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Philadelphia Futures Celebrates the Class of 2010 On June 7, 2010
On the evening of June 7, more than 350 mentors, sponsors, family members, and representatives from the business, education and civic communities, gathered at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to witness an annual rite of passage - Philadelphia Futures’ Sponsor-A-Scholar Graduation Celebration. This year’s ceremony honored 34 SAS collegians – our largest collegian graduating class to date – and 47 graduating high school seniors.
Our 2010 college graduates received their degrees from such colleges and universities as Penn State, Temple, Millersville, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Bowdoin and Drexel. This class brings the number of SAS students who have earned their college degrees to nearly 350 – many of whom have continued on to law school and graduate school.
All 47 members of the SAS High School Class of 2010 will be attending college in the fall. Through significant partnerships with several colleges and foundations, including Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, Drexel University, and The Brook J. Lenfest Foundation, the Class of 2010 will receive well over $1.5 million in financial aid directly related to their participation in Philadelphia Futures.
The 2010 SAS Graduation Celebration featured numerous event highlights, including an inspirational tribute to our college gradutes performed by members of the Philadelphia Futures family, and the presentation of several awards for scholarship and outstanding service. This year’s “Hats Off to You” Awards were presented to Bob White and Eli Goldblatt – both of whom have given significantly of themselves and their resources to our program and our students. Receiving the annual $10,000 Lincoln Foundation Scholarship Award was Asia Norton, a William Penn Graduate who will attend Millersville University in the fall. Additional scholarships were awarded by Townsend Press to four exemplary SAS high school graduates.
Philadelphia Futures congratulations all of our award recipients, and salutes the SAS high school and college graduates of the Class of 2010!
The Phillies and Philadelphia Futures Celebrated 10 Great Years of Getting in the Game. April 18, 2010
After taking to the field on the afternoon of Sunday, April 18, 2010, members of The Phillies took to the lanes at North Bowl in Philadelphia, where they were enthusiastically welcomed by more than 400 of Philadelphia Futures’ loyal friends and supporters. It was an all-star gathering as Philadelphia Futures and The Phillies celebrated a decade of partnership and tournament play at “Get in the Game” – Philadelphia Futures’ annual fundraiser to benefit the organization’s Sponsor-A-Scholar Program.
What began in 2001 as a billiards tournament at a small pool hall in Manayunk has grown into one of the most exciting charity events in the Philadelphia region. At “Get in the Game” 2010, 34 bowling teams and eight billiards teams – all sponsored by area businesses and individual donors – came out to compete for prizes and to mingle with their favorite Phillies and other local celebrities who served as Team Captains in the tournaments.
The 2010 event was chaired by David Montgomery, President and CEO, The Phillies; Arn Tellem, Principal, Management, the Wasserman Group; Daniel Fitzpatrick, President and CEO, Citizens Bank, Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware; all of whom addressed the gathering and spoke of their organizations’ commitment to Philadelphia Futures’ mission.
This year’s Captains included Phillies Juan Castro, Nelson Figueroa, David Herndon, Ryan Madson, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, and former Phillie Darren “Dutch” Daulton. Jimmy Rollins also came out to support his teammates and the cause. Also serving as Captains were basketball coaches Jerome Allen of Penn and Fran Dunphy of Temple; Phillies Broadcaster Tom McCarthy; several media personalities including 6abc’s Jamie Apody, Amy Buckman and David Murphy and CBS 3’s Doug Kammerer and Stephanie Stahl.
At the 2010 event, Philadelphia Futures recognized those who have contributed to the success of “Get in the Game” over the past 10 years. Honorees included:
Our Champion Co-Hosts
2001 – 2009
Doug Glanville
Ryan Howard
Mike Lieberthal
Chase Utley
Shane Victorino
Randy Wolf
Our Dedicated Event Co-Chairs
2001 – 2009
Daniel Fitzpatrick
David Montgomery
Stephen Steinour
Arn Tellem
Our “From the Beginning” Sponsors
2001 – 2009
Ballard Spahr
Brown Brothers Harriman
The Campaign Group
EwingCole
Glenmede
PECO
Pepper Hamilton
Our Best Friends
Gene Dias
Erin Estrada
Gloria Moskowitz
Scott Palmer
Sophie Riegel
Ed Ryan
Joel Wolfe
Taking home prizes at the 2010 event were Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., which captured first place in the bowling tournament, as well as the award for Best Dressed Team, and the PhilliesPharm Team from Merck, which captured second place. Rosemary Raucer of Glenmede won Highest Female Bowling Score, and Doug Kammerer won Highest Male Bowling Score. Teams from Fishman & Tobin took both first and second place in the billiards tournament, while the team sponsored by Beth and David Buckman won the award for Best Team Spirit.
This year’s event raised a record $160,000 and, over the last decade, “Get in the Game” has raised more than $1.2 million for Philadelphia Futures’ SAS Program.
This year’s Annual Conference was the most successful one to date!
On January 9, 2010 more than 400 high school students, collegians, parents and mentors participated in a day of dialogue, learning and celebration at the International House in West Philadelphia. The Conference is designed to help prepare students who participate in the Sponsor-A-Scholar (“SAS”) Program to succeed in high school, college and beyond. The morning began with President Barack Obama’s resounding Back-to-School Speech from this past September. Attendees were then involved in a moderated discussion featuring H. Pete Curry, Dean of Intercultural Advancement at Gettysburg College; Latifa David, Philadelphia High School English Teach and SAS Alumna; Gabriel Bryant, Director, Young Men’s Iniative and SAS Coordinator for Philadelphia Futures and Virgen Ruiz, Youth Care Worker and SAS Alumna. Following the panel, students, parents and mentors attended a series of targeted workshops such as “Making Wise Choices,” “Understanding the Financial Aid Process,” and “Parenting Strategies for College Success.” Attendees reconvened for a closing musical performance by the Doc Gibbs Ensemble which brought members of the Philadelphia Futures family to their feet.
The Earthquake in Haiti directly impacts Philadelphia Futures.
Read a recent series of articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer on two of our students and the heroic measures that they, their mentor and our Executive Director took to bring one of them home!
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/81907042.html?cmpid=15585797
Check out Philadelphia Futures in the Philadelphia Business Journal:
Philadelphia Futures is honored to be among the non-profit organizations to be funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 2010.
http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2010/03/29/daily17.html
