News Release
Congratulations the 2007 Fair Chance Graduates!
Congratulations to Ascensions Community Services, DC Squash Academy, Interstages, Kid-Power DC, Literacy Volunteers and Advocates, and Mentoring ToDAY! Fair Chance celebrated the outstanding achievements of our 2007 partner organization graduates on February 5, 2008.
Graduates from left to right: Dr. Satira Streeter (Ascensions), Penelope Spain (Mentoring ToDAY), Max Skolnik (Kid Power-DC), Whitney Louchheim (Mentoring ToDAY), Noel Tieszen (Interstages), Rita Daniels (Literacy Volunteers & Advocates) and Mark Lewis (DC Squash Academy)
The Fair Chance partner graduation was hosted by Bank of America at their beautiful penthouse overlooking downtown Washington D.C. and the monuments. Six partner organizations shared their outstanding achievements as a result of the Fair Chance partnership and inspirational stories of the impact they are making in the community!
Fair Chance is making a real difference in strengthening the nonprofit sector and building relationships in the community, which was evidenced throughout the evening. Most noteworthy, Fair Chance helped these six graduating partners raise more than half a million dollars this year alone, grow their programs by an average of 25% and increase average staff size by a significant margin.
One of the highlights of the evening was a poem read by Terrell McDonald, a Mentoring ToDAY program participant, entitled, "Can Somebody Tell Me Why?". This powerful poem expresses some of the challenges faced by youth in our community. Terrell went on to explain that having a network of individuals who care for him as a brother provides encouragement and exposure to opportunities that have meaningful and positive impacts on his life.
The evening ended by recognizing two people whose support of Fair Chance made these successes possible. Fair Chance was pleased to recognize Rubie Coles of the Moriah Fund and Julia Baer-Cooper, Foundation Advisor to the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation, Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation and Prince Charitable Trusts for being two of our biggest advocates and strongest supporters!