twestival local - Tweet.Meet.Give. - March 24, 2011

Have you purchased your ticket or donated yet?

We have so many exciting updates to share, including announcing our newest sponsors: Hashable, Watchitoo, Roommate Happy Hour, and FRS.  Other sponsors include Cheek'd, BarTab, SnapGoods, Quintessentially, Cool Blue Press, PopChips, and Sprinkles of Hope.

This year we are supporting an NYC-based nonprofit, iMentor. iMentor is the premiere mentoring program in NYC. You can read more in our post about iMentor.

The NYC Twestival will be held at Studio Twenty One, a new lounge in the heart of Chelsea. It will be a cash-bar event with drink specials, featuring live DJ's and various auctions and raffles. 100% of all ticket sales and donations will support iMentor. We hope you'll join us and bring your friends to celebrate.

Tickets are required. Tickets are $40 online and $50 at the door. If you can't attend, you can donate to this amazing nonprofit. NYC was one of the top five fundraisers in last year's Twestival event and we hope to surpass our amazing achievement this year. You can purchase tickets and donate by clicking the links on the right!  

One Friday afternoon, Caroline Rice, an actress and dancer, receives an email.  This is a very special email is from someone important, her mentee!

Once a week, Caroline receives an email from a teenage girl and high school student, Alisha, that she mentors at a school in the Bronx through the iMentor program.  The pair also meets each month at an iMentor sponsored event, like museum trips or college workshops. The topic for this week’s email is, “A Look Back, A Look Forward”.  This email gave Caroline and Alisha an opportunity to reflect on their match thus far and plan goals for the future.

A bit of back-story…  Like most of our pairs, Caroline and Alisha were nervous about meeting each other for the first time.   This is nothing unusual when pairs first meet.  This email helped Caroline and Alisha reflect on that first moment and how far they have come since. 

Alisha: “When I first heard of iMentor I wasn’t interested because it was in the summer time … and to tell you the truth I wasn’t really listening.  But then when I was in school and they came to talk about it, I was excited.  I was excited to meet a new person in my life that could help me greatly.  I am happy I have an outgoing cool person like you. “

Caroline: “I am so glad you changed your mind two years ago when you decided to do iMentor.  I am also glad that we get along so well...  Thanks for saying I'm cool... You know I think you are awesome.  :)”

After that first moment and the first meeting, their nerves were set at ease and they hit the ground running!  Caroline jumped right in and helped Alisha start planning for her bright future.

Alisha: “The most interesting thing I learned from you is…how important figuring out my steps to college are and that made me more open.  A lot of my peers say, "I’m just a sophomore, I don’t need to worry about that", but little do they know it’s GOOD to start early…I hope you liked this email =], can't wait for the next event.”

Caroline: “You said last night that your friends say to you that you should not be thinking about college when you are only a sophomore.  I am 100% certain that you should be!  I know you know this.  Last night we worked on the questionnaire and now you know what you need to do, this week:  have a meeting with your guidance counselor regarding credits for this year, learn more about Regents exams and go to the website to learn more about the PSAT/SAT tests.  Please remember to make this appointment and to speak with your counselor about all three of these things.  Also, remember to ask her to PUSH you.  You gotta be there!!!  Word???!!!”

As an actress auditioning all over the city while maintaining a demanding “day job”, Caroline has a particularly hectic schedule.  When she is involved with projects in New York, her schedule is erratic and she often works unusual hours.   iMentor’s flexible structure has made it possible for Caroline to build a special and impactful relationship with Alisha, regardless of her schedule.  “I email from Atlanta and LA,” she explains.  “The prompts are a great way to get to know each other and get to know about each other’s environment and community.  Listen, when I was becoming a young adult no one asked me what I thought of serious topics like backpack searches, grafiti and my ideal world in high school.  These topics help us learn about each other’s experiences and points of view.”

Caroline considers herself fortunate to have had several people in her life who have provided professional and personal guidance.  She in turn, wants to help Alisha set college and career goals and learn to build a network of her own.  She says: “The reality is that a career in performing arts is really hard. Alisha has such a creative mind—it is fascinating to see it work.  I want to help her figure out what she wants to do and what she needs to do to make it happen.” 

Caroline is one example of how our mentors are changing lives every day. How will you make a change? Become a mentor today!

 Eric (mentor) and Mesbah (mentee) are just one of the 1,800 amazing mentor-mentee pairs participating in iMentor this year.  Eric is a lawyer with Credit Suisse.  This year, Eric is serving as a mentor to Mesbah, a senior attending high school in Brooklyn. 

Mesbah is a bright, driven young man who immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh three and a half years ago.   He looks forward to attending college next year and plans to study economics or political science. 

Mesbah dreams of becoming a lawyer.  As a successful legal professional, Eric has offered Mesbah valuable advice about preparing for a career in the field.  Eric also provided support as Mesbah researched and applied to schools in the fall.  This support is especially valuable, because Mesbah will be the first person in his family to attend college.

Eric is extremely busy.  In addition to his successful career, he is family man and deeply involved in community activities.  iMentor’s flexible program model has enabled Eric to make a difference, regardless of his busy schedule.  “The weekly emails are great, because they allow us to engage regularly,” explains Eric.  He adds “I also like the face-to-face meetings.  I enjoy visiting the mentees’ schools and learning about the diverse communities they come from.” 

Want to get involved?  Become a mentor today!  

 Early bird tickets are now on sale for the 2011 NYC Twestival - supporting iMentor.  Now is your chance to get the tickets at a discounted price, only $25!  Regular tickets will be $40 and tickets at the door will be $50 (if we have any left!)  We have more exciting details to announce and have almost finalized our location, but lock in your tickets now if you want to attend NYC Twestival 2011.  

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

 We’re excited that the 2011 Twestival will be in support of iMentor, the premiere mentoring program in NYC. iMentor’s vision is that one day all youth will be connected to adult role models who motivate and guide them through high school and college graduation. The program seeks to bridge the divide between New York City’s diverse communities so that mentees are better equipped with the skills and resources critical for success. iMentor accomplishes this goal by pairing working professionals in NYC with high school students who are interested in similar career paths. This year alone, the program will match 1,800 professionals in one-on-one relationships with students from low-income neighborhoods in NYC. The mentors will talk with their mentees many times over the year and guide their decisions on college applications, course selection, and career preparation.

This type of individual attention really works. iMentor mentees have higher school attendance, grades, and college enrollment, and almost 90% of program participants had higher expectations of themselves after participating in iMentor.

But how to get New York City working professionals to fit meaningful mentor/mentee relationships into an already hectic schedule? Apply technology. iMentor’s unique technology-enabled mentoring model allows the young people and their adult mentors to build their relationships through an innovative combination of e-mail correspondence and in-person meetings. This flexible communication structure allows volunteers to remain involved with the NYC community, regardless of a busy schedule.

"We’re thrilled that iMentor was selected to be the nonprofit of choice for the 2011 NYC Twestival,” said Mike O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of iMentor. “The NYC Twestival is an excellent way to utilize social media to raise funds and awareness for iMentor. We also hope that many more New Yorkers will sign up to mentor through this exciting initiative.”

You can learn more about iMentor by visiting their website at iMentor.org.