|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In 2004, we founded the GreenLight Fund to make a difference for the most vulnerable members of our community. More than five years into this work, the results are heartening, and we are pleased to share them with you in the report, The First 5 Years of the GreenLight Fund.
The GreenLight Fund's success is measured by the success of our portfolio organizations, and these organizations have reached and exceeded our hopes and goals for these early years:
- GreenLight portfolio organizations reach more than 10,500 children and youth.
- Early outcome data show promising results for children, youth and families.
- GreenLight's four organizations have consistently met financial goals and, so far, have collectively raised two dollars for every one dollar GreenLight has invested.
- More than 50 individuals have joined the Boards of Directors of GreenLight's portfolio organizations.
- 35 staff members work for these organizations in positions that didn't exist five years ago.
We hope you'll spend some time with the report to see the results your support and partnership have made possible so far. We are pleased with the progress but know the work is not complete.
Five years from now we want these four organizations to be thriving and reaching their great potential for thousands more children and families. By our tenth anniversary we want at least another four programs in the GreenLight portfolio, together making a substantial difference for 30,000-plus children and families in Boston's low-income communities.
To that end, we will continue the search for innovations that respond to our community's most urgent needs and help them flourish here. In fact, this month the GreenLight Fund begins the selection process to identify the next GreenLight portfolio organization.
As always, we are so grateful for your friendship and support in these early years and ask you to join us in the work ahead.
Best regards,
John and Margaret
John Simon, Board Chair and Co-Founder
Margaret Hall, Executive Director and Co-Founder
|
|
|
|
|
|
 The First Five Years of the GreenLight FundClick here to download the report.
The publication of this report would not have been possible without the contribution of Stewart Monderer of Monderer Design and the talent and hard work of Jessica DeBry.
This report was also made possible by the generous support of Gerard Phelan and Bowne of Boston, which provided in-kind printing services.
The Greenlight Fund is deeply grateful for the generosity and support of both Bowne of Boston and Monderer Design. |
The Fifth Annual GreenLight Gala Raises Over $310,000 For Portfolio Organizations
On September 24th, the GreenLight Fund hosted our 5th annual GreenLight Gala. This year, we had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones as we shared the results of GreenLight's first five years. Guests heard from the GreenLight portfolio organizations' executive directors as they shared stories of children and families they work with, illustrating the life-changing impact of their programs.
The 2009 GreenLight Gala brought in $310,000 thanks in part to Premier Sponsors The Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation; General Catalyst Partners; Goodwin Procter LLP; Grove Street Advisors; GTC Law Group; Samantha, Becky and Mark Levin; and Susan and John Simon. Net proceeds will benefit Friends of the Children-Boston, Raising A Reader-MA, Peer Health Exchange and Youth Villages' Transitional Living program. Special thanks to Ron Druker and The Colonnade Hotel for hosting close to 250 GreenLight guests.
For more information and pictures of the event, click here.
|
|
Save the Date! Friday December 4th
An Emerald Evening will be held Friday, December 4th, at the Castle at Park Plaza in Boston's South End. This party with a purpose will celebrate the results of GreenLight's first five years and the progress of our four portfolio organizations.
Cocktails begin at 6 PM, followed by dinner and a program at 7 PM. This year, for the first time, we're inviting the Next Generation of young investors, entrepreneurs and friends to join in for dessert and dancing from 9 PM on.
Special thanks to Founding Sponsors Long's Jewelers and Rounder Records and the evening's hosts and sponsors. For sponsorship and ticket information, please visit the event website, or contact Melanie Damsker at 617-252-2815, mdamsker@greenlightfund.org. | |
|
|
The GreenLight Fund identifies ground-breaking, innovative, and results-oriented nonprofits in cities around the country and helps bring those programs to Boston that have potential to address critical needs here.
| |
| Spotlight on:
Mike Amato, Jodom Pictures
Mike Amato and Otis Marshall, a Youth Villages client, at the 2008 GreenLight Gala.
Over the last four years, Mike has traveled as close as Chelsea, Mass., and as far away as Memphis, Tenn., to shoot videos that capture the impact GreenLight's portfolio organizations have on the children, youth and families they serve. Mike is the founder of Jodom Pictures. In these past four years, Mike has donated his time and talent to create poignant videos that tell the stories of the GreenLight Fund and the organizations we support.
Most recently, Mike produced the GreenLight Fund video unveiled at the 2009 GreenLight Gala.
When you ask Mike about his work with GreenLight, he is as appreciative as GreenLight is to him for his support. "I've probably gotten more out of the relationship than they have. The projects we've done together over the years have enabled me to come into contact with some of the folks who benefit from GreenLight's organizations. Many of these people have dealt with extreme hardship or have learned to do without so many of the things that the rest of us take for granted. To meet them face-to-face, to see their pride, determination and optimism in the face of adversity - it just makes you want to work all the harder to help them."
Ten years ago Mike started Jodom Pictures when his executive level work with several software and consulting companies was no longer fulfilling. Wanting to explore his artistic talents, he started Jodom, providing full-scale video production services to the corporate, commercial, legal and nonprofit communities.
GreenLight was introduced to Mike through what he calls "the power of networking." When the GreenLight Fund needed someone to produce a video for one of its first events, Deloitte, one of Mike's longtime corporate customers and GreenLight supporter, recommended Jodom Pictures.
Since then, Mike has not only worked on videos for GreenLight but has also created videos for Raising A Reader-MA, Peer Health Exchange and Youth Villages' Transitional Living program. Mike's first project for GreenLight was creating a video about Raising A Reader-MA for the 2006 GreenLight Gala. From the start he was hooked. "I fell in love instantly, both with the program and the organization. I'm proud to say we are still working with RAR today and recently produced a trilingual video for them that teaches parents how to read to their kids."
The mission of GreenLight is not lost on Mike. "What really clinched it for me was how efficiently and effectively GreenLight is run - like a business, with an emphasis on results. There are so many nonprofits out there, so many worthy causes. But by investing my time in the GreenLight Fund, I feel like I'm expending my effort where it will have the greatest possible impact."
The videos that Mike has created for GreenLight and its portfolio organizations are invaluable tools in conveying the mission, essence and importance of the programs. "Through Mike's videos we're able to see the children and youth reached by GreenLight's portfolio organizations, hear their voices, and understand the impact these organizations have on their lives," says GreenLight executive director Margaret Hall. "It's hard to express the value of his contribution to GreenLight. He has allowed us to bring children and their families into so many rooms to tell their stories."
While the projects Mike has worked on with GreenLight have challenged him and helped him improve his business, he says his experience with GreenLight and its organizations have had far greater impact on him personally. "It reminds me of that scene from the movie The Year of Living Dangerously, when Linda Hunt talks about each person taking their little bit of light and adding to the greater sum of light in order to make the world a better place. If, at the end of your time, the world is a little bit brighter for your having been in it, then that is a life well spent."
For more information on Jodom Pictures, click here.
|
Recently, Friends of the Children-Boston (Friends-Boston) launched Efforts to Outcomes (ETO) a web-based data management tool that will provide Friends-Boston with a powerful way to track and evaluate the progress of their Achievers (children in the program). ETO is now being used by all Friends and Positive Peer Mentors to log Achiever demographics, family and background information, grades, MCAS scores, and teacher and mentor surveys. Data is compared over time to track improvement in academics and behavior. Additionally, mentors complete "Daily Activity Journals" on ETO to log every outing with an Achiever, how the time is spent, and whether there are specific challenges or achievements. Friends-Boston's goal for ETO is that it will provide a comprehensive view of which specific activities and efforts lead to Achiever success in the long term.
Friends-Boston currently serves 109 Achievers and will add 16 more children this year. By providing intensive support through trained, paid mentors, Friends-Boston helps Achievers who are from at-risk and underserved communities avoid cycles of poverty, abuse and violence to become successful members of society.
|
 Last Spring Raising A Reader-MA (RAR-MA) partnered with Kevin Youkilis' Hits for Kids to raise $110,000 through the Goodnight Moon Gala at Davio's Restaurant. Before an August Red Sox game at Fenway Park, Kevin and Enza Youkilis presented Donna DiFillippo, RAR-MA executive director, and her brother Steve DiFillippo, owner of Davio's, with a check for the funds raised at the event.
Pictured from left to right: Kevin Youkilis, Donna DiFillippo, Steve DiFillippo and Enza Youkilis.
Courtesy of MichaelBlanchard.com
This September, RAR-MA had its major Fall launch adding 1,760 new children and families and 128 sites to its programs. With the addition of these children and families the RAR-MA programs are currently serving 7,596 children at 614 sites in the Boston area and Lawrence. RAR-MA continues to grow to fulfill its mission to give every child an equal opportunity for achievement by engaging low-income parents in a routine of daily book sharing from birth to age five, fostering healthy brain development, parent-child bonding, and the early literacy skills essential for school success.
|
 In September, Peer Health Exchange (PHE) was featured on MTV! mtvU is MTV Networks' 24-hour college network boasting the largest and most comprehensive media network just for college students. mtvU created a PHE-themed Dean's List show to air at college campuses across the country. Click here to view the segment.
This show will be a recruitment and publicity tool for PHE, and is part of MTV's larger partnership with PHE over the course of this year. Dean's List is an hour-long show that features college students talking about their lives and acting as DJs for a top-10 music video countdown list. The special PHE show is being hosted by NYU co-coordinators Kelly and Alexa, and will focus on their work with PHE and their favorite health-themed music videos.
In Boston, the new academic year is off to a great start. This Fall proved to be PHE's most successful recruitment of college volunteers ever, receiving over 600 applications for 320 available volunteer positions. Currently, 390 college volunteers are reaching over 3,200 teenagers, the majority of whom live at or below the poverty line and experience a disproportionate number of serious health risks ranging from teenage pregnancy to obesity. PHE is now in 28 high schools, reaching over 55% of 9th graders in need of health education in Boston public schools.
|
 Youth Villages continues to grow its Transitional Living program, launched this Summer to help young people who turn 18 and "age out" of the foster care system. To date, 19 young adults have been served by the Youth Villages Transitional Living program with 13 young adults currently in the program and seven referrals currently being processed. A full team of four Transitional Living Specialists is in place providing intensive services to these youth.
At the 2009 GreenLight Gala, Massachusetts State Manager Matt Stone shared Antoine's story with guests. Antoine's story, much like many of the stories of the young adults Youth Villages serve, has a rocky beginning. A child born addicted to cocaine and then abused, Antoine ended up in the foster care system and moved from foster placement to foster placement over the years. With the help of Youth Villages, today Antoine is attending community college and pursuing his dreams of a career in film and business while maintaining two jobs at Kohl's and Comcast. Since the GreenLight Gala, Antoine has been working toward accomplishing a goal of registering his car. He has secured an apartment and is enjoying living in independent and stable housing. Recently, Youth Villages donated a bed, couch, dishes and sheets to Antoine so that he could comfortably begin life in his new home. Antoine continues to set and achieve goals for himself, and Youth Villages will be there for him, supporting him.
|
|
Want to get involved? Here is how YOU can help!
In this new section of GreenLight's quarterly e-newsletter, we will share ways for you to get involved with our portfolio organizations.
 |
- Attend Youth Villages' Holiday Heroes Gift Drive on December 1st from 6 - 9 PM at 21st Amendment, Bowdoin Street in Boston. The cost of the event is $10 at the door with an unwrapped gift or $20 at the door.
- Host an in-kind gift or winter clothing drive through your company, or support the effort by donating directly to Youth Villages and letting them do the shopping for you. For more information on how you can help, please contact Kristin Wright at 781-937-7931, kristin.wright@youthvillages.org.
|
 |
- Attend a PHE workshop. Workshops take place every day of the week this Fall (the majority on Fridays), through December 11th, with the exception of Thanksgiving week. Workshops will resume the last week of January and run through the end of April (with the exception of Feb 15-19, April 2 and April 19-23 which are holidays/vacation weeks). Please contact Molly Greene at molly@peerhealthexchange.org if you are interested in attending.
- Host a coffee meeting or small Friendraiser to raise awareness about PHE and help expand our network in Boston. We can arrange for program participants to attend. Contact molly@peerhealthexchange.org if you are interested in learning more.
|
 |
- Support and attend The 7th Annual Rodman Ride for Kids Celebration. Again, this year Raising A Reader-MA is one of the beneficiary organizations of The Rodman Ride for Kids Celebration to be held on Saturday, December 5, at the Seaport World Trade Center. For more information and to purchase sponsorships or tickets, please contact Dana Kowalchyk at 617-292-2665, dana@raisingareaderma.org.
- Help Raising A Reader while holiday shopping. Purchase five CDs entitled "A New England Christmas" and receive the sixth CD autographed by Noel Smith for free. In addition, a children's book will be donated in your name through Raising A Reader.
|
 |
- Sponsor or donate auction items to the Friends-Boston annual "Friend-Raiser" coming up in May 2010.Friends-Boston is looking for individual and corporate sponsors, as well as auction items such as sports tickets, gift certificates, rounds of golf or anything creative people are able able to donate. For more information, please contact Rebekka Olsen at rebekka@friendsboston.org, 617-983-3682.
- Become a Family Friend. Friends-Boston is always looking for Family Friends. Family Friends is a unique program that provides the opportunity for you and/or your family to be a "friend of a child." For more information regarding the Family Friends program, please contact Rebekka Olsen at rebekka@friendsboston.org, 617-983-3682.
|
|
| Contact the GreenLight Fund |
The GreenLight Team
info@greenlightfund.org or 617-252-3235 |
|
|
|
|
