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The Generation Project's 2010-11 Rugby Tour Kicks off in Chicago!

Tuesday, 19 October 2010 19:26 by Eli Savit

  

The Generation Project's second annual Rugby Ralph Lauren tour kicked off with a bang on Thursday, October 14, at the Rugby store in Chicago. We were greeted by enthusiastic guests who enjoyed an open bar sponsored by Chang, Balblair, and Mekhong, hor d'ouvres and pizza (it's Chicago--what else?), raffled shopping sprees from Ralph Lauren, and a  live performance from local rock sensation Daphne Willis.  In addition, guests at our Chicago event enjoyed shopping incentives from Ralph Lauren and a Chicago-focused video by our amazing videographer, Maicol Chavez.  Guests also heard speeches from Chicago public school teacher Brendan Clarke--whose students have benefitted from multiple donor-designed gifts--as well as Jessica Rauch, co-founder and CEO of The Generation Project.

Most importantly, guests at our Chicago event had the opportunity to design personally meaningful opportunities for students growing up in low-income areas. Donors designed a wide array of creative gifts based around their personal passions, including:

All told, over 100 guests combined to design 74 unique gifts for high-need students, totalling nearly $6,000 in resources for low-income classrooms and schools.

Check out our glamorous crowd below, and more amazing pictures after the jump!  And Bostonians, San Franciscans, and DC-ians: stay tuned for information about The Generation Project's stop at Rugby stores in your city!  (And check out more coverage of the event--and more pics!--over at khojodresses!)

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Thursday: Second Annual Generation Project/Rugby Ralph Lauren Tour Kicks Off In Chicago

Monday, 11 October 2010 22:05 by Eli Savit

 This Chicago girls' soccer team was born of a donor's generosity at our last Chicago Rugby event

Chicago-area people!  Clear your calendars for this Thursday, October 14, because the second annual Generation Project/Rugby Ralph Lauren national tour is kicking off at the Chicago Rugby store (1000 West Armitage) at 7:00 PM!  In the coming months, we'll be visiting Rugby stores in Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., so stay tuned for those events as well. 

Like last year's tour, all events this year will feature an open bar, food, and shopping giveaways from Ralph Lauren.  In addition, this year we'll be featuring live music from hot local acts.  In Chicago, the talented Daphne Willis--a Generation Project donor herself!--will perform.

The best part: 100% of your minimum $28 donation at the door will implement an educational opportunity you design for kids growing up in low-income schools.  At our last Chicago event, for example, one guest dedicated her donation to fund bilingual Spanish education. Another earmarked her gift for math supplies.  One creative donor dedicated her gift to helping kids win at Trivial Pursuit for life.  And one guest used his gift to start a debate team at a low-income high school in Detroit.  Incredibly, one team member won best orator in his very first debate!  

And this year, you have a chance to double your impact before you even set foot in the door!  Thanks to a generous grant from Chase, all gifts created online in advance of the event will be automatically doubled.  So, let's say you were planning to donate $100 at the door to help sponsor a basketball team.  Instead, you can donate $100 online, and, like magic1, two $100 gifts will be created, in your name, to help sponsor a basketball team!  Or, if you were planning to donate $75 for a complete set of Dr. Seuss books, create that gift online in advance, and two classrooms will benefit from the magic of Seuss.  You get the idea.  

Donating online is quick and easy--just sign up for an account if you don't already have one, login if you do, and follow the instructions in our "Design a Gift" application.   All online donors between now and Thursday will be placed on a VIP list, recognized in our event program and on The Generation Project website, and will be given free admission to our Chicago event.  

Oh, did we mention how incredibly fun these events are?  Check out this picture from last year's Chicago event, and try to find somebody who is not smiling.

 
 
1. Or, if you prefer, "like a very simple computer algorithm."  It all depends on the degree to which you believe in a) the supernatural, or b) computers.

 

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Intern Spotlight: Andrea Marcos

Tuesday, 10 August 2010 20:57 by Interns

Name: Andrea Marcos     College/University: Northwestern 

1. How did you hear about The Generation Project?

I heard about The Generation Project through the MMSS listserv. An email was sent through the listserv saying that they needed summer interns and it seemed as a perfect fit for my interests.

2. What are you working on right now?

Previously, I had been on the Research team where we researched on the strategies of non profits to get donations and what incentives proved to be the most powerful in past studies. I am looking at the incentives and approaches that transform interested people into donors. I am now in the Advertizing team, where I am in charge of keeping our AdWords account updated and studying the effectiveness of the Ads and keywords in increasing traffic in our website. In the Strategic Business Relations team, I am also reaching out to small family-owned businesses to get them involved as donors. This consists of traveling around the various neighborhoods in Chicago and going from door-to-door to meet business owners and put our name out there!    

3. What's the most interesting thing you've leaned while working withThe Generation Project?

I have learned that donations from the general public don't come by themselves. E-mailing to potential networks (even through insiders) is not enough to get people interested, especially for such an innovative approach of donating.

I have also learned that running a non-profit needs a clearly defined central authority. If it is one person, that person must be on top of everything all the time. If it is a team, that team must be in constant communication and have complete transparency. I realized the potential of volunteers in maintaining an entire organization with very low costs. 

I also learned not to be afraid to take the lead in a project. You never know your potential until you apply your skills outside the academic world.

4. What's your passion?

In a nutshell my passion would consist of research methodology, managinga non-profit, micro-finance in indigenous communities, the payoff from investment on women, urban public education reform, salsa, flamenco, tango, and the credibility of econometric models when the proper factorsare taken into account. 

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Weekly News Roundup: August 9

Monday, 9 August 2010 20:42 by Interns

Editor's Note: This is our weekly news roundup of education-related events nationwide and in our launch regions, compiled by one of our amazing interns.  

National:
+ Why You Should Be Skeptical about Standardized Test Scores (Washington Post)
+ Poll: Language Barrier A "Risk" For Latinos in Schools  (USA Today)

Bay Area:
+ 85 Days To Decide: Democrats Roll Dice With Education Aid (Fox News)
+ State School Board Adopts Common Core Standards (San Francisco Gate)
+ Who's to blame for Schwarzenegger's Mess? (Los Angeles Times)

Chicago
+ Quinn Banks on Federal Cash for Illinois Schools  (WBEZ)
+ Illinois Textbook Costs Going Up (Chicago Tribune)

 
New Orleans:
+ The Best Thing Ever for New Orleans (New Leaders for New Schools)
+ New Orleans: Education and Research (City Data)

New York City:
+ Education Reformers vs. "New Reformers" (Washington Post)
+ Charter Schools Get Only Part of State Per Pupil Aid (Buffalo News)
+ Education System Needs to Train Job Skills (Helium.com)
+ Proficiency should mean college ready--and an acceptance letter (Washington Post)
+ Education Department Deals Out Big Awards (New York Times)  
+ Routes to better schooling (News Observer)

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Daphne Willis Rocks!

Thursday, 5 August 2010 01:33 by Interns

Last week Daphne Willis, the incredible songstress (think female Jack Johnson) performed (barefoot!) at SPACE in Evanston to a packed house.  Five of us from The Generation Project's summer intern team, plus founder Jessica Rauch, attended the show and were blown away -- not only by Daphne's beautiful voice and engaging presence but by her incredible generosity.  At the show Daphne kicked off a long-term partnership with The Generation Project, encouraging her fans to give back through our organization and committing to giving gifts at numerous future shows.  Her first gift through The Generation Project will be an acoustic guitar for a budding musician.  Such a perfect example of how someone can use their deepest passion to make a very real difference in the life of a child growing up in poverty. 

Sincerest thanks to Daphne from all of us at The Generation Project!  We are so excited to continue collaborating with you to expand opportunities for kids in need!!

Check out Daphne's website here.  And see pics from the concert below and after the jump.  Sincerest thanks to Justin Barbin, our amazing photographer! 

The team with Daphne after the show!  From left to right: Janice, Matt, Tricia, Jessica, Daphne, Lee, and Andrea (wearing Daphne's sweet goggles). More...

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