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 ChangBalblair, 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 magic1two $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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Educator Spotlight: Meghan Dunn

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 19:57 by Interns

Name: Meghan Dunn      Grade: Third

(View Meghan's Educator Profile here. To view donors' impact in her classroom, click the completed tab!)

1. How did you hear about The Generation Project?

I first heard about The Generation Project through one of its founders, Jessica Rauch.

2. Tell us about the gift(s) that are implemented in your classroom?

My students have had the opportunity to benefit from two different gifts. The first was a trip for two of my boys to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). One of my male students was recently accepted into a Ballet program in Manhattan and I wanted him to see a real dance performance, especially one that highlighted male dancers. This year my class has been participating in a chess program one day a week. As a culminating activity, I wanted to have a chess tournament for my students. I was able to use The Generation Project to fund chess-related prizes, like a travel chess set and a wooden chess set for my students

3. What would you tell other donors who are considering donating to The Generation Project? 

The Generation Project is really great because it allows teachers to obtain resources in real time, and be responsive to their students. Other donation sites require that teachers have to be able to predict in the future what they might need, and they don't have the freedom to be flexible with their students. The Generational Projectgives me a lot of flexibility in meeting the needs of my students and finding resources. The Generation Project is also great because I know that the support that I am receiving comes from an individual who is just as passionate as I am about education and about giving students memorable experiences. 

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Donor Spotlight: Brian Clark

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 19:24 by Interns
Name: Brian Clark  (View Brian's Gift Page and Photos of His Impact Here)
 
    
1. How did you hear about The Generation Project? 
I heard about The Generation Project while I was working with Teach For America's Alumni Affairs Team in the New York Regional Office.  My interest was perked by its innovative approach to donating.  At present, I am a Program Manager with Teach For India in Pune. 
 
2. Tell us a little bit about the gift you designed.
The gift I designed was rather broad for the purpose of teaching ballet or about ballet in low-income communities.  My partner is a classically trained ballet dancer who is a company member with Rioult in New York City.  Though I am not a dancer myself, it struck me how little I had been exposed to dance in my life as the son of a Mexican immigrant who had come to the states to pick fruit.  As I thought about it more, I became rather perturbed by the idea that so many kids in inner-city schools may be surrounded by the arts throught he nature of the cities in which they reside, but otherwise unable to access them due to the stratification ofour society.  I wanted to create a gift that would allow a talented teacher to help expose students to an art form I have grown to love.
 
3. What advice do you have for other donors? 
One thing I would tell other donors: Be creative!  Though I may not be a classically trained ballet dancer, nor am I fluent in dance-speak, I know that I love it.  And our scholars should likewise have the chance to fall in love with dance too!
 
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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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