New York Tristate Impact Report

New York Tristate Impact Report

WE Impact Report 2017 - New York Tri-State

Letter from New York Tri-State Regional Director Dianna H. English Dear Friends,

We are so excited to celebrate the launch of the New York Office, supporting schools, families and companies in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. This is an incredible milestone for WE as an organization, and for me personally. I grew up as a WE Schools student in Connecticut, so I couldn’t be more excited to be part of bringing new and exciting programs home. As an organization, WE celebrated tremendous growth in 2017. I’d like to take this opportunity to share some highlights. • Here in New York, we launched the first-ever WE Day UN. With involvement from UN Women, UNAIDS and UN Global Compact, we brought 6,000 young people together in the Theater at Madison Square Garden for a UN General Assembly week event like no other! Celebrating the Sustainable Development Goals, special guests included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Chelsea Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg and so many Tri-State area young people with incredible stories to share. • WE also opened the WE Global Learning Center. This word-class facility in Toronto will support students and educators globally to connect with each other, engage in service-learning locally and globally, and learn more about the world around them. The opening in September included performances by the Kenyan Boys Choir, a welcome address from former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and students from Ecuador, Kenya and the UK joining via Skype! The technology investments in this center will allow New York educators and students to connect to programs in Toronto and around the world over the next year. • Globally, we launched WE Villages in Ethiopia. Through a merger with imagine1Day, we will increase our East African foot print to support sustainable development in the region. For 10 years, imagine1day

has focused on constructing schools in remote communities in Ethiopia, and is a leader in education programming in the country. Work in Ethiopia will continue to expand over the next several years to include all Five Pillars of Impact, adding Water, Food Security, Opportunity and Health as we grow.

For me, some of the best moments this year were the quiet ones. Laughing with Mama Jane in Kenya while filling jerry cans at the river on a water walk with young American women visiting Bogani. Sorting toiletries with Queens high school students to support a local women’s shelter. Hugging New York staff and supporters after the successful launch of WE Day UN. Reconnecting with an organization that made me who I am, and watching so many young people start their journeys in the world. Thank you for all that you do to help us support the Tri-State area community locally, and the WE movement globally. We could not do this without you, and we’re so grateful to be on the journey together!

Dianna H. English WE Regional Director, New York and Tri-State

Letter from WE Schools Director Caitlin Robisch Dear educators, partners and friends, The 2016–2017 school year marked our first full year in the New York Tri-State market, and we were overwhelmed by the excitement and drive shown by schools and youth groups across the region. As many school districts and after-school program providers wrestled with questions of how to provide stability to their youth and empower them to become active citizens, many turned to service-learning and WE Schools. School leaders and after-school administrators were keen to enhance their service-learning credentials, while youth were clamoring for a voice on the social justice topics of the day and were eager to implement new service campaigns. • At the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice, students participated in a citizen appreciation day on Election Day 2017, and then organized and ran a teen role-model program for students at their school. • At New Visions Charter School for the Humanities II, students organized a day of silence to bring recognition to bullied LGBTQ students around the world. More than 50 students took a vow of silence and taped facts to their mouths about the higher suicide and bullying rates of LGBTQ students. • In Elizabeth, New Jersey, at Toussaint L’Ouverture-Marquis De Lafayette School No. 6, students collected and donated 20 bags of clothing for people in need, after learning about homelessness in their city. • At an after-school site for the Chinese-American Planning Council, youth studied the issue of hunger and researched national and local statistics. This research compelled them to start a poster campaign around their school to educate their fellow classmates on the issue. • In Port Chester, New York, middle school students upcycled plastic water bottles by turning them into bracelets, to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti and to bring awareness to plastic pollution in the ocean. The WE Schools team was honored to support over 400 WE Schools during the 2016–2017 school year. Our team provided 19 professional development workshops for educators, 78 action-planning

workshops for student leaders and 89 motivational speeches in classrooms and school assemblies—in addition to regular mentorship provided to all 1,285 educators involved in WE Schools. We were thrilled to host our first WE Day at Radio City Music Hall in April 2017, to celebrate the civic action taken by educators and youth across the region. We followed up our inaugural WE Day with WE Day UN at Madison Square Garden Theater to kick-off the 2017–2018 school year. As we enter our second year of programming, we are inspired by the passion and determination of students and teachers across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. We are grateful for the support of our educational partners, including school districts, city agencies and non-profit peers. Thank you for all the work you do to empower the next generation of leaders and create active change-makers amongst today’s youth. We believe that together, we will change the world. We’re ready to get started! Caitlin Robisch WE Schools Director, New York and Tri-State

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Table of Contents Welcome to WE........................................... 3 WE Schools................................................... 3 History of WE............................................... 4 Our Learning Framework.....................................5

WE Day.........................................................27 Access to WE Day................................................ 27

Overview of WE Day 2017................................ 28

Impact of WE Day on youth.............................. 35

Program components...........................................6

2017 WE Day testimonials...............................36 Special events............................................37 Looking forward: 2018............................38 ME to WE.....................................................39 Cultural immersion travel................................39

WE Schools Kit and educational resources...........................................7 Local and global monthly service campaigns..................................................8

Campaign spotlights...........................................11

Take Action Camp...............................................43

Motivational speeches and action-planning workshops.............................. 13

WE Companies......................................................44

Special feature: Wilson and Jackson........... 15

WE Families...........................................................45 WE New York Tri-State team.............. 46 The New York Tri-State Champions Committee..........................47 Thank you to our partners.................... 48

Professional learning and coaching for educators......................................................... 16

Partnership management and support....... 19

AP® with WE Service..........................................20

Program reach and students served.................................................... 21

WE Schools impacts........................................... 23

2016–2017 WE Schools profiles....................24

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Welcome to WE WE is a movement that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world. With an aim to “make doing good, doable,” we empower people to change the world, locally and globally, achieving transformative outcomes for themselves and others. We do this through our domestic WE Schools program, our international WE Villages model and a unique partnership with our social enterprise, ME to WE. At the heart of all our work is the belief that when we act together, we can change the world for the better. WE Schools Our goal We aim to reignite the fundamental purpose of education: moving students to want to learn, preparing themwith the life skills to better the world and empowering them to forge their own paths to success. WE Schools is experiential service-learning Through educational resources and service experiences, youth further their curricular learning and develop the life skills for success. Young people are challenged to research and make an impact on at least one local and one global issue that sparks their passion. Participants in the WE Schools program receive free curricular resources, service campaigns, professional learning for educators and motivational speeches for students. WE Schools resources are free to schools and are always evolving to stay relevant and aligned to learning standards. For educators, the program has the power to revitalize the classroom, deeply engage students in the curriculum and ignite students' passion for learning and engaging as citizens. The WE Schools program supports building the next generation of compassionate leaders.

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History of WE In 1995, at 12-years-old, Craig Kielburger told his class about Iqbal Masih, a child laborer who escaped slavery but was murdered after raising his voice. At first, Craig felt powerless against a challenge as massive as ending child labor. But when he reached out to his classmates, he immediately found allies. Soon, other children joined his cause. What started as a group of twelve 12-year-olds grew into a movement. More than two decades later, Craig, his brother, Marc, and a devoted team have evolved that small group into a powerful movement dedicated to change: at home, abroad and within each and every one of us. Today, our movement consists of millions of passionate youth, women and men working together to shift the world from “me” to “we.” This philosophy comes to life for youth through the WE Schools programming and WE Day. In an effort to better support local schools and educators here in New York Tri-State and throughout the Northeast, we made the strategic decision in the summer of 2017 to staff a fully operational program team in our New York office, now known as a regional office. Civics education mandates and service requirements across the region have only heightened the desire for more applied service-learning experiences. As a result, our WE Schools program staff now supports educators on the ground across the New York Tri-State area as they implement WE Schools.

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Our Learning Framework The WE Schools Learning Framework is grounded in 21st-century learning practices and skill development, and is the educational foundation for every resource we provide. In alignment with the goals of the Common Core State Standards, educators are supported with hands-on opportunities for their students to apply their learning. Educators are easily able to assess which skills students obtain through each curricular resources and learning experience by utilizing the WE Schools assessment rubrics.

Legend Outcomes

Learning goals

Core skill sets

Organization

Reflection

Argument formation

Information literacy

Leadership skills

Action planning

Research and writing

Critical thinking

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Program components WE Schools is a tailored and customizable program, implemented in hundreds of schools and groups across New York Tri-State, that is designed to fit the unique needs of diverse educators and students. The following components represent the wide array of free resources and experiences that the WE Schools program offers: Dedicated WE Schools Program Manager All educators registered for the WE Schools program in New York Tri-State have a dedicated point-person and mentor based in New York. Program Managers are available to their portfolio of educators throughout the year to provide the following types of support: one-on-one coaching sessions, service action planning, co-teaching and modeling, as well as guidance through the registration process for WE Day and access to free professional learning for their schools. I work for WE because I know firsthand the immeasurable role educators have in shaping the lives of their students. Participating in service-learning throughout my academic career not only altered my perspective about community and global development, but also led me to work at WE. I feel so honored to play a small role in helping who I believe to be the most dedicated, passionate and influential people in the world make a difference in their students’ lives. –Alison Haier, WE Schools Program Manager

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WE Schools Kit and educational resources Lesson plans, current events articles, social justice blogs, WE Day speaker videos and service ideas are all designed to help educators enhance their curriculum and to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of local and world issues. These resources also provide tangible tactics for youth to be able to engage on issues beyond their immediate surroundings.

WE Schools Kit

Issue cards

USB

Rafiki bracelet

Educator's Guide, Student Guide, WE Day Book, Local Student Yearbook and Global Student Yearbook

Resource bag

Club cards

Campaign posters

Local and global service campaigns Each month, WE Schools spotlights a unique service campaign that makes it easy for educators to incorporate service-learning into their curriculum.

Local campaigns When you decide to take action on an issue, knowing where to start can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve set you up with seven local action campaigns that you can customize to suit your needs.

Come together to collect food to help scare away hunger. Hold a food drive to contribute to your local community and raise awareness of the root causes of hunger. Learn more at WE.org/wescarehunger .

Help promote digital responsibility by spreading positivity and putting an end to negative actions using social media. Use your voice to speak up and spread awareness. Learn more at WE.org/weareaware .

Film For Change

Take action through an art project in your school or community to promote acceptance among your peers. Film it and share it with others to spread the message! Learn more at WE.org/wefilmforchange . Made possible by Participant Media.

Read Together

Find the book that inspires you to take action and change the world. Be an advocate for literacy by organizing a book drive or reading with a buddy. Learn more at WE.org/wereadtogether . Made possible by KPMG.

Are One

Technology is a powerful tool for social change. Use it to imagine and develop ways to make your school and community more inclusive for everyone. Learn more at WE.org/weareone . Made possible by Microsoft.

Commit to a sustainability pledge in your school or community and watch how everyday actions can turn into sustainable impact. Learn more at WE.org/wetakecharge . Made possible by Unilever.

Find your passion for change and rally together to help take action on a cause in your community. Inspire others to volunteer and create a ripple effect of volunteerism. Learn more at WE.org/wevolunteernow . Made possible by The Allstate Foundation.

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Global campaigns Learning about the issues facing the world beyond your own community can enrich your life and provide you with new perspectives. That’s why we’re equipping you with six global action campaigns that can help you connect with people across the world.

Create Change

Small change can create big impact! Host a coin drive to raise funds toward purchasing a goat for a family in a developing community. Learn more at WE.org/wecreatechange .

Are

Empower women in Kenya and help them earn money to send their children to school by selling handmade Rafiki bracelets. Learn more at WE.org/wearerafikis .

Are Silent

Take a vow of silence to turn up the volume on the struggles of young people fighting for their basic human rights. Collect pledges for every hour you go silent and raise money for WE Villages. Learn more at WE.org/wearesilent .

Bake For Change

Give families the ingredients they need for a better future. Host a bake sale at your school and help raise money to fight food insecurity in WE Villages’ partner communities. Learn more at WE.org/webakeforchange .

Walk For Water

Help families in developing communities gain access to clean, safe drinking water by organizing a water walk to inspire positive change on global water issues. Learn more at WE.org/wewalkforwater .

Give Health

Organize a healthy-living event and raise funds for WE Villages to help youth in developing communities gain access to health care. Learn more at WE.org/wegivehealth . Made possible by Walgreens.

In the New York Tri-State Region, WE Schools and groups created an estimated social impact value of $11,067,640 through all volunteer hours.

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Campaign spotlights WE Film For Change

Fifth grade students at The Bellaire School decided to investigate and learn about infectious diseases. In their research, they learned that handwashing is a preventative measure that can help stop the spread of diseases. The students decided to collect >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52

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