April Showers Bring May...Events?

Well spring is in full swing and everyone is abuzz with projects like spring cleaning, planting their gardens, and getting ready for beach weather.

Junior Achievement is also abuzz with projects.  Gearing up for events, planning exciting whole school JA in a Days, and seeking to deliver the JA program to as many students as possible before the school year is out--but we can't do that without your help!

And what better time to get involved than now - April is National Volunteer Month!

If you have taught a class this year, thank you! We hope it was as rewarding an experience for you as it was for the students whose lives you made an impact on. If you haven't volunteered yet, there is still time! Consider joining one of the many JA in a Days at the elementary schools, or sign up to volunteer for the traditional programs.

Or join one of our upcoming events next month - with bowl-a-thons, golf outings, and our Rockland Business Leader of the Year Award Breakfast, there is something for everyone!

By supporting Junior Achievement as a volunteer or supporting class sponsorship, you are making a difference in the lives of children and helping them see their potential for success!

City of Mt. Vernon Susie Valentin with students Hitachi America, Ltd. Ginnie Hays with students

Education

April Spotlight - Job Shadowing

Mount Vernon High School students, led by Social Studies teacher Demetrios Mihailidis, are getting a full JA experience both in classroom and in the field.  After receiving the JA Global Marketplace program in their 9th grade class, students got to see how their own local government functions at a City of Mount Vernon Job Shadow this month.  Coordinated by Mr. M, Maureen Walker, and Susie Valentin at City Hall, the annual event allowed the students to get a closer look at the job functions in the city government which varied from Comptroller to the Police and Fire departments to Parks and Recreation.  Two students even shadowed newly elected Mayor Clinton Young who was very open to hearing the students' opinion on potential improvements for the city.

 

Students from Clark Academy and Greenburgh Academy at St. Christopher's had two Job Shadowing experiences this month. On April 4th students went to the Construction Day Career Fair held at Rockland Community college to see various trades within the construction field and were able to get their hands on some projects.  On April 11th, students then got to see Hitachi America, Ltd in action. Dana Varland, Assistant Manager-Community Relations & Employee Communications, coordinated the effort at Hitachi, recruiting employees from several different departments, to not only share what they do for their job, but the path they chose to get to where they are today.  JA Alumna Susan Crucy-Burkhardt, Senior Manager-Community Relations & Employee Communications spoke to students as well and encouraged students to explore different career options. Both Job Shadow experiences were coordinated by Kerry McKenna and Ray DelMaestro of St. Christopher's and JAHV.

Board Leadership

April Spotlight: Marline P. Grant, Director, Engineering for Upstate New York - Verizon

Marline P. Grant is Director of Network Engineering & Planning in Capital Region for Verizon, a position she has held since January 2003.  She leads a team of 300 employees and manages the $288M Network Capital Program including the design, build and implementation of the new fiber to the premises data and video network, while also maintaining the core network. 

Prior to her current assignment, Grant was the Director of the Manhattan Restoration Project for Verizon.  In this role she was responsible for administering a budget over $950M and mobilizing a force of over 600 employees and vendors, to effectively revitalize lower Manhattan.

Grant started her career in 1988 as an engineer with the New York City Transit Authority working on the design of new subway cars.  She joined New York Telephone in 1991 as an engineer. She progressed through multiple planning and engineering positions in NYNEX, Bell Atlantic and subsequently, Verizon.

Grant holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from City College of City University of New York, and an M.S. in Distributed Information Systems Engineering from Polytechnic University, NY.  Grant served ten years in the US Army Reserves and commissioned 2^nd Lieutenant, Signal Corps.  Grant is the recipient of "Crain's New York Business" prestigious "40 Under 40" award and was featured in "The Journal News", "Dow Jones Financial News" and "VZ Online News Center".     

Joining the board along with Christopher D. Levendos, Director - Liberty OSP Engineering & Planning at Verizon, Marline recently stepped into the classroom for the first time at Grimes Elementary School at the Verizon JA in a Day to teach the 5th grade Our Nation program.

Congratulations to JAHV President Angela D. Giustino for being featured as one of the Working Women of Westchester (WOW) in the March 31st edition of the Westchester County Business Journal.  Kicking glass and smashing myths was the tagline for the group of business women who were featured for their accomplishments and breaking through glass ceilings to succeed in their professions.

L-R: Michael D. Doyle-Best Buy; Michael Balduzzi-Entergy; Angela D. Giustino-JAHV; Dean Bender; Elizabeth A. Bracken-Thompson; Geoffrey Thompson-Thompson & Bender

Development/Events

Last month Junior Achievement celebrated its annual Spirit of Achievement Awards Dinner at the Westchester Marriott.

Best Buy, Co. and Entergy received JAHV's Spirit of Achievement Awards, while Thompson & Bender was presented with the Westchester County Business Journal's Overachiever of the Year award.  Students from Mount Vernon, Yonkers and St. Christopher's school in Dobbs Ferry spoke about their JA experiences, presented awards, and were the starring performers of the evening.

 

With the theme "Dreams to Reality," JAHV celebrated 35 years of providing programs to students of the Hudson Valley, and not only hearing stories from the current JA students who are just starting to think about their futures, but also from the JA Alumni who have used their JA experiences to make their own dreams a reality!

 

Click here to see photos from the event!

Click here to see Dreams to Reality video shown at the dinner

 

Next month starts JAHV's biggest fundraisers - there is something for everyone. Join us in making each event a success! Click on the event name to find out more. 

Bowl for Kids - May 2 & 9 (Westchester), May 16 (Orange), Additional dates available **NEW DATE ADDED** June 13 (Westchester)
Westchester Golf Classic - May 6
Rockland Business Leader of the Year Award Breakfast - May 15

 

Net proceeds of all events support JAHV and the delivery of the JA program throughout the Hudson Valley.

Extras

Pizza Anyone?

Papa Johns, the U.S. pizza restaurant chain has partnered up with Junior Achievement.  Papa John's will donate two dollars to JA for each customer who places a pizza order at www.papajohns.com and used the online coupon displaying the Junior Achievement logo.

 

Miss an Issue?

Previous Junior Achievement News editions can be found here. Catch up on what's been happening with JAHV!

Support JA Programs!

$1 a day for JA for a year will provide the JA program to an entire elementary school

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