Greetings from StreetSquash!
Winter is upon us, but our programs are still going strong. November was a great month for StreetSquashers. Below are accounts of the eighth grade trip to Princeton, NJ and the high school college prep trip to upstate New York. We hope you enjoy them! Also, please see the section below to see how you can help StreetSquash become a finalist in Chase’s Community Giving initiative. Thanks so much for your consistent support.
Sincerely,
George Polsky
Executive Director
Contents:
1. Chase Community Giving
2. Team 5 Trip to Princeton
3. College Prep Trip to Upstate New York
4. Volunteer of the Month: Leon Hovsepian
5. Support StreetSquash’s 10th Anniversary
1. Chase Community Giving
Chase is enlisting Facebook users to vote for which small and local nonprofits will receive donations totaling $5 million. The eligible charity receiving the most votes will be awarded $1 million, the top five runners-up will receive $100,000 each and the 100 finalists, including the top winners, will be awarded $25,000 each. Additionally, a special Advisory Board featuring members who are active in philanthropy, including actress Eva Longoria, Do Something founder Nancy Lublin and NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson, will allocate a total of $1 million to the nominated charities of its choice.
StreetSquash has already accumulated more than 220 votes and has a shot at becoming a finalist with your help! Please help us reach our goal of 1000 votes before the December 15th deadline!
CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR STREETSQUASH!
If you already have a facebook account, just log-in and vote.
If you do not have a facebook account, you can follow a few easy steps to register and vote.
For more information on Chase’s Community Giving initiative, please click here.
Thanks for all your support!
2. Team 5 Trip to Princeton!
Team 5 met at the SL Green Center on a misty Friday the 13th, ready to depart on a weekend of adventures in Princeton, New Jersey. After piling 21 8th graders, 3 staff members, and a team mascot into 2 vans, we embarked on a rainy drive punctuated by dark-alley U-Turns and rogue trips through the EZ Pass lane.Both vans arrived at Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium by about 7:30pm. The kids quickly piled out and jumped on court, joining in with the Princeton Junior Squash (PJS) team for drop/drive and three-quarter court. Dinner was served around 8:30pm (Pizza Star, courtesy of PJS!), and the kids ate, socialized, and paired off for their homestays.
Saturday morning began with everyone meeting again at Jadwin at 9:30am. The kids exchanged stories of the home theaters, pool tables, Madden ‘07 (a source of contention for some), and mango ice cream (also a source of contention) from their various families. We slowly moseyed over to Butler College for a buffet brunch featuring eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, and of course ice cream! After eating, the kids attempted to work off some of their consumption with an hour of pool and foosball in the rec room before heading to the Princeton-Yale football game.
The weather on Saturday was misty and cool, but that didn’t stop the kids from diving into the Tigers’ fan base. They secured a seat front and center and cheered loud and clear for every successful play. The kids even managed to take a break from feasting on Cheeze-Its and Clif Bars in order to work themselves onto the Jumbotron!
By 4:30, the game had ended (a rare Princeton victory!), the kids played on the field for the “5th Quarter,” and we began a long, slow, winding stroll around the Princeton campus. We encountered acapella groups singing in the archways, wedding photos being taken, and the odd Princeton student scurrying about. The kids were calm and enjoyed the different aspects of the buildings while commenting on the immense size of the campus (they didn’t catch on that we wound past the same intersection at least 4 times).
By 6pm we were ready to eat again, and entered Mathey College, which could easily serve as a Harry Potter set if need be. The kids filled their plates with everything from chicken and fries to rice and beans to (can you guess??) ice cream, and relaxed in the space as though they were Princeton’s class of 2016 (whoa…). As sugar highs abounded, we headed to an a capella concert only a few buildings away, where the Yale Whiffenpoofs, The Ten, and the Princeton Nassooms were set to perform. The kids sat through over an hour of the Whiffenpoofs and The Ten (aided by food comas that set in slowly but surely), laughed at the jokes and parodies, and enjoyed the music. By 9:30pm we were back at Jadwin where the wonderful host families sat happily waiting in their mini-vans and SUVs, ready to collect their guests.
Sunday began again at 9:30, when we headed to a nearby farm to visit with goats, geese, sheep, dogs, cats, and a horse! The kids fed the animals, attempted to avoid the mud that threatened their bright white sneakers, and sat in the sunshine taking in the sights and sounds of rural life. The host families joined us for a lunch of Princeton’s finest hoagies at 1pm, followed by a day at the races on the Princeton track. For the record, Academic Director Jade Elias gave all of the kids a run for their money (pun intended)!
The weekend culminated with the much-anticipated showdown between StreetSquash and Princeton Junior Squash. The home team was victorious, with a close match score of 12-9. We piled back into the vans by 5pm after a flurry of goodbyes and thank yous, and returned to New York by 7pm. The weekend was a smashing success, and we are incredibly grateful for Director of Strategic Development Sage Ramadge’s help with the organization, and PJS’s generosity and hospitality!
Katie Siegel
Squash Director, Teams 5 & 6
3. College Prep Trip to Upstate New York
StreetSquash 10th, 11th, and 12th graders visited SUNY Purchase, Manhattanville College, SUNY Albany and SUNY Delhi over the weekend of November 21st. On Saturday, students spent the day in Westchester touring the SUNY Purchase and Manhattanville campuses before heading upstate to get a tour of SUNY Albany by Jennifer Moses, a StreetSquash alumna. Jennifer eagerly shared her first semester experiences with the students and gave them a phenomenal tour and information session. On Sunday, the group made its way to SUNY Delhi where another StreetSquash alum, Joshua Gary, proudly showed off his campus.
Sheena Loughlin
Director of Alumni Outreach
4. Volunteer of the Month: Leon Hovsepian
Leon with StreetSquashers Amar Moorer and Raymond Moore
Leon started volunteering with StreetSquash at the Harvard Club in 2007 and has been a phenomenal volunteer for the past three years. He has been particularly helpful with Friday Elite Squad Training Sessions, which offer our students with high attendance and good grades an opportunity to play squash an extra day each week. We are extremely grateful for his commitment and hope to see more of him in the future!
5. Support StreetSquash’s 10th Anniversary
With the addition of a 6th grade class and a Director of Alumni Outreach, StreetSquash now devotes a full-time staff member to our students from middle school through college graduation - a full 11 years! 85% of program graduates have either earned a post-secondary degree or are on track to do so.
At the SL Green StreetSquash Center in Harlem, we serve hundreds of students every day. Over the past 10 years, we have provided our children with consistent and long-term support with a focus on academics, college preparation, and, of course, squash. Through the dedication of the parents, partner schools, and the StreetSquash staff, our students have accomplished a great deal. We are tremendously proud of their success, and we hope that you will continue to support the work we are doing together.
www.streetsquash.org/donate
Contact us by phone at (212) 289-4838 x 201 or e-mail us at donate@streetsquash.org
Sincerely,
StreetSquash