“I’m a young man born in the heart of East New York, watching on the streets… drug dealers, cold blooded killers… I [have] seen what the intentions of the devil [are]… and after realizing this isn’t a way of life at the age of 16, I began taking steps to be a bigger man than the kids in my age range in my neighborhood.”
This sentence in Curtis Peete’s Futures and Options application capsulated the adversity he faces each day as well as his yearning to change his life for the better. Curtis’ first step was applying to Futures and Options for an internship.
In 2008, Curtis was attending Science Skill Center High School and struggling with his grades. Recognizing that he had potential and strong motivation, F&O’s program coordinators invited him to interview at an internship site. Curtis declined the opportunity because he decided to focus on his grades. He transferred to Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School to improve his grades and make up lost credits.
In the spring of 2009, Curtis felt ready to participate in the F&O internship program. However, the available internships did not match his interest in computers. But Curtis was persistent. Every two weeks he called F&O’s program coordinators to check in. Curtis’ determination impressed our team.
In the fall of 2009, Curtis received two internship offers and accepted a position in the IT Department at G2 Direct & Digital.
Since October 2009 Curtis has been working at G2 and he has continued to receive important feedback about his performance. Thanks to guidance and support from his supervisors at G2, as well as F&O’s program coordinator Tyran Williams, Curtis has greatly improved his performance on the job by strengthening his time management skills and learning how to follow directions. One of Curtis’ supervisors, Vasco Browne, noted “Curtis has definitely taken a turn for the BEST! He has been here way before he needs to be. He has carried out tasks to the best of his ability. He has also learned to ask before doing. This has all made him a greater asset to our IT team.”
Curtis will be graduating from Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School at the end of January, and entering the US Navy in June 2010. He plans to get his college degree in computer programming.
Curtis said, “My experience thus far with G2 has been tremendous, the team in which I work with has really enhanced my computer skills/knowledge and helped me realize that this field is best suitable for me. The work related experience has really given me a glimpse of what it’s like to be on the field. I owe the biggest thanks to Futures and Options… with the help of their program coordinator, Tyran Williams I was able to finally give my career after the Navy a destination point.”
To provide a student like Curtis with an internship opportunity, donate here.
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Futures and Options’ relationship with Gap Foundation over the last two years has blossomed in many directions, one of which is the wonderful involvement of Gap Inc. employees from Gap and Banana Republic stores as volunteers in our programs’ career readiness workshops. We cannot thank Gap Inc. and their volunteers enough for their willingness to make significant personal contributions of time and energy to our programs and young people.
From left to right: Pre-Interns Nessya Vukelj, Nellin Garcia and Jonathan Tan, work with Banana Republic volunteers Jose Suarez and Caroline Peck.
This semester the volunteers have given over 25 hours of their time to our Core Internship and Pre-Internship programs by participating in mock interviews with the students, working in small groups of youth on teambuilding activities, providing constructive feedback with the students, and sharing their personal career stories. The energy and personal attention Gap Inc. volunteers bring to our F&O youth is deeply appreciated by all.
For more information on F&O's partnership with the Gap Foundation, or if you are interested in volunteering, please contact Patty Machir or call 212-601-0002.
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What better way to inspire young people to imagine future careers than to introduce them to the people who are actually working in different fields? Career exploration field trips are an essential component of our Pre-Internship Program because our young people visit different businesses, learn firsthand about various work environments and cultures, and meet talented volunteers who share their knowledge and personal career stories. Thanks to our partnerships with the following private and nonprofit businesses that open their doors to F&O teens, the students begin to imagine what is possible for their future careers. A special thanks to all who have participated as volunteers in our career exploration field trips, especially the leaders at each of our partnering businesses.
Brooklyn Academy of Music: Jennifer Leeson, Neil Kutner, Danielle Heinemeyer, Leah King
Colgate-Palmolive Company: Eugene Kelly
Millenium Hilton: Denise Valdez
New York County District Attorney’s Office: Nitin Savur, Jenu Brar, Michael Brenner
PricewaterhouseCoopers: Fernando Coronado, Laura Sobocienski
Roundabout Theatre Company: Jay Gerlach, Jennifer DiBella, Aliza Greenberg, Tiffany Nixon, Amy Rosenfield
If you are interested in hosting a career exploration field trip at your business, please contact Stefanie Jones or call 212-601-0002.
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Futures and Options aims to stay connected with the alumni from our programs. We seek to offer F&O’s alums meaningful ways to network as well as give back to their community.
At the start of the new year, we held our first college alumni community service project, in response to an interest expressed by our alumni. On January 5th, 20 college alumni from our Charles Hayden Summer Internship Program, Urban Leadership Fellows Program, George Westinghouse High School Program, and Core Internship Program participated in a volunteer event at the Food Bank For New York City. F&O’s alumni showed true dedication to serving their community by taking time off from their winter break and travelling all the way to Hunts Point in the cold of January.
Our group met at the Food Bank Warehouse, where Brian Kenny Pham, the Volunteer Coordinator, provided a description of the organization and its far-reaching impact on New York City’s citizens who are in dire need of food. The F&O alumni team, led by Program Coordinator Tyran Williams spent three hours separating and repacking food items, which would later be distributed to other organizations, shelters, and pantries in need. The alumni took on the project of helping to feed the hungry of NYC with enthusiasm and not only enjoyed helping others but were able to bond and build new friendships within the group. Thanks to all who made this inaugural college alumni event a big success!
For more information on upcoming alumni volunteer events and to share your ideas about future projects, please contact Tyran Williams or call 212-601-0002.
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It is our priority to keep in touch with our alumni and offer support in any way we can. If you are an alum of our program, please take a minute to update your contact information with us, so that we can keep in touch and keep you informed about upcoming alumni events. Thank you for your help!
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College Guidance
What: Workshop on obtaining scholarships for college.
Who: High School Sophomores and Juniors
Where: Futures and Options Office
When: February 16, 2:30 pm to 4 pm.
For more information on our college guidance initiative, please contact Tyran Williams or call 212-601-0002.
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To view photos of our workshops, field trips and events visit our Flickr page.
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Futures and Options is proud to spotlight its program and introduce you to some of our partners and young men and women who participate.
Click here to view our video.
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We now have a Facebook page where current interns, alumni and supporters can communicate, keep in touch and hear what’s going on at Futures and Options. We also have a causes page which allows you to raise money for Futures and Options.
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We are especially grateful to HSBC Bank USA, N.A. for continuing its support of our internship program at George Westinghouse High School. This year, thanks to an increase in HSBC’s funding, 20 students will be interns at selected New York City nonprofit organizations and attend our career development workshops. Recruiting begins for both the students and internships sites in January and the program runs throughout the spring semester. This year we were able to offer internships to over 50 percent of the students who applied to the program.
The teens in this distinctive program for George Westinghouse High School will have an added opportunity to learn and practice their networking and communication skills with volunteers from Youth, I.N.C. Young Professionals. The Youth, I.N.C. Young Professionals will be mentors to the 20 interns. The theme of this mentoring program will be obtaining a college education. In addition to having a person to help with college guidance, the mentors offer each intern someone to turn to for professional advice during the internship.
For more information on the George Westinghouse High School program, please contact Tyran Williams or call 212-601-0002.
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ULF alumni from left to right: Andy Yu, Crystal Chen, Joyce Lee, Anes Kolenovic, Fiona Lam and Stephanie Yu.
The second annual Urban Leadership Fellows (ULF) Program alumni networking reception was held at SIFMA’s conference center on January 6. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to hold this event in SIFMA’s wonderful new conference center and thank SIFMA for generously providing their space. Attendees at the event included ULF college alumni, as well as alumni working in the field of finance. The alumni had an opportunity to reconnect with one another and with Futures and Options’ staff. We look forward to meeting with our ULF alumni who expressed interest in joining our Board of Director’s Alumni and Young Professionals Committee, as a way of giving back to the program.
Kenneth W. Bond, of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., attended the event as a representative of The Municipal Forum of New York, Inc. which sponsors the ULF program. We’d like to thank the Municipal Forum for sponsoring this alumni networking reception – it was a great success and we look forward to continuing to hold the event annually.
To view more pictures of the ULF alumni reception, please visit our Flickr page. For more information on the Urban Leadership Fellows Program, please contact Digmarie Ruiz or call 212-601-0002.
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Hugo Newman College Preparatory School PS/IS 180, in Central Harlem, has far exceeded expectations for quality education in the neighborhood, by transforming itself from one of the worst performing public schools in New York City to one of the top performing.
This fall, thanks to a generous grant from Gap Foundation, F&O was able to serve an additional 20 middle school students in our innovative Pre-Internship Program. After meeting with Hugo Newman’s Principal, Dr. Peter McFarlane, who is the driving force behind the school’s commitment to excellence, we decided to partner with the school. Dr. McFarlane and the middle school Assistant Principal, Kristen Marren, enthusiastically embraced the Pre-Internship Program as part of their after-school programming.
The school uses the Joseph Renzulli School Wide Enrichment Model of Education, which focuses on identifying and strengthening students’ interests and talents, and has been awarded the Panasonic National School Change Award, which is awarded annually to six schools across America that are recognized for having significantly improved. It has an enrollment of 601 students and serves pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.
Kristen Marren, assistant principal, said of the partnership, “The Futures and Options Program acknowledges the need to better prepare students for future employment. The program provided exposure to various career options while developing resume building, presentation, networking, and interviewing skills. However, the program extends beyond simple career exploration. Throughout the program, our students worked on developing basic communication skills necessary to succeed in all aspects of their life, especially high school. I look forward to working with Futures and Options again next year!”
Futures and Options’ Pre-Internship Program for middle school youth also works with Greenwich Village Middle School IS 896. The leaders at these schools truly understand the value of our program, which allows young teens to imagine and explore the many possibilities for their future careers and practice the soft skills needed to successfully perform in school and in the work world.
To view photos of the program in action, please visit our Flickr page. If you are interested in learning more about the F&O Pre-Internship Program for middle schools, please contact Stefanie Jones or call 212-601-0002.
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On Monday, November 16th, Futures and Options and 17 other youth-serving nonprofits succeeded in raising over $1.9 million for NYC youth programs! Nearly 1,000 supporters gathered in the Grand Ballroom at The Waldorf=Astoria to celebrate the successes of each organization. The evening highlighted 17 young people, including Angel Contrera, an alumnus from Futures and Options' summer 2008 internship program.
From left to right: Alexandra Contreras and Zarius Durant from Colgate-Palmolive Company, Patty Machir, executive director of Futures and Options, Martha Battles, from Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher and Eugene Kelly from Colgate-Palmolive Company.
We’d like to thank our co-chairs, supporters and Youth, I.N.C. for enabling us to raise 125% of our Celebration fundraising goal. Thanks to our wonderful co-chairs and our generous supporters we not only surpassed our fundraising goal but we received a challenge grant from Youth, I.N.C. of almost $15,000!
From left to right: Alumni of the internship program Enmanuel Rivas and Mina Abusafe, current intern LaTi'k Cook and alumnus Luis Salazar.
We appreciate every single contribution that enabled us to surpass our fundraising goal and support our program. We would especially like to recognize our generous sponsors at the $2,500 and above level:
CB Richard Ellis, Colgate-Palmolive Company,
Deutsche Bank, Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association, Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co.,
Hampton & Co., Stephen & Stephanie Hessler,
Kirkland & Ellis Foundation, Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC, The McGraw-Hill Companies, RR Donnelley, Arthur & Nancy Sobel.
Stay posted for news to come about our eagerly anticipated third annual Cocktails in the Sky event to be held this June.
For information on Futures and Options events, please contact Serena Handley or call 212-601-0002. To make a donation to Futures and Options, click here.
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Our top priority is staying in touch with you. Please sign up for our newsletter and program and event updates.
To join our email list click here.
If you are a friend, donor, business partner or alumni of Futures and Options, please take a minute to fill out this short survey and update your contact info with us.
For more information on our programs or events, please email us at info@futuresandoptions.org or call 212-601-0002.
To download an application for the Internship or Pre-Internship Program, visit our website.