Annual Report 2001

Organizational and Programatic Achievements Setbacks Board and Staff Changes

Organizational and Programmatic Achievements

The 2001 calendar year provided unprecedented achievements for Generation Xcel, including the following highlights.

Xcel After School™

Xcel After School operates throughout the academic calendar (September - June), Monday to Friday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The after school education program offers tutoring, mentoring, counseling, coaching, and an array of activities each week to an average of 25 children per day including dance, arts and crafts, drama, and a variety of "group club" activities. Group club consists of dividing the children into two teams that remain over the course of the program. Each team chooses a name for themselves, and the staff designates captains/co-captains. The teams then participate in competitive but friendly games of wiffle ball, dodge ball, miniature basketball, hockey, soccer, obstacle courses, table games, and more. The group club competition both keeps the children occupied in fun activities and teaches them essential values like teamwork, commitment, good sportsmanship, hard work, and dedication. At the end of the school year, Xcel™ celebrates the program at a party where the children receive awards recognizing their group club efforts, attendance, various skills and character traits, and more.

Xcel™ After School currently operates on the following schedule:

*Extra homework and tutoring time before and after the designated hour is granted whenever necessary.

In October 2001 we also began offering a snack program free of charge through a collaborative effort with Henry Street Settlement. This service has allowed us to offset costs that, in the past, were the responsibility of the individual families.

Xcel™ Summer Day Camp.

The 2001 Xcel summer day camp was our best ever. We served 30-35 kids per day, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and offered a variety of activities based around thematic programming. The weekly themes included "self esteem and nutrition," "influential people in history," "team sportsmanship," "a walk around the world and back," and "careers in our city"; activities such as group discussions, educational activities, group reading times, arts and crafts, and drama were designed around the themes. The program also provided an array of recreational options such as dance, fitness, athletic and competitive games, outings to the local public pool and parks, and field trips.

In addition, Xcel collaborated with the NYC Department of Employment to sponsor six inner-city youth workers through the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Interns were involved in every aspect of programming from curriculum development to implementation. They also performed clerical duties and data entry and helped maintain the facility. Training included Partnership for After School Education (PASE) workshops and seminars conducted by Board member Jeremy Del Rio and Program Director Arlene Sierra-Perez.

YW8? Youth Center.

Beginning June 7, 2001, Generation Xcel has operated a second youth center in Lower Manhattan in partnership with Abounding Grace Ministries, a church located in a historic East Village Building at 9 East 7th Street. The building's fourth floor has been converted into a teen center, complete with an auditorium, lounge and game room. The partnership represents a unique opportunity for Xcel to adapt its "by youth for youth" outreach model to a faith-based context.

NY Giants.

Current Xcel Board Member Wendell Moore coordinated a seminar in May as part of the NY Giants rookie orientation aimed at educating them through a series of dramas and role playing exercises on issues such as domestic violence, drugs, and peer pressure. The presentation was well received, with a player personnel representative, and former Giants fullback, Charles Way calling it "the beginning of something new" in player development. Wendell returned to the Giants in October to conduct similar exercises with the tem and their wives.

Karate.

In July 2001, chief instructor and founder of the DAS karate system, Nathan Ingram, agreed to oversee a branch his martial arts school at Xcel. Contributing this service free of charge, it provides our children the opportunity to train in martial arts while learning valuable lessons about discipline, commitment and self -control. The classes are held twice a week and are open to the youth of the community.

Xcel Summer Carnival.

In August, the day camp organized a carnival where over 500 kids from around the neighborhood, including non-members of Xcel, participated in games and contests for prizes and candy. Sponsored in part by several local organizations, community members were astounded by an original play written, produced and performed by the Xcell drama team. During this event, the Xcel dance team also showcased the dance they had worked on all summer while the martial arts team proudly appeared in their debut exhibition.

Fleet All Stars.

As part of the Fleet All Stars program, more than 50 children from Xcel joined WNBA star Rebecca Lobo of the New York Liberty to help improve the appearance of their community. On August 20th, Ms. Lobo and the children painted over a graffiti-covered exterior of a local day camp a few blocks from Xcel. Afterwards, Ms. Lobo signed autographs for the kids and as she commended their efforts and advised them to "keep working". The afternoon proved to be a positive experience for all as the children learned the importance of giving back to the community

Ground Zero Clergy Task Force.

As a direct response to the events of September 11th, Xcel co-founders Rev. Richard and Jeremy Del Rio joined with other local leaders to form the Ground Zero Clergy Task Force, an inter-denominational, multi-ethnic coalition comprised to provide direct response to the tragedy that would be long-term, strategic and effective. Coordinating with agencies such as FEMA, Red Cross, and World Vision, the coalition was featured on Fox TV's "Good Day New York", Bloomberg Radio, NY1, Newsday, Christianity Today, CBN, and many others for their immediate mobilization of spiritual counseling and support efforts. Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Corzine (D-NJ), Secretary of State Randy Daniels (NY), and representatives attended a GZCTF luncheon at the Wall Street Regent Hotel on February 21, 2002 from Gov. James McGreevy (NJ), Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-NY) and others. Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, presented the keynote address.

Safe Space.

Safe Space, a local non-profit organization created to assist New York's vulnerable families through counseling, shelter, education, and employment services, offered to work with Xcel to provide services for children in need of emotional and psychological counseling. Since December 2001, both organizations have developed a plan to address these problems through bi-monthly visits from an experienced caseworker that deals with the children on an individual level. In addition, Safe Space sponsors monthly workshops at Xcel by the H.O.P.E. (Helping Our Peers Excel) Players, an outreach and youth development program that specializes in peer education targeting areas such as peer pressure and self-esteem.

Holiday Party.

Over 200 children attended this year's holiday party. Sponsored by the 9th Precinct, the AT Toy Drive Company, Operation Blessing, and Mrs. Helen Frey, the children received toys, gift bags, and prizes, played games, and enjoyed snacks for three hours on December 19th. The turnout once again exceeded expectations and stretched our space.

Touro College Collaboration.

Since starting Xcel, many of our founders and initial volunteers have effectively worked themselves out of a job by graduating high school, moving on to college and now pursuing careers in other professions. As a result, beginning in February 2002, Xcel has arranged for Touro College to provide social work students with work-study positions at the center. The collaboration will secure a long-term, recurring source of qualified staff.

Media Appearances.

Generation X-Cel's visit from Rebecca Lobo was featured on Fox 5 and UPN 9. Its collaboration with Safe Space was profiled in HOY newspaper on February 12, 2002, and CBN profiled Xcel in October 2001.

Setbacks

In addition to the achievements highlighted above, Xcel experienced certain challenges and setbacks that must be addressed in the New Year.

September 11th.

During the aftermath of the events that occurred at the World Trade Center, Xcel experienced several significant setbacks. First, participant attendance became relatively unstable for a few weeks until fear among local families was finally relieved. In addition, all fundraising efforts were temporarily halted because the chief operating officer and executive director of the program, Jeremy Del Rio, was called to direct his efforts towards disaster relief. Thus, several financial goals went unmet and we fell significantly short of all fundraising expectations for 2001. Lastly, any prior plans towards expansion of the program were temporarily postponed. Despite these brief problems, our attendance has again become consistent and focus has now been returned to raising the funds necessary to improve and eventually expand the current model into new areas. We look to the New Year as an opportunity to continue striving towards these goals.

Floods.

A significant setback to establishing a truly functional onsite office space has been unending plumbing problems in our facility. Xcel occupies the ground floor of a housing project building that provides many maintenance challenges including floods. Despite many efforts to fix the problem, we have had to maintain a twenty-five square foot corner in a neighborhood church as a second "office" in order to avoid damaging any further equipment. The problem mostly occurs in the event of a heavy rain when water seeps through a canopy that hovers over the office area. Although the New York City Housing Authority has been very cooperative in this matter, answering all incidents in a timely manner, they cannot provide any viable solutions to the problem. As a result, we have begun correspondence with President of the Housing Authority to discuss these and other maintenance issues.

Significant Board and/or Staff Changes

Staff Additions.

In June of 2001, Xcel hired former Xcel intern (summer 2000) Dorothy Rivera and Enid Montes to work as associate directors of education and administration. May 2001 graduates of Cornell University and NYU, and residents of the neighborhood, Dorothy and Enid are living inspirations to Xcel kids of their own academic and professional potential.

New Board member.

Effective February 1, 2001, John Jun was elected to Community Solutions, Inc.'s Board of Directors. John received a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from New York University in 1995 and works as the controller for DTI Group, a broadband Internet wireless company based in New York City.

Youth Advisory Board.

By definition, the youth advisory board is a transitory body, and as board members age, they no longer qualify for the position. Thus the new youth advisory board (effective September 1, 2001) includes Luis Velez (junior, Nyack College); Chris Medina (sophomore, Hunter College); Edgar Nieves (GED candidate); Rachel Gonzalez (high school junior); Ayana Morales (high school senior); and Tristan Brooks (freshman, New School University).

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Read Xcel's 2000 Annual Report here.