Annual Report 2002

Thank You Organizational and Programatic Achievements Setbacks Board and Staff Changes Lessons Learned

Thank You

It is with great collective joy that we at Generation Xcel™ present this Annual Report 2002 as a tribute to the generosity of our friends and supporters. Thank you once again for your faith in us throughout a most exciting year of programs and growth. This year, Xcel opened a second facility, built a theatre, watched its impact double, and saw its leaders pioneer citywide relief efforts and national initiatives. We trust that as you review this report you will see in it the direct fruit of your giving.

Organizational and Programmatic Achievements

Programming highlights for 2002 included the following:

Xcel Theater. In Fall 2002, Generation Xcel's vision to open a second teen facility materialized when we completed the last stage of a $120,000 capital improvements campaign to convert the top floor of Abounding Grace Church, a 3,000 square foot space with 20 ft. ceilings, into a teen center, complete with a balcony, theater, video editing and sound studio equipment.

The renovated space debuted on October 24 with "The Launch". Over 150 people attended the kick off event featuring in house and visiting talent, a keynote challenge by Baltimore youth specialist, Matt Stevens, and the unveiling of Transformations, a mural by artist Greg King specifically commissioned for the theater arts facility. The Theater will debut a high school after school curriculum in the Fall of 2003 that includes photography, art, sound studio mechanics, video production, dance, music, and drama. Art professionals including television writers, producers and directors, painters, photographers and audio technicians, are helping develop curriculum and will serve as guest instructors. Xcel also used the facility throughout the holiday season to host numerous outreach events, meetings, and holiday parties.

Xcel After School™. Xcel After School continued to operate throughout the academic year (September - June), Monday to Friday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The program offers tutoring, literacy programs, mentoring, counseling, coaching, and an array of activities each week to an average of 30 children per day. The activities include dance, drama, chorus, film workshop, and a variety of "group club" activities.

Xcel™ After School currently operates on the following schedule:

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

Rap sessions have also become an integral part of the program. On designated days, children take part in interactive presentations done by our staff or a trained community partner on themes such as self-esteem, and violence prevention, as well as emerging current events and vital social issues. At the end of each presentation, a discussion session is facilitated by a member of our staff during which each child is encouraged to contribute his or her own feelings. Sessions are designed to promote critical thinking and self-expression skills in each child as well as to tackle common social myths and questions.

Celebration of Xcellence. At the end of the 2001-2002 school year, Xcel hosted the first annual Celebration of Xcellence where the children received awards recognizing their group club efforts, academic achievement, attendance, progress in various skills, and more.

Xcel Summer™ Day Camp. Xcel's summer 2002 programming embraced "Making a Difference" as the theme for the summer day camp. Serving an average of 35 kids, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m daily, the program offered a variety of activities centered around this theme such as arts and crafts, group dialogues, educational and recreational activities and community service initiatives such as its Adopt-a-Building project, student elections charity bake sales ands a home chore challenge. To round out the summer, Xcels' youth served over 500 families at its annual summer carnival and another 500 families at two block parties, a teen basketball tournament and through its teen softball league.

SYEP. 2002 marked the second year that Generation Xcel participated as a sponsor site for the NYC Department of Employment's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Xcel sponsored five inner-city youth workers as interns to be involved in various aspects of programming and curriculum development. The collaboration provided a source of qualified youth to continue Xcel's "by youth for youth" tradition.

Youth Choir. Under the direction of LaGuardia Performing Arts High School senior Rachel Gonzalez, the Xcel Youth Choir debuted this year, performing at various community functions, including several holiday parties, the Xcel Summer Carnival, and the Apple's Core Coffee House, a local homeless soup kitchen.

Adopt-a-building. For one week in June, an army of 100 neighborhood youth along with volunteers from several states, went door to door in the surrounding housing complex offering to clean apartments, run errands or perform random acts of kindness. Armed with brooms, mops, AJAX and other cleaning supplies, the program was part of a series of community service initiatives designed to teach the children the value of improving one's community. Due to the favorable response to the outreach, especially by the elderly and disabled populations, Xcel intends to offer the service again next summer.

Soaring Words.org. In April 2002, Xcel youth were able to send messages of healing and hope to millions of sick children through a collaboration with Soaring Words.org and the Museum for African Art. Designed to destigmatize illness for children, soaring words.org is an interactive web based community used to foster empathy and hope for sick children all over the world. Specially chosen by the team at the Museum for African Art, Xcel children explored their own ideas of healing though various exhibits which were then translated into original poems and illustrations later posted on the site.

Outstanding After School Educator Award. The Partnership for After School Education named Luis Velez, one of Xcel's co founders, "Outstanding After School Educator" at an awards banquet in May. One of five recipient in New York to receive the prestigious award, Luis was recognized for co-founding Xcel at age 16, working there since 1996 and most recently for his innovations as recreation director such as Group Club, Boot Camp Week, karate and an emerging film program.

Holiday Parties. Over 250 youth in the community were able to attend two holiday parties this year sponsored by Generation Xcel and YW8-2-XL. Both held at the new teen facility, the children created original decorations for the center's twelve-foot tree, played games, received gifts, and entertained themselves with open mic performances.

Tribute to Grace and Hope. Xcel co-founders Rev. Richard Del Rio and Jeremy Del Rio helped co-produce the Tribute to Grace and Hope on the one-year anniversary of 9/11. Held at New York's most renowned venue, Madison Square Garden, program highlights included hero and survivor testimonies, a 650 voice mass choir, award winning music, an onsite resource center and presentations by Governors Pataki (NY) and MC Greevy (NJ), Senator Schumer (NY) and several professional athletes. This concluded a whirlwind year of 9/11 relief efforts organized under the umbrella of theGround Zero Clergy Task Force and Northeast Clergy Group.

Setbacks

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

Floods. Xcel occupies the ground floor of a housing project building, which has provided many maintenance challenges including floods. In the past, floods have damaged office and classroom equipment and have forced the center to close on several occasions. This year, while the floods continue to occur occasionally, the New York City Housing Authority has worked diligently to address the issue by sending several plumbers to fix any broken or old plumbing lines. As a result, there has been minimal damage to Xcel's equipment and no interruption in services when the floods have occurred.

Cash Flow Crunch. Towards the end of 2002, Generation Xcel experienced a significant cash flow crunch. Due in part to two major grant commitments that did not materialize (totaling between $70,000 and $100,000), steps had to be taken to ensure basic operating costs such as rent and payroll expenses could be met. As a result, The Charles Hayden Foundation awarded Xcel $10,000 in discretionary funds to meet their basic expenses until another commitment was made. Currently, Xcel staff is exploring possible sources of long term funding such as state and federal contracts, multi-year foundation awards, and building an individual donor base.

Significant Board and/or Staff Changes

Staff transition. In August of 2002, Enid Montes, NYU graduate and life long resident of the Lower East Side, began work as Xcel's full-time site director when program director Dorothy Rivera became a middle school science teacher. Dorothy continues to volunteer at Xcel After School and YW8-2-XL.

YW8-2-XL Staff. Through a $30,000 grant received from World Vision International,
Xcel was able to hire two part-time workers to staff YW8-2-XL, Luis Carlo and Jonathan Del Rio. Both seasoned youth workers, Luis and Jonathan are crafting an arts program that will debut in the Spring of 2003.

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, 2002) includes Jay Vasquez, Nancy Lim (Sophmore, Parson School of Design); Rachel Gonzalez (high school senior); Rachel Delvalle (high school sophmore); Kevin Cedeno (high school sophmore); and Jay Martin Orguin (high school sophmore).

Lessons Learned

By tracking activities, Xcel has learned several key lessons.

- A large percentage of participants are being obtained through neighborhood referrals suggesting community satisfaction with Xcel's services.

- Program effectiveness is directly tied to the level of communication between staff members. In the past, regular staff meetings were difficult to schedule due to a largely volunteer staff whose only common hours are during the after school program. Still, we have found that weekly meetings, as opposed to monthly meetings, are less time consuming and more effective as a whole. Furthermore, the higher frequency of staff meetings has been vital in maintaining the excellence and integrity of the program.

- Parent participation is a key component of developing a first rate youth program. Thus, we have found that quarterly parent meetings, as well as regular correspondence with the parent community, has become a vital tool for evaluating the program's success.

- An open relationship with each participant's school is vital to his or her academic success. Coupled together with parental feedback, constant dialogue with each school's administrators and individual teachers allow Xcel to create an academic program tailored to each child's specific need.

- With the increased popularity of the web-based communication, we have found that both the internet and e-mail are effective tools for interaction between staff, participants and the general public.

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Read Xcel's Annual Reports for 2000 and 2001.