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Friends of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School

Holiday Newsletter – December 2015

Our Holiday Appeal

OUR MISSION IS STUDENT SUCCESS.

FoCRLS supports CRLS students in building meaningful and financially-sustainable futures and in making a difference in our local community and in the world. Your contributions encourage our students and those whose lives they will influence with their knowledge and skills.  A donation to FoCRLS truly is an investment in student success. 

Please take a few moments to read below about the additional opportunities, experiences, and resources FoCRLS brings to the 1800+ students at our economically-diverse public high school.  You can learn even more about the opportunities FoCRLS provides and how we make them possible in the .pdf of our new slide show by clicking here or by visiting focrls.org. 

Consider CRLS and its students as part of your end-of-the-year giving. 

If you'd like to donate online, please click here to give at focrls.org.  If you'd prefer to donate by check, please mail your contribution to Friends of CRLS, P.O. Box 391541, Cambridge MA 02139. 

Pictured:  Class of 2015 FoCRLS scholarship awardees now attending (l-r) Bryant University, Yale University, McGill University, and Bates College 

"100 by 100" News:
An Innovative FoCRLS–Cambridge Business Partnership
Reaches its First-year $10,000 Scholarship Goal!

"100 by 100" Fitzgerald Circle Founding Donor Broadway Marketplace helped FoCRLS celebrate reaching our goal for the Class of 2016!  Left to right:  Charlie Bougas, owner;  CRLS students on their lunch break; Elaine Schear, Executive Director of FoCRLS;  Richard Sabounjian, VP of Operations.

Friends of CRLS is thrilled to announce that we have reached our "100 by 100" Cambridge Business Community Initiative goal of $10,000 for the CRLS Class of 2016!  Our appreciation goes out to the many generous business leaders who have invested in the success of seniors, helping to defray financial obstacles to their further education and career aspirations.  Said Charlie Bougas, Fitzgerald Circle Founding Donor and owner of Broadway Marketplace, "It truly takes a village to help our students achieve their potential, and it's great to be a part of a business community that wants to make a difference. CRLS students and families give back every day by supporting local businesses, and the '100 by 100' initiative is the perfect opportunity to say thank you."  Special thanks to FoCRLS volunteers Ophelia Navarro, Michele Nathan, and Dawn Baxter, who were instrumental in bringing together our diverse group of Founding Donors.

If you or someone you know is interested in being part of the "100 by 100" business initiative, please visit focrls.org/100by100 or email info@focrls.org.  All businesses joining the partnership before December 31, 2015 will be recognized as Founding Donors.  
 

"100 by 100" Founding Donors (as of 12/02/15)

Silver Donor Circle (Over $1,000)
The Barrett Family

Fitzgerald Donor Circle ($500 – $1,000)
Austin Architects
Broadway Marketplace
Cambridge Innovation Center
Chestnut Hill Realty
Grendel's Den Restaurant and Bar
Irving House and Harding House
Marc Truant & Associates Construction Managers
S+H Construction, Inc.

Falcon Donor Circle ($250 – $499)
Boston Marriott Cambridge
Cambridge Auto Center
Cambridge Trust Company
Dickson Bros. Hardware Co.
Hong Kong Restaurant
M. F. Keane Contracting
Newbury Comics
Porter Square Books
Sheraton Commander Hotel

Rindge Donor Circle ($100 – $249)
Arams #2 House of Pizza
ARC / Architectural Resources Cambridge
Bagelsaurus
Barrell Plumbing & Heating Co.
Beat Brasserie
Black Ink Gifts
Bonny's Garden Center
Broadway Bicycle School
Cambridge Bicycle
Cambridge Printing Company
Carlone & Associates Architecture and Urban Design
Charles Hotel
Club Passim
Courthouse Seafood
Crema Cafe
Custom Eyes
Didriks
Daedalus Restaurant
Fleming Printing Company
Formaggio Kitchen
Forty Winks Lingerie
Four Burgers
Gnomon Copy
Harvard Book Store
Harvard Square Business Association
Local Root
Longleaf Lumber
Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub
Noble, Wickersham & Heart LLP Law
OPositive Coaching & HR Services, LLC
Pann Home Services & Remodeling
Petsi Pies
RV Print Solutions
Susanna Women's Clothing
TAGS Hardware
Tayrona Jewelry and Gifts
Trinity Property Management, Inc.
University Stationery Company
Zoe’s Restaurant

Cambridge Local First has endorsed the “100 by 100” Initiative, and the Harvard Square Business Association is an organizational sponsor!

 

Student Travel Fellowships News: 
FoCRLS Helps Students Learn the World

The application period is open for FoCRLS's Student Travel Fellowships program, and applications are available at focrls.org.  Since 2010 FoCRLS has played a part in sending students who would otherwise not be able to participate on journeys to domestic and distant lands for life-changing adventures in learning.  The CRLS/CPS-approved trip destinations for this school year include the Dominican Republic for service learning, Panama for the jazz festival, and Italy, Spain, France, and Costa Rica for language, culture, history, geography, art, and architecture. 

If you'd like to help make it possible for students to broaden their horizons through travel, please click here to donate at focrls.org and add Student Travel Fellowships to the donation note field.  If you'd prefer to donate by check, please mail your contribution to Friends of CRLS, P.O. Box 391541, Cambridge MA 02139.
 

Faculty Innovation Grants News:
Award Announcements Coming Soon


 

The thirteenth cycle of Faculty Innovation Grants is underway, and awardees will be announced in December.  Faculty Innovation Grants help energize curriculum and social development by giving teachers and other staff funding of up to $1,000 each to implement innovative ideas that include expenses not covered by CRLS or Cambridge Public Schools budgets.  Grants will be awarded for projects and experiences that may include collaborations, performances, exhibits, visits from accomplished guests, and special events.  See our eye-popping list of grant-funded projects 2007-2015 by clicking here.

If you'd like to contribute to the creativity, please click here to donate at focrls.org and add Faculty Innovation Grants to the donation field.  If you'd prefer to donate by check, please mail your contribution to Friends of CRLS, P.O. Box 391541, Cambridge MA 02139. 

Breaking Scholarships News:
CRLS Alum and NBA Giant Patrick Ewing Joins Our Team of Scholarship Sponsors!

 FoCRLS is happy to announce that basketball superstar Patrick Ewing, who is an alum of CRLS, Georgetown University, and the New York Knicks, has committed to sponsoring scholarships for members of the Classes of 2016-2020!  FoCRLS volunteer Karen Tsaleh, (pictured here with Patrick Ewing on their 1981 graduation day), has reason to stand tall in her role in making it happen.

Other new scholarships among the 25 (or more) scholarships Friends of CRLS expects to offer the Class of 2016 include the Aurora M. (Ciccariello) Leydon Memorial Scholarship and the Victor and Rose Rifkin Family Scholarship for the American Dream. 

For more information starting a scholarship -- in honor of someone who greatly influenced you, in celebration of your culture, in encouragement of a particular career path, etc. -- please visit focrls.org or contact scholarships@focrls.org

If you'd like to help CRLS grads pursue higher education and technical training through an already established scholarship, please click here to donate at focrls.org and add Scholarships to the donation field.  If you'd prefer to donate by check, please mail your contribution to Friends of CRLS, P.O. Box 391541, Cambridge MA 02139.   

Community Meeting News:
Celebrating 9 Years and
Welcoming New Volunteers

Friends of CRLS kicked off the new school year with a well-attended community meeting on September 28 that included a beautiful cake to celebrate Friends of CRLS's 9th anniversary and the presentation of our new slideshow (to view a .pdf, click here or go to focrls.org).  Thank you to everyone who came to find out what FoCRLS has accomplished so far and has planned for this year, especially those of you who signed up to volunteer for upcoming projects and events.  If you weren't able to attend the community meeting yet are interested in volunteering, please email info@focrls.org. 

Volunteer Opportunities:  Be a Wrap Star or a Phone-omenon!

Gift Wrapping at Henry Bear's Park, Porter Square Shopping Center
Saturday, December 19 – 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

We're looking for teams of 2 or 3 people to take 2-hour shifts wrapping gifts purchased at Henry Bear's Park in Porter Square.  CRLS students are encouraged to participate, and this will count as community service hours.  It's easy and fun, so please volunteer and bring a friend!  Not only is this a great way to interface with the community, but FoCRLS receives the proceeds (tips) that we earn from wrapping, and Henry Bear's Park generously matches what we earn in the form of gift cards that FoCRLS can use for events, raffles, etc.

To volunteer please contact Jamie Sabino:  617-576-4659 or 617-899-1878 / jamie.sabino@gmail.com.

Spread the word!  Please use your contact lists to encourage your friends and family to shop at Henry Bear's Park in Porter Square on Saturday December 19 and use the gift wrapping service!

Holiday Phonathon, Various Locations
Week of December 13-17, Various Times

Please join our upcoming holiday phonathon.  Current students (who can earn community service credit), parents, alumni, parents of alumni, and community members will be making friendly reminder phone calls to past donors.  Scripts will be provided, as will refreshments.  



Student callers:  
Monday, December 14 through Thursday, December 17, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- for 1 hour (or as long as you can manage) -- in the FoCRLS Office, CRLS Room 2136  

All volunteers -- shifts of 1-2 hours are encouraged -- please bring your cell phone:
Sunday, December 13 - 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. - location TBA
Monday, December 14  - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - location TBA
Tuesday, December 15 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - location TBA
Wednesday, December 16  - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - location TBA
Thursday, December 17  - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - location TBA

Please email info@focrls.org for details if you'd like participate in our phonathon.

Friends of CRLS Board of Directors News:
 

Elizabeth Vernon and Dawn Baxter step up, and Paul Toner steps in

Friends of CRLS congratulates our new Board of Directors President Elizabeth Vernon and our new Board of Directors Secretary Dawn Baxter.  We thank them both for their dedication and hard work -- past, present, and future -- and greatly appreciate the skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm they share with us.  We are honored to welcome new Board member Paul Toner, who has an illustrious career in education and is sure to be a source of wisdom and inspiration.  Please see Elizabeth's, Dawn's, and Paul's bios below. 

Elizabeth Vernon (President) previously served as Board Secretary of Friends of CRLS, from 2007 to 2015. She is Lee M. Friedman Judaica Technical Services Librarian in the Harvard College Library at Harvard University and has a doctorate in Library Administration from Simmons College. She has over two decades of experience as a data management and database design consultant, including extensive pro bono work with nonprofit organizations, as well as considerable organizational experience in outreach development.

Dawn Baxter (Secretary) is the parent of a daughter at CRLS (Class of '16) and a daughter who attends the Cambridge Street Upper School. She founded and managed the Cambridge office of Policy Studies Inc., a Denver-based firm specializing in health and human services operations and consulting. After many years with PSI, she established her independent consulting practice, continuing to work with nonprofit agencies and state programs in the health and human services arena, assisting them with strategic and program planning, research and evaluation, and communications. Dawn holds an MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in public/nonprofit management.

Paul F. Toner (Board Member) is the president of the VIVA Project, a nonprofit that uses an online platform to discuss solutions about current educational policy at the local, state and national levels.  He is also the president of Cambridge Strategic Partnerships, LLC providing education consulting services in Massachusetts and nationally.  Paul served for four years as the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and, before that, for five years as president of the Cambridge Teachers Association.  He has served as the president of the National Council of State Education Associations and as chair of Mass Partners for Public Schools.  His many other positions and accomplishments include participating in Governor Deval Patrick’s Readiness Project and serving on Governor Charlie Baker’s Education Transition Committee.  He is a fellow of the first class of the Aspen Teacher Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.  He holds degrees from BU and UMass and has a doctorate from Suffolk University Law School. 
 

Appreciations

Friends of CRLS thanks Jamie Sabino for her service as she steps down as Board President and for devotedly remaining a Board member as she continues her many other endeavors.  Jamie previously served as Treasurer from 2011 through 2014.  The time and skills she has dedicated to FoCRLS have made invaluable contributions to our association's success, in particular leading the organization through the strategic planning process.  We also thank Neil Rosenburg, who continues to serve with distinction as both Board Treasurer and Chair of the Scholarship Committee.
 

Ways to Support CRLS Students
 

If you’ve read this far in our newsletter, you’re clearly someone who cares about the students of our wonderful high school, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, so we want you to know that there are many ways you can support CRLS students, grads, and faculty:
 

• Become a mentor.  Contact mentor@focrls.org if you’d like to hear what’s involved in sharing your experience in the college and work world with a CRLS alum currently at one of the public colleges in the Boston area through FoCRLS’s "It Takes a Village" College Success Program (ITAV).
   
• Volunteer.  We’d love to explore volunteering opportunities with you, so please contact info@focrls.org if you'd like to join us.  There are plenty of ways big and small to get involved in FoCRLS’s work:  write an article or do other publicity, help with outreach to the business community and alumni, set up at events, work a FoCRLS raffle table, wrap presents at Henry Bear's Park, and/or join our holiday phonathon, to name just a few.
   
• Host a house party or be on a house party committee.  Please contact us at info@focrls.org if you’d be interested in inviting friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to your home to come and hear about Friends of CRLS and our work.  We are also looking for committee members to help with planning and invite friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to house parties at others' homes. 
   
• Donate.  Your contribution will help FoCRLS bring opportunities to the students, grads, and faculty of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School throughout the year.   Contributions are always needed, welcomed, and put to work through our six programs: Scholarships, Student Travel Fellowships, Faculty Innovation Grants, the "It Takes a Village" College Success Program, Unsung Heroes, and Faculty Distinction Awards.
  
  Please click here to donate at focrls.org.  If you'd prefer to donate by check, please mail your contribution to Friends of CRLS, P.O. Box 391541, Cambridge MA 02139. 
  
  Please invest to the best of your ability in our CRLS students.  Even a small donation can have a big impact.

Thank you for 9 years of making opportunities possible through Friends of CRLS!

For more information about being involved with or contributing to Friends of CRLS or to learn more about our programs and opportunities, please view the .pdf of our new slideshow by clicking here, visit focrls.org or email info@focrls.org.