Spring doings at EV

Dear Friends,

While awaiting spring eagerly, we are keeping busy trying to get the most out of a short semester. Nancy, our Educational Coordinator is finishing up her second round of schools visits, some 100 teachers to be visited individually in many different schools. She is doing great work building up relationships which make of them supporters and partners in our work with their students. What they share with her is invaluable to help our tutors customize their tutoring sessions to the needs of their particular tutee.

Lauren, our Program Director, for her part, keeps in contact with the families every week and keeps the kids coming to tutoring. That is no small task until children and parents alike discover on their own that coming regularly is the first key element towards progress. Both of them have also been very busy preparing for out Community Event.

It was really nice to see the hall where tutoring takes place transformed into a festive space beautifully decorated by tutors. The small card tables used by each pair at tutoring, with colorful tablecloths and a small vase with beautiful flowers (gift of Hallie's Garden flower shop) were used by tutees’ families sitting down for a potluck dinner with their child’s tutor. That was a great opportunity for tutors and families to get to know each other or reconnect. The performance by the kids afterwards, the result of hours of Saturday mornings’ rehearsals the month before, entertained the families and made parents proud of their children.

We will now focus on recruiting youngsters and counselors for camp and start preparing actively for it. For some of the adolescents in the program, camp becomes a turning point, a breakthrough in their journey towards self-confidence, trust in their abilities and talents, a new positive attitude and hope in the future that is a main step towards success.

A month ago we had a small fun fundraising event organized by one of our alumni Board members that was a great success. Two other Board Members are actively organizing a bigger event planned for May 1st, a Chocolate Buffet at the Langham Hotel Boston. We hope most of you will participate in it, if not by coming, if you are miles away, at least by bidding in our silent auction which is about to go online and that you can already view at http://earthenvessels.cMarket.com.

Our need is great. The new energy coming from our board feels me with hope. We are greatly thankful for your being with us through thick and thin, being part of this great chain of support which sustains our work, We count on you to make of this year a new beginning towards more stability, sustainability at a time when expenses are going up and funding becomes uncertain. May our common endeavor open doors for our young inner-city friends who face so many obstacles in their growing-up.

Marie-Claude Thompson, Executive Director