we visited), they demonstrated their new-found skills by running all aspects of an abbreviated camp program for younger kids.  As part of their overall theme of the intersections between fashion, social media, and marketing, guest speaker and community entrepreneur Phillip Shung talked to the students about being socially responsible consumers.

July 29, 2016:  Imagine our pleasant surprise when we saw that Lara, one of our MVP scholarship winners, was the emcee for GEMS’ Educational Initiative awards ceremony.  As a highlight of the event, several GEMS girls spoke movingly about the many obstacles they overcame to pursue higher education.  Very inspiring!

July 26, 2016:  The Meringoff Foundation invited its grantee partners working in the college access sphere to an informal gathering to discuss unaddressed mental health issues facing first generation college students.  Lots of excitement, and a great sense of common purpose.  Looking forward to seeing how this conversation continues in the coming months.

July 22, 2016:  During the week, these students at Urban Dove’s Brooklyn high school are sports counselors for younger kids.  Fridays are reserved for college prep.  Through this spirited round of “two truths and a lie”, the teens – who without Urban Dove in their court, wouldn’t view college as a realistic possibility – start thinking about what to highlight on their college application personal statement.

July 19, 2016: It was a real treat for Sophie and Stuart to take a boat tour of Jamaica Bay to inspect the many accomplishments of the summer youth Restoration Corps.  We saw verdant wetlands, wooden platforms for osprey nests, and spotless shorelines.  Above, corps members “seine” the shore, i.e. sweep a large net and inspect the catch.  The number, size, and diversity of the catch – which is quickly released back to the water – offer important clues about the local ecosystem's health.

July 14, 2016: At Visitor’s Day for the Brooklyn summer program, we met an impressive trio: Vivek, a rising 8th grader who wants to attend Bard HS, and Clio and Fatoumata, rising 9th graders off, respectively, to Phillips Academy and Thatcher.  While the program’s focus is intensive academic prep, the vibe is distinctly summer camp fun!

July 13, 2016:  Trayvon, a recent NYU Tisch graduate, leads students through some simple breathing exercises to manage stress.  A new Mindfulness track – deploying yoga and meditation techniques – is an important addition to the Summer College Prep Academy’s solid academics.  

July 6, 2016: Stephen Meringoff offered his advice to this year’s PENCIL Fellows before the start of their six-week internships. His four points, in brief: find a mentor, read everything, become indispensable, and reflect on what you’ve learned.  This summer, PENCIL is placing a record 400-plus high school juniors and seniors in summer positions at NYC’s leading employers, including Estee Lauder, JPMorgan, Deloitte, NYC Department of Education, Columbia University, and American Airlines.

June 28, 2016: At today’s graduation ceremony, many stirring speakers – students and faculty alike – stressed Eagle’s values of brotherhood and mutual responsibility.  We also got to meet Jahrell Joseph, a winner of our Meringoff Victory Prize.  Jahrell was unable to attend the June 7th awards ceremony because he was at a Morehouse College orientation; he’ll be a freshman there this fall!  

June 8, 2016:  Wow...AileyCampers are center stage at Lincoln Center's David Koch Theater, performing at Ailey’s Spirit Gala!

June 7, 2016:  The family celebrates the achievements of our inaugural group of Meringoff Victory Prize winners; each "MVP" received a $2,500 scholarship.  From left to right, Asher from Epic Theatre Ensemble, Atira from NY Writers Coalition, Darniece from Go Project, Tai-yan from Hemophilia Association of NY, David from Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Lara from GEMS, and Hannah from Rocking the Boat; Jahrell from Eagle Academy was unable to attend.  For more details on this essay competition for college-bound high school seniors, see our website's "News" tab.   

May 27, 2016:  Ran into Sarah and Georgia on the way to visit a friend at Cobble Hill Health Center. On the elevator ride, learned that Georgia, a Dachshund Pekingese mix, is very affectionate.

May 17, 2016: Great to re-visit CMOM’s Shelter Program which we fund; it facilitates weekly visits to the Museum by moms and kids from a local homeless shelter.  It was wonderful to be re-reminded that a dedicated social worker participates in these visits, and that the breakout sessions for moms lead to therapeutic breakthroughs that resonate far beyond the walls of the museum.

April 29, 2016  We joined 12 young men from the Bronx H.S. for Business for a full afternoon of mentorship at Chase's world headquarters on Park Avenue.   Chase team members conducted workshops on networking, resume writing, and business etiquette; we also toured the trading floor and saw highlights of Chase's impressive corporate art collection (which includes the pistols Hamilton and Burr used in their infamous duel!).

April 16, 2016:  This is the view from the upper balcony of the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem as Urban Word teen poets competed in the 16th annual Teen Poetry Slam Grand Slam Final.  17 of Urban Word's most talented poets performed, demonstrating their incredible passion, smarts, and verbal dexterity.  Six of these spoken word artists will go on to the national finals this summer in Washington DC.  (Note that poets shared the stage with the Apollo's famed "Tree of Hope" stump, which generations of aspiring amateurs have rubbed for good luck.)

April 8, 2016:  Every few months, each WITS school hosts a Cafe Day with its restaurant partner.  At PS 705 in Prospect Heights, Aneesha Hargarave, the R&D Chef at Chop't, describes the healthy treat students are about to receive: curried sweet potato salad with Granny Smith apples and celery.  Delicious!  

April 3, 2016:  Alicia Kershaw, Gallop's Director, toured Stephen around Lynne's Riding Center in Forest Hills, Queens, one of several sites where Gallop conducts therapeutic horseback riding lessons for special needs youth.

March 17, 2016:  Finally made it over to see Cora's new space on the formerly unused second floor of a Red Hook storefront church.  After a successful Kickstarter campaign -- and lots of sweat equity! -- dance students young and old can enjoy a light-filled studio.  Best of all, this studio (which doubles as a church reception hall on Sunday afternoons) is the same size as Cora's previous rehearsal space just around the corner but is FAR more affordable.  Congratulations!

February 24, 2016:  We sat in on a workshop, part of multi-session series, where New Leaders prepares its aspiring school principal trainees for the job interview process.  These aspiring principals went through a series of exercises to help them identify their strengths as school leaders, and articulate those strengths, as well as their specific plans for impacting student achievement, in a series of mock interviews.

February 9, 2016:  Stephen and Stuart had a great visit at the Urban Dove Team Charter School in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, which represents an exciting new model for the organization.  As an extension of their school day, Charter School students – all transferred into the school severely under-credited and not on track to graduate high school – serve as after-school tutors and sports coaches for local elementary school students.  This innovative approach has led to dramatically increased graduation rates.

January 26, 2016:  Ellen Rubin, a museum access consultant who is also blind, conducted a training session for Transit Museum employees on how to welcome blind and low vision visitors.  Lots of practical information was covered, all of which will also be helpful beyond the walls of the museum.  This is one in a series of access trainings at the Transit Museum that Meringoff Foundation support is making possible. 

January 9, 2016:  Nearly 40 Metro Center alumni, now college students, offered the current crop of high school seniors advice on campus life.  The main take-away, repeated in many forms: time management!!

December 22, 2015:  Stephen met with Ron Russell, Epic's Executive Director, and several of his current high school students and recent alums, who are now in college.  All of these young people discussed how Epic, in addition to deepening their love of theater, provided in depth, one-on-one guidance to help them through the college search, application, and selection proecess.

December 9, 2015:  Stuart attended the Parenting Workshop graduation ceremony in Long Island City, where participating moms spoke movingly about how this program helped them better care for their children, and themselves. 

December 5, 2015:  Out in Two scholars on a whirlwind, three-day visit to Boston to explore several four-year colleges where they might like to apply.  Our funding made this trip -- which looks pretty fun -- possible.    

December 4, 2015:  Stephen and Stuart sat in on the most recent gathering of AileyCamp's directors from its eight national sites.  Our support makes these convenings possible, and they're wonderful opportunities for far-flung peers to share best practices and ensure a uniform camp experience, regardless of locale.

November 15, 2015:  Attended the opening night performance of Epic's Off-Broadway production of Nilaja Sun's one-woman show, "Pike Street".  Sun gave a memorably virtuosic performance in this work, where she created an array of vivid characters -- yound, old, male, female, Latino, Chinese, Arab, Jewish -- in and around a Lower East Side tenement before the onset of a major hurricane.  

November 11, 2015:  Was visiting a friend at Cobble Hill Health Center as Micah and his poodle Maurice were leaving after their regular visit with residents.  Always terrific to stumble across the great work Good Dog's volunteer teams do in area health care facilities. 

October 21, 2015:  Stephen and Stuart lucked out weather-wise on a glorious late Indian Summer afternoon visit to RTB.  After touring the boat building shop, Executive Director and Founder Adam Green got us onto the Bronx River, where we saw students in the sailing (above) and environmental tracks. Of course, their beautifully sturdy longboats were built by teen peers in the boat building track!

October 20, 2015:  The family attended NYSCF's annual gala fundraiser which provides a unique opportunity to meet stem cell researchers and learn about their progress in developing stem cell therapies to treat a variety of common but deadly diseases.

October 13, 2015:  It was a great privilege to participate in “Commanding Officer for an Evening”.  Stuart shadowed Deputy Inspector Maximo Tolentino, the Commanding Officer of the 83rd Precinct in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  In addition to exploring this rapidly changing neighborhood (which has NYC’s highest burglary rate), we accompanied CO Tolentino to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s National Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, where he was one of the evening’s honorees.

8/18/15:  Charlotte and Stuart visited Gallop’s summer camp, a pilot program with Extreme Kids & Crew. During the morning, Gallop teaches Extreme Kids’ kids to ride and groom horses.  In the afternoon, Extreme Kids takes over, with therapeutic play (see July 14th post for more details).  Really exciting to see our Special Needs grantee partners working together so effectively!

8/13/2015:  After AileyCamp NYC's amazing culminating performance at Hostos Community College, Stephen Meringoff and the family went backstage to meet the Directors of the 8 other AileyCamp sites nationwide.  Our support has created opportunities for the national directors to work together more closely – and come to NYC to see how AileyCamp New York puts on a show!

8/10/2015: Ben Dolnick is a successful writer (www.bendolnick.com); he also leads a drop-in creative writing workshop for adults at the Main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, which we attended.  It was incredibly exciting to be part of such a talented, diverse, and interesting group of writers.  In the above photo, Ben poses with the prompts for one of our writing exercises.

7/31/15: Speed networking! PENCIL Fellows at a breakfast workshop practicing what they learned about the art and science of networking from a group of corporate mentors who work at LinkedIn.

7/28/15: Whenever we visit AileyCamp, it's a given we'll be carried away by the campers' energy and talent as they work on their ballet, jazz, modern, and West African dance moves.  But we also loved their Creative Communications project:  life-sized figures -- inspired by sculptor/performance artist Nick Cave -- of campers striking a pose from Revelations, Alvin Ailey's signature dance.

7/24/15: Today's financial literacy workshop for CHCF high school and college summer interns explored tax returns and went deep, going into lots of detail about 990s, W4s, ITINS, 1098s, 1099s, Education Credits, and more.  And these young people -- some of whom are their families' primary financial support -- couldn't get enough, as they peppered the outstanding presenters from H&R Block with dozens of questions.

7/23/15: Visited New Leaders’ rigorous training intensive for 2015-2016 Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) cohort, which prepares these NYC and Newark public school teachers to go back into their schools in September to coach 3-5 fellow teachers toward stronger student outcomes.  This was a truly impressive group of committed and talented educators.

7/14/14: We visited some Extreme Kids, who were attending one of the week-long summer camp sessions at Speak, Learn, & Play in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  SLP uses a holistic therapeutic approach to working with children with special needs, and it was a great chance for Extreme Kids & Crew and SLP staffers to share best practices.  Plus, lots of fun for the kids!

7/08/15:  NY Writer’s Coalition, which has hosted a PENCIL Fellows intern for the last two summers, just got a note from last summer’s intern, Michelle:

“I have decided to attend Hunter College… and will be admitted this August as a sophomore…I was also accepted into the "Sing for Hope" chorus program where we've performed in several galas, concerts, benefit events, and lately TIMES SQUARE! Lastly, I created an A Capella group in my school, received the Chancellor's Honor Roll Award for the Arts, and recently graduated [high school] with 33 college credits.  I would like to thank you for the wonderful opportunity you gave me last summer to be part of the NYWC team!  From working in the office to lending a hand in the writing workshops, I considered every single moment a great learning experience and will be forever grateful to you.” 

Clearly, PENCIL and its internship hosts are shaping tomorrow’s leaders.

6/29/15:  Stephen Meringoff welcomed this year’s class of PENCIL Fellows at their day-long orientation session at NYU.  This year’s class of Fellows is 200-strong, and by far the largest in the program’s history; all will go on to paid internships in a variety of exciting fields including advertising, banking, real estate, and municipal government.

6/12/15: Kindergarten through third graders at P.S. 36 rehearsing the poetry recitation for their upcoming spring commencement, the culmination of a year of intensive after school literacy training to get them reading at grade level and poised for academic success. 

5/29/15:  Stephen Meringoff addressed BMCC's graduates and their families after receiving the Presidential Medal during this year's commencement ceremony at Madison Square Garden.  "I believe strongly that BMCC is truly a place where many doors are opened," said Mr. Meringoff in his acceptance speech, "and I feel fortunate to have opened a few of them myself.  I am truly inspired by so many of the students I have met here." 

4/28/15:  We took advantage of a very rare opporutnity to attend an event on Rikers Island.  For the last several years, NYWC has held weekly creative writing workshops for incarcerated women on Rikers, and recently published These Are Hard Times For Dreamers, an anthology of their work.  To mark this publication, NYWC invited a small group of volunteers and supporters to attend a public reading at the correctional facility's Rose M. Singer Center.  As with any NYWC gathering, the writers moved and inspired their audience, once again demonstrating the written word's power to break down perceived barriers.  

4/23/15:  We visited Morgan Stanley's corporate headquarters in Times Square to observe employees there mentoring a group of  seniors from the Business of Sports School (BOSS), a small public high school in Chelsea.  PENCIL facilitates an intensive two-year partnership where corporate volunteers, working one-on-one with BOSS juniors and seniors, explore all aspects of the college prep, search, application, and selection process.  As a result, participating BOSS students are getting into an impressive range of colleges, and creating a culture of higher education attainment within their larger school community. 

4/11/15:  Stuart spent a hectic but incredibly rewarding morning interviewing sixth graders, and their guardians, for spots in the upcoming summer program for rising seventh graders, the start of a 10-year journey to attend a top college prep high school, then a competitive college, then graduating from college to a great job.  Amazing to see such focus and determination in 10 and 11 year olds!

3/11/15: Workshop on the Common Application form, to assist Out In Two scholars as they transfer to four-year schools.