Miles '20 Completes Bronx Internship

The YWAA sponsored Tyler Miles '20 in his participation in a community-service internship this past summer.  

As part of an annual sponsorship by YWAA, Tyler Miles '20 completed an internship this past summer shortly after his graduation from Yale. Each summer YWAA funds a designated Yale student who performs an internship in community service. 

A native of Wilmington, Del., and a member of Yale's Saybrook College, Miles worked this past summer as an intern at the Bronx Defenders MOIA ("Mentorship, Organizing, Investigation and Advocacy"). The organization is an advocacy group involved in public defense work. During the summer, Miles worked on projects in community organizing and in LGBTQ+ defense. He also contributed research for a national LGBTQ+ conference on rights of trans and gender non-confirming prisoners (Lavender Law). Some project activity involved preparing "Know Your Rights" and training materials. 

"I have engaged in social justice and human rights for most of my undergraduate career," he wrote in a summary report to Yale and YWAA about his experience. "Part of the reason why I applied to the (internship) was to engage and work directly with marginalized individuals through the community-organizing team."

Since the internship, he has started a two-year program at Google geared toward social justice and community organizing.

"In a time when Yalies across the world have had to contend with the uncertainty of this pandemic," he wrote, "it has been an incredible blessing to have this opportunity to work with the Bronx Defenders MOIA, but also to have scholarship assistance from the (YWAA)."

He added, "I appreciate not only the financial support, but the mentorship and kindness that the YWAA members have shown me, including (YWAA Director) BK Munguia '75."

Miles had considered going to law school, but has decided to focus on this current social-justice passion for now.

Yale Book Awards, 2020

YWAA board members will distribute Yale Book Awards to as many as 50 high school students in Westchester this spring (YWAA photo)

Yale Westchester continues its tradition of celebrating outstanding high school students in the county by presenting its annual Book Awards this spring.  Over the next few months, YWAA board members will award books to students from as many as 50 high schools in Westchester.  

Each participating high school selects a junior deserving of the award. The broad criteria include excellence in academics, contributions in the community and outstanding participation in extracurricular activities. YWAA also requests schools choose students based on "outstanding personal character and intellectual promise." Students who receive the award do not have to express interest in applying to or attending Yale, but many choose to do so. 

In 2020, each student will receive either

·   “Yale Book of Quotations”, edited by Fred Shapiro, Associate Librarian and Lecturer in legal research at the Yale Law School.

Or the two books:

·   "Mapping the Heavens:  The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos" by Priyamvada Natarajan, Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University.

·   “A Better Planet: Forty Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future”, edited by Daniel C. Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School.

(Click on the links for more details about each book.)

Students also receive a Yale Westchester tote bag and are recognized at the school either at honors-day exercises or some other school event.

Tim Mattison '73, YWAA president, and Peter Santhanam '85 Ph.D., YWAA board member, are helping to organize the program in 2020. Other YWAA board members coordinate with participating schools and arrange for presentations of the awards. 

In 2018 and 2019, participating schools included such schools as Alexander Hamilton, Mount Vernon, Dobbs Ferry, Croton-Harmon, the German School, Yonkers Riverside, Woodlands, Scarsdale, Ardsley and other schools throughout Westchester (public and private). 

The program is not associated with Yale admissions. For some students, the award introduces them to Yale, and they may elect to apply on their own.  YWAA's long-time objective has been to recognize exceptional achievement in Westchester schools.

The program is supported by YWAA and alumni donations. For more about the program, go to YWAA Book Award.  Click 2019, 2018 and 2017 to see the lists of winners in recent years.

Alumni who wish to make donations to the program can do so by clicking YWAA Donations.

Scarsdale Honors Munguia

B.K. Munguia '75 and her husband Jon Mark will be honored with the Scarsdale Bowl by the Scarsdale Foundation for their years of service in Westchester (Scarsdale 10583 photo)

For their many years of service to the Scarsdale and Westchester communities, the Scarsdale Foundation announced in January it will honor YWAA board director B.K. Munguia '75 and her husband former Scarsdale mayor Jon Mark with the Scarsdale Bowl. They will be joint recipients. The Foundation has given out the Bowl annually since 1943.

The award is given to a Scarsdale resident, who, according to the Foundation, "has given unselfishly of time, energy and effort to the civic welfare of the community." They will receive the Bowl at a Foundation dinner in Purchase, Apr. 22.

Munguia is being honored for decades of service in Westchester, including her volunteer work at Scarsdale Heathcote School, the Scarsdale School Board, the Girl Scouts, and the Scarsdale Teen Center (where she served as president until its recent closing). She also chaired the Scarsdale Citizens Non-Partisan Campaign Committee.

Mark served two terms as a Village Trustee and as mayor of Scarsdale. He is vice president of the Westchester Reform Temple and has had leadership roles on the Scarsdale Citizens Nominating Committee, the Scarsdale Forum, and the Non-Partisan Campaign Committee.

Munguia's community involvement has not been limited to Scarsdale. The Foundation is recognizing the scarsdale for Scarsdale-related contributions, but she has also been involved in Yale alumni activities for many years. Currently a YWAA board member and vice president, she has led many projects and events involving Yale, Yale alumni and Yale students.

In recent years, she has organized Yale music events in the area, including inviting a cappella singing groups from Yale to perform in Westchester. Last year, she, along with Dan Leonard '76 and Sara Levine, helped organize the Sunday Songfest in Chappaqua, which featured Yale groups the Spizzwinks and the New Blue. (She sang with the New Blue, when she attended Yale.)

Munguia and YWAA board member Regina Possavino '01 have invited Yale a cappella groups to sing at the Teen Center in Scarsdale, including a 2015 Spizzwinks concert. She helped organize another Spizzwinks concert at the Center in 2013.

Also for YWAA, she has joined Maggie Favretti '85 in helping her coordinate the Scarsdale Community Garden for Yale Day of Service events. 

In 2014, she hosted a YWAA music evening-under-the-stars event in Scarsdale Park, featuring the Westchester Band playing popular music and jazz. And she assisted Merrell Clark '57 in 2013, when he organized a Yale night at Caramoor that featured a concert by the Orchestra of St. Luke.

Munguia has hosted and housed Yale students who have done YWAA-sponsored summer internships, including Natalie Warren '17, who worked at Camp Success at Westchester during the summer, 2014. She has been involved in the annual YWAA Book Awards that recognize outstanding Westchester high school students.

Along with Rich Fabbro '76, she helped to host YWAA-sponsored lectures at the Scarsdale Library, where Yale professors have come to Westchester to speak on current topics of interest. And she has participated on the YWAA debate committee, which organized the annual debate competition that has included the debate squad from Yale, other Ivy League schools and participating high schools.

Jane Veron '86, who has been a YWAA board member, has served on the board of the Scarsdale Foundation since 2014.

Save the Day: Day of Service, May 11

Yale Day of Service, 2019, will be held May 11 at over 250 sites in 20 countries, including in Westchester. (YWAA photo)

Save the date:  Saturday, May 11, around the world and in the Westchester area.

Celebrating a 10th anniversary, Yale Day of Service returns for another year. Yale alumni and guest volunteers have an opportunity to serve their communities by spending a day doing community work. In recent years, over 3,000 alumni at over 250 sites in about 20 countries have participated.

Service sites will be announced soon.  Yale Westchester alumni have regularly hosted sites at animal shelters, community gardens, local schools, and state parks.

Click YDoS for more about the 2019 program. Click YWAA-Day of Service for more about Westchester and YWAA activities over the past few years.

Preparing the Scarsdale Garden

The Scarsdale Community Garden at Scarsdale High School will host volunteers for Day of Service, Saturday, May 19

The Scarsdale Sustainable Garden Project, one of the long-time, popular activities of Yale Westchester Day of Service, will host again in 2018.  Yale Day of Service across the globe is scheduled for May 12, 2018.  In Scarsdale, the Day of Service will be held a week later, Saturday, May 19, on the grounds of Scarsdale High School.

Under the leadership of Maggie Favretti '85, volunteers, including Yale alumni and area high school students, will clean up the garden area and prepare it for planting.  The community garden has produced thousands of pounds of food through the years, much of it donated to food pantries and soup kitchens in the region.  Yale volunteers and their guests are also invited to contribute to a pot-luck lunch.

The Garden Project has been honored often for its continuing contributions in community service.  Register for the day by clicking Scarsdale Garden.  Click Garden Project to read more about volunteers--high school students and older, busy Yale alumni--at the garden since 2013.

Yale Day of Service, 2018

Yale Day of Service, 2018, is just days away. Yae alumni, friends, and family members still have time to register for a day of volunteering in the community, Saturday, May 12. Former Secretary of State John Kerry '66 and Marian Wright Edelman '63 LLB are honorary co-Chairs.

For the past several years, Westchester has been the site of many volunteer events. In 2018, activities planned in the region include serving food to the homeless in White Plains, cleaning up a school garden in Garrison, and sprucing up several areas in Poughkeepsie.

One new activity, coordinated by Yale alumni Jason Sandler '16 MD and Yang Li '12, involves helping to build a house for Habitat for Humanity in Yonkers. Yale volunteers will work on the construction of a new home and will have a chance to get hands construction-dirty from framing, assembling drywall, painting, landscaping and siding.

Yale volunteers won't need to bring their own construction equipment.  Habitat for Humanity supervisors will be present and will provide tools and equipment. They will also instruct and guide.  More specific instructions (where to go, what to wear, what you will do, etc.) will be provided after volunteers register.

Habitat for Humanity, 30 years old in Westchester, has built or renovated over 800 houses in the area. Click YDoS to register and volunteer May 12.

Save the Date: Day of Service

Yale Day of Service, 2018, is set for Saturday, May 12. Save the date, and be ready to volunteer in New York-area communities. Former Secretary of State John Kerry '66 and Marian Wright Edelman '63 LLB, founder of the Children's Defense Fund, are honorary co-Chairs this year.

Yale Day of Service is a day of volunteering, cleaning up, sprucing up, helping out and getting involved in many ways in communities around the world.

At least two sites will be in Westchester County. Jason Sandler '16 M.D. is coordinating efforts to assist Habitat for Humanity at a house in Yonkers.  In White Plains, volunteers will help serve dinner to the homeless at the Bread of Life Food Rescue and Pantry.

In Poughkeepsie, volunteers will help clean up areas in the city. Amy Savage '10 Ph.D. will lead the site. Anne Todd Osborn '00 M.F., coordinator, will lead volunteers who will help in a school garden in Garrison.

Over the past several years, YWAA leaders and volunteers have hosted 3-4 sites annually, including the SPCA in Briarcliff Manor and the community garden in Scarsdale.  Click Westchester-Day-of-Service for more about past sites and Day-of-Service events.

Favretti Receives Sobol Award

In Scarsdale Jan. 23, Maggie Favretti '85 will receive the Thomas Sobol Award for Community Service

Scarsdale High School teacher and community leader Maggie Favretti '85 will receive Scarsdale's Thomas Sobol Award for Service to the Community at a luncheon in Scarsdale Jan. 23.  The award is sponsored by the Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service and honors the late superintendent of schools in Scarsdale. 

Mary Lou McClure, CFO and Custodian of Taxes for the Village of Scarsdale, is a co-recipient of the award.

Favretti, an art history major at Yale and long-time instructor in social studies and world history, coordinates the community garden at Scarsdale, a popular site for Yale Day of Service, and has supervised many school clubs and activities, including a new student group devoted to understanding and helping in the global refugee crisis. Her leadership in the garden, which helps distribute over 1,000 pounds of food annually to food banks in the region, was recognized by the White House.

"Maggie has connected with countless students, family and community members not only because of her dedication to the school and to education in general, but also because of her belief that we each have the capacity to improve the world around us....," Thomas Hagerman, Scarsdale's current schools superintendent, said in Scarsdale10583. 

In Aug., 2017, Favretti received the Sousa Mendes Foundation award for her work organizing student tu support refugees.

Sobol, for whom the award is named, was superintendent for 16 years before becoming New York State Commissioner of Education from 1987-95.

Scarsdale's Singer Named WebMD Hero

For her research and leadership in autism, Lauren Singer '21 has been selected as a 2017 Health Hero (WebMD photo)

Lauren Singer '21, a first-year student at Yale and resident of Scarsdale, was named by the health-information website WebMD as one of three "Health Heroes" of 2017. She was selected for her work in autism, including projects, programs and research since middle school. 

A graduate of Scarsdale High School, Singer was inspired by her sister Jodie, who has autism.  From her sophomore days in high school, Singer has spent summers assisting in autism research at Mount Sinai in New York City. 

At Yale, she is studying perceptive cognitive science and philosophy. At Scarsdale High School, she was named a 2017 Regeneron Science Talent semifinalist (formerly sponsored by Intel), based on her autism research.  She also received a U.S. Congressional Award Bronze Medal for related research. 

WebMD has presented its Heroes Awards for the past 11 years and honors those who have contributed to improve health care and wellness in communities and who have researched or made notable progress in certain health challenges.  Singer is one of three recipients selected by a team of WebMD editors from candidates around the country.  

WebMD will donate $25,000 to a health-care program selected by Singer. (Singer selected the Child Mind Institute.) She and the other two winners will be celebrated at an event in Jan., 2018, in New York City.  

Foundation Will Honor Favretti

New York's Sousa Mendes Foundation will honor Maggie Favretti '85 (above) for organizing Westchester students to support international refugees.

Maggie Favretti '85, a history teacher at Scarsdale High School and leader of the school's community garden, will be honored by the Sousa Mendes Foundation for spearheading efforts in Westchester County to organize students to support refugees.

Founded in 2010, the Mendes Foundation honors Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a diplomat from Portugal, who when stationed in France in World War II assisted in providing visas for thousands of refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. He did so against the wishes of the Portuguese government.     Favretti will receive the honor at a scheduled program later this year at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.

For the past several years, Favretti has also coordinated the Yale Day of Service program in Scarsdale, where Yale alumni and friends prepare the garden on the school's grounds for spring planting. The community garden produces over 1,500 pounds of food (from about 7,500 sq. ft. of garden space), the bulk of which is supplied to area food shelters.

Favretti has also been recognized by the White House for her gardening programs, including assisting other communities in the area in starting their own gardens.

The Mendes Foundation is citing her for encouraging students at Scarsdale High School to start an organization, Students for Refugees, to support refugees and inform Westchester residents about the plight of refugees around the world, including those from Syria.

She and Scarsdale students were inspired to launch the organization when they visited Germany on a school cultural trip in 2015. On the trip, they met with refugees and resettlement organizations and decided to organize when they returned to Scarsdale.

Over time, the Scarsdale group expanded the initiative to other Westchester schools.  Today, there are at least 10 Students for Refugees (SFR) chapters at Westchester high schools. They convene to learn more about refugee families and assist in local and international efforts to resettle refugees into other countries, including the U.S.

The Scarsdale chapter held a forum in April to discuss why refugees flee and how they resettle in foreign countries. It hosted a Westchester schools conference in May. The Scarsdale and other school chapters have arranged to work with other Westchester and Connecticut settlement organizations, including the Westchester Refugee Task Force.

Other current projects have included a fund-raising effort for Syrian refugees and public events to educate the community about refugees.

Day of Service, 2017

A faithful group of Yale volunteers continued the tradition of spending Yale Day of Service, May 13, at the SPCA of Westchester in Briarcliff Manor (YWAA photos)

It might be hard to keep an accurate count.  Yale Day of Service and YWAA returned to the SPCA of Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, May 13, for the--who's counting--seventh year in a row, as one of the primary volunteer sites in Westchester.

All across the country and in some parts of the world, Yale alumni celebrated community service by spending a day volunteering in may ways with much Yale flavor and adorned in Yale t-shirts, caps and jackets.

In Briarcliff Manor, YWAA board member Susan Kaminsky '86 coordinated the group of volunteers. Once again, they spent an afternoon (this time a cloudy, rainy affair) helping out at the animal shelter. The shelter's primary goal is to rescue animals and put them in caring homes.

The Yale group, including alumni, families and friends, spent Day of Service cleaning the shelter, making dog treats, and organizing the supply room. The Yale group makes a difference not just one day, but year after year after year.

Yale Day of Service plans activities for one day in May.  But one Westchester site, the Scarsdale community garden under the guidance of Maggie Favretti '85, will host Yale volunteers, Saturday, May 20, also a long-running Day of Service event.

Above, Jennie and Emma Nolon (top, L) assist at the shelter. Carole Johannsen (top, R) cuddles with a kitten.  Heather Hewett shows off an extra-large SPCA t-shirt, and Sonali, Mira and Ritika Arora prepare dog treats. (YWAA photos)

Above, Brook Butterworth (top, L) assists in the office. Day of Service volunteers included Beatrice and Camille Korschun and Maxine and GG Zaretsky (top, M) and Kate and Emily Kasoff (R). Ben Browning and Carole Johannsen (bottom, L) were also at the site May 13. (YWAA photos)

Day of Service in Westchester, 2017

The SPCA of Briarcliff Manor (above, 2013 Day of Service) has been a popular site for Yale volunteers for several years (YWAA photo)

The Yale Day of Service, May, 2017, line-up is now complete. 

Yale alumni, family members and other volunteers can review planned activities around the world, as Yale's springtime tradition continues in helping communities on a Saturday afternoon in May.  Yale Day of Service activities are planned from Boston to the Bay Area and from Mexico to Singapore. And in Westchester.

The Westchester sites are listed below. Many are familiar to Yale alumni who have volunteered in the past. Westchester Day of Service once again have sites at the food gardens in Scarsdale and at the animal shelter in Briarcliff Manor. But always there are new sites, as well as a range of activities in surrounding areas (New York City and Connecticut).  Most activities are scheduled for May 13. Some sites are set for other days in May.

Click Yale Day of Service-New York/Westchester to review the line-up, decide where you want to help or contribute, and register online.

Click Westchester DoS to review highlights of Westchester alumni organizing, coordinating, and volunteering at Yale Day of Service in the past few years.

Scarsdale Garden:  Maggie Favretti '85, a faculty member at Scarsdale High School, has acted as site leader for several years and leads the community garden on the grounds of the school. The garden grows food for local food pantries and has been cited nationally for its contributions in teaching and encouraging the values of community gardening. Annually during Yale Day of Service, volunteers help prepare the garden for the spring and summer. (Sat., May 20)

Briarcliff Manor SPCA Center:  Susan Kaminsky '86, YWAA board member, will coordinate activities at the animal shelter in Briarcliff Manor.  The shelter has been a popular, favorite Day of Service site for several years.  Volunteers will clean the shelter and do some planting on its grounds and are encouraged to donate cleaning supplies, treats and toys. (Sat., May 13)

White Plains Bread of Life:  Sherri Falco will lead activities on behalf of Bread of Life, a non-profit organization in White Plains that provides food to those in need in Westchester.  On Day of Service, Yale volunteers will assist at Open Arms, a shelter that will sponsor dinner downtown for homeless men in the area.  (Sat., May 13)

Yale Day of Service Set for May 13

In past years, Yale alumni in Westchester have volunteered eagerly at several sites for Yale Day of Service, including (above) those in Cross River, Scarsdale and Briarcliff Manor.

Yale Day of Service, Yale's special day for alumni around the world to participate in an event of community service, is set for Saturday, May 13, 2017.

Alumni, family members and Yale friends will be invited to select an event in the region to donate time, a spring Saturday, and volunteer to clean up, spruce up, clear up, or help in any way at shelters, parks, gardens, and community centers.

Sites in the Westchester and neighboring regions will be announced soon.  Yale volunteers will then register online to participate wherever they choose to be.  In Westchester in previous years, sites have included the animal shelter in Briarcliff Manor, a community garden in Scarsdale, a middle school in Mount Vernon, and the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation state park in Cross River.

Click Westchester-DoS to read about sites and projects Westchester alumni have led in the past four years.

Day of Service, 2016: Choose a Site

Yale Westchester will host seven sites for Day of Service, 2016, including (above, clockwise) Jay Heritage Center, Hudson River Sloop and Maritime Museum, the Scarsdale Teen Center, and the Scarsdale Sustainable Garden. 

With Yale Day of Service, 2016, just days away, Yale Westchester is offering one of its longest lists of sites for volunteers in years. Choose a site, and register now.

Some activities continue from past Service Days (sprucing up the park at Cross River and the sustainable garden in Scarsdale).  Some are new (painting an old ship in Kingston, preparing children's fun bags in Mamaroneck). Susan Kaminsky '86, board member, is YWAA coordinator.

Yale Westchester alumni, family and friends are encouraged to explore the list below and select an activity you prefer or one that's close to you or one that could use your expertise or skills. Click YDoS-Westchester to register. (Note two of seven activities will be held May 14, a week following Yale's official Day of Service, May 7.)

Have fun, and go out and make a Westchester difference. A noticeable one that results in tidy parks, well-tended gardens, and happy smiles for special children.

2016 Day of Service Sites, Westchester Region

Ward Pound River Reservation, Cross River:  "Park Clean-up." Sat., May 7, 9:30-12 pm at Junction Rte. 35 and Rte. 121 South.  Once again, Regina Possavino '01 returns to lead volunteers in cleaning up the entrance at Westchester's largest park and biodiversity reserve area. The group will plant perennials and install deer fencing and information boards.

Jay Heritage Center, Rye: "I Love My Park Day," Sat., May 7, 9-12pm at 210 Boston Post Rd., Rye. Suzanne Clary '83 is the Center's president. Volunteers will help spruce up the park grounds of the Center, which includes the John Jay Mansion.

Mamaroneck: "Project Doctor’s Notes," Sat., May 7, 10:30-1:30pm, 321 North Barry Ave., Mamaroneck. Barbara Weinstein '90 and Theodor Liebmann '90 are coordinators. Volunteers will help prepare children's fun bags for children in area hospitals. The decorative bags will include games, puzzles, and colored markers.

Scarsdale: "Teen Center Clean-up." Sat., May 7, 10 am-2 pm at The Center @862, 862 Scarsdale Ave., Scardsale. B.K. Munguia '75 is site coordinator. Volunteers will help clean up the center and do some gardening, painting and carpentry.

Scarsdale: "Sustainable Garden Project," Sat., May 14 at the Scarsdale High School Garden. Volunteers will help tidy up the garden and prepare it for spring and summer. Scarsdale faculty member and Yale alum Maggie Favretti '85 has led the garden program for many years and has been honored for initiatives in community and sustainable gardening.

Kingston: "Hudson River Sloop Clearwater," Sat., May 14, 12-4pm in Kingston. Anne Todd Osborn '00 MS will coordinate a day of helping the U.S. Coast Guard paint parts of a ship near the Hudson River Maritime Museum.

John Jay Homestead, Katonah:  "I Love My Park Day," Sat., May 7, 9:30-12 pm at 400 Jay St., Katonah.  Robert Saunders '78 will lead volunteers in restoring the perimeter wall and removing invasive plants from the historic stone wall at Founding Father John Jay's Bedford house.

Click Westchester-DoS to read about the work of Yale Westchester alumni in Days of Service in recent years.

Lighten Leadership Luncheon, 2016

The annual Janifer Lighten '83 Leadership Luncheon will be held in Larchmont, June 12. (YBAA photos)

The Janifer Lighten '83 2016 Leadership Luncheon, which pays tribute to the late YWAA board member and Yale alumni leader, is scheduled for Saturday, June 12 at Larchmont Shore Club (1 Oak Bluff Ave.), 12-4 pm, in Larchmont.  Besides commemorating Lighten's community contributions, the third-annual luncheon highlights the accomplishments of local high-school students and benefits the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle.

Lighten, at the time of her death from cancer in Feb., 2012, was the president of the Yale Black Alumni Association. She was also a prominent community-services leader in Westchester.  Married to William Lighten '86, she was the mother of four children, all of whom attended or are current students at Yale.

Lighten was a past recipient of the Yale Outstanding Service Award for her service in Westchester.

Contact the Club at 914-235-3736 for tickets, sponsorships and more details about the event.

Day of Service Schedule, 2016

Now in its eighth year, Yale Day of Service is scheduled for Saturday, May 7.

YWAA has announced the slate of activities in or near Westchester for Yale alumni to set aside a weekend to participate in community service with their Yale caps and T-shirts on and with a chance to have springtime mini-reunions among all classes.

Susan Kaminsky '86 is once again coordinating YWAA and Westchester activities. See the list below.  Alumni and their families and friends are encouraged to step up and participate. To register at a site, click YDoS and type in a site name for details. Note some activities are planned for May 14, as well as May 7.

Click Westchester-DoS to read about how Yale alums organized, gathered, and made a substantial difference in Day-of-Service activities in recent years.

Jay Heritage Center, Rye:  "I Love My Park Day," Sat., May 7, 9-12pm at 210 Boston Post Rd, Rye. Suzanne Clary '83 is the Center's president. Volunteers will help spruce up the park grounds of the Center, which includes the John Jay Mansion.

Mamaroneck: "Project Doctor’s Notes," Sat., May 7, 10:30-1:30pm, 321 North Barry Ave., Mamaroneck.  Barbara Weinstein '90 and Theodor Liebmann '90 are coordinators.  Volunteers will help prepare children's fun bags for children in area hospitals.  The decorative bags will include games, puzzles, and colored markers.

Scarsdale:  "Teen Center Clean-up." Sat., May 7, 10 am-2 pm at The Center @862, 862 Scarsdale Ave., Scardsale.  B.K. Munguia '75 is site coordinator.  Volunteers will help clean up the center and do some gardening, painting and carpentry.

Scarsdale: "Sustainable Garden Project," Sat., May 14 at the Scarsdale High School Garden. Volunteers will help tidy up the garden and prepare it for spring and summer. Scarsdale faculty member and Yale alum Maggie Favretti '85 has led the garden program for many years and has been honored for initiatives in community and sustainable gardening.

Kingston: "Hudson River Sloop Clearwater," Sat., May 14.  Anne Todd Osborn '00 MS will coordinate a day of helping the U.S. Coast Guard paint parts of a ship near the Hudson River Maritime Museum.

Holloway: Civic Engagement at Yale

Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway '95 Ph.D. talked to alumni in Rye Brook, Mar. 2, about campus events and about the Yale Civic Leadership Conference (YWAA photos)

Events on the campus at Yale last fall attracted national attention and could have reached a combustion point, as factions of students fought to get their voices heard. Fortunately they didn't. Speaking to an alumni group from YWAA and Yale Greenwich, Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway '95 Ph.D. didn't avoid addressing what was surely on the minds of many alumni. He welcomed and handled questions with ease and candor.

But he insisted on highlighting a promising new program on campus regarding civic engagement. Thanks in part to time and leadership of alumnus Eric Liu '90, CEO of Citizen University, the Yale Civic Leadership Initiative was formed last year to give students a forum to address civic and community issues and learn how to become effective leaders in the community.

What started as an idea and a discussion by Liu and Holloway has taken off.  In January, the Initiative held its second conference of workshops, idea sharing, and leadership, open to Yale undergraduates.  On a Saturday for a whole day, when most would have preferred to sleep in, 120 students arrived early in the morning to take buses to West Campus to participate. 

Impressed by the students' resolve to commit to something new and important, Holloway said students sacrificed the day to devote to discussions and planning to improve civic engagement and agree to disagree in a civil way. They seized the day and proved students from different backgrounds and political interests could find common ground for the common good.

After a fall semester remembered for flared emotions and national media chronicling high-pitched dialogue among professors, deans, and student groups, Holloway said sessions like that of Civic Leadership Conference prove students want the best for all. So engaged have many become that students gladly accepted Holloway's challenge to assume greater roles in the Initiative in the periods to come.

Detroit city official Richard Tao '10,  film producer Lynn Novick '83, and former student leader and New Haven activist Caroline Smith '14 were Yale alumni speakers at the Conference.

The national media  have wandered away from Cross Campus, and Holloway and President Peter Salovey '86 Ph.D have been attentive to follow-up and have returned to the business of managing complex university affairs. Other institutions, he acknowledged, have invited him and Yale officials to speak to understand how Yale wound up last fall on an upbeat note.

Prominent on the New Haven agenda these days, Holloway said, is preparing for the opening of the two new residential colleges in 2017, the names for which will be announced in the weeks to come.  New colleges mean hiring new staff and even luring some off-campus students back to campus by allowing them to live in an elegant new setting, which promises attractive amenities.

Holloway's agenda is crammed, he admitted, far more than he thought when he accepted the Yale College post. Often the events of the moment or a crisis of the week sets his schedule each day.

The "core of Yale" is still there, he assured Westchester and Greenwich alums.  What makes Yale Yale is still there.  But a more diverse Yale with global roots and community-engaged students makes Yale better.

Day of Service Set for May 7

Jot the date down. Make a note. Make sure to volunteer and join other Yale alumni in community service. Yale's annual Day of Service is scheduled for Saturday, May 7.  Details about sites and events in Westchester County and the New York City region will be available soon.

YWAA and Yale alumni in Westchester have typically organized 4-5 sites each year. Alumni, their families, friends and other guests have volunteered at animal shelters, parks, schools, and community gardens. They spend a day (or two?) working, cleaning, teaching, advising, and getting their hands dirty, all in efforts to make a difference in Westchester.

YWAA board member Susan Kaminsky '86 will again coordinate Westchester activities.

Click YWAA-YDoS to review YWAA activities over the past three years.

Richardson: 40 Years at Grace Baptist

W. Franklyn Richardson '90MAR was appointed pastor of Mount Vernon's Grace Baptist Church in April, 1975.

One of the best known and most highly revered ministers in the New York area, Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson '90 MAR is celebrating 40 years at the helm of his Mount Vernon church, the Grace Baptist Church, which has a membership roll that exceeds 4,000.  It was April, 1975, when he was tapped to be senior pastor of the church, arriving in suburban New York after stints as pastor of churches in Virginia.

Forty years later, the church is booming, busy and thriving and has dozens of hands in many activities in the community.  The church, a religious home to many, has a strong, vigorous, visible community presence.  That includes its community development corporation that invests in business and housing development, health awareness, job training, and education.  That also includes ministries that are engaged in arts and culture, food pantries, culinary arts, legal issues, music, history and immigration. The community development arm has built in aggregate over $100 million in affordable housing.

Yale and YWAA in past years have not neglected him for his service, not only in the Westchester community but for contributions around the nation. He is a past recipient of the Yale Outstanding Service Award for exceptional service in the community.

Richardson is a former General Secretary of the National Baptist Convention, USA, which represents over 8 million church members and was a member of the Central Committee for the World Council of Churches. He has served on the board of the National Urban League and is Chair of the Conference of National Black Churches.

Richardson maintains ongoing ties to the Yale Divinity School, from which he received his master's degree. (He has a doctorate from the United Theological Seminary.)  He has helped recruit students to the school and has served as a resource or assistant for seminars and other coursework.

Always one to lead or provide guidance in community issues, in late June in the days after the church shootings at a Bible study meeting in Charleston, he applauded Walmart's decision to halt the sale of the Confederate flag in its stores. "We applaud Walmart for making the bold and morally correct decision to remove Confederate flag merchandise from their stores and web sites," he told Electronic Urban Website. "The Confederate flag is an offensive symbol for African-Americans in particular and for all people of goodwill."

In February, he declared his support of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's school reforms.  In an essay in the local Journal News, he responded to outcries by some that reform wasn't necessary.  He wrote, "To suggest mission is accomplished is premature when far too many of our schools are a long way removed from what anyone should consider acceptable." He added, "The governor understands you can't spend more and more money in the same way over and over and expect a different result."

In May, he spoke to graduates of Virginia Union University, where he received his undergraduate degree and where he chairs the school's board of trustees, and urged them to act as "custodians of our future."

His church in Mount Vernon this spring paused to recognize four decades of service in Westchester, but his beat didn't stop. It pressed on with more deeds to be accomplished, more work to be done, and more communities to assist.

Sprucing up Ward Pound Ridge

Yale volunteers returned to Cross River for planting and spring cleaning during Yale Day of Service, 2015 (YWAA photos)

Thanks to the Yale Day of Service team returning for an encore job in Cross River May 9, the entrance to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, the  New York State park, is once again tidy, neat and combed with spring blossoms. They also spruced up the park's administrative area.  The 4,300-acre park, with an attractive front, is ready for a flood of summer guests. Once again, Regina Passavino '01 coordinated and organized the Yale group of alumni and other volunteers.

Like last year, Yale volunteers performed a variety of gardening chores to clean up the area. For the past two Days of Services, they built butterfly gardens, planted perennials, installed dear fencing, and posted new information boards.   

The Cross River site was one of several YWAA-sponsored sites in 2015--including spring cleaning at the Scarsdale community garden, career day at Mt. Vernon, and activities at the animal shelter in Briarcliff Manor.