Quarterly Newsletter February 2018
Dear YPIE Friends,

Despite a national public educational landscape that continues to be challenging and stressful for low-income, first generation students and families, YPIE is focusing sharply on the success of our students, and they need support now more than ever.  We entered 2018 with a full portfolio of services to support more than 1,000 Yonkers public high school students as they get academically ready for, into and through college.  With an army of more than 220 volunteers from across Westchester County, a team of passionate and committed professionals and a strong partnership with the Yonkers Public Schools, the sky is the limit for the students who commit to hard work through YPIE.  Their stories of determination and resilience are an inspiration to all of us.
 
In this edition of a Slice of YPIE, you can read about returning college students in the YPIE College Success Program, the 170 new 9th grade YPIE Scholars who began working with us this January, volunteers who are helping YPIE achieve our mission and a unique partnership with the Food Bank for Westchester.  

Enjoy! 
Wendy Nadel
Executive Director
One Semester Down: Stories of College Success
"The monthly meetings I have with Ms. Ross are extremely helpful for me to plan how I am managing my time and how I am working towards my goals. If I am having difficulties of any kind, Ms. Ross helps me find resources on campus. So far I am proud that I have successfully completed my first semester at a competitive college. YPIE has made the transition into college a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be."
-Vanessa, Vassar College
"Ms. Ross and the YPIE College Success Program have helped me stay on track while I was in college by helping me find workshops on campus that were specifically for working on study skills, time management, and writing "A-worthy" papers! I'm looking forward to continuing the program and the many more achievements to come in my second semester!"
-Kathyfel, City College
Students in the YPIE College Success Program gathered recently to reconnect after successfully completing their first semester in college.  

With students enrolled in colleges as diverse as Binghamton, University of Rochester, Lehman, Vassar and City College, th e program is designed to help students persist through college to graduation. Results so far are strong: 98% of students are coming home from their first semester with A's & B's and planning to re-enroll for the next semester.

Welcome YPIE Scholars 2025 & Graduation Coaches!
Photos by Toby McAfee Photography 2017
In December, we welcomed a record-breaking 170 new 9th grade students into the YPIE Scholars 2025 cohort! 

Over the last two years, applications to this program have increased by more than 50%, requiring additional staff and volunteers to accommodate this  growth. Fifty new Graduation Coaches joined the YPIE family. These volunteers from all over Westchester County serve as mentors and are instrumental to the success of the program.
New YPIE Scholars, their families, and Graduation Coaches celebrated the start of the program with a Kickoff Event at Yonkers High School on December 14th. This was the first opportunity for Scholars and Coaches to meet and get to know each other.  Students collaborated with Coaches to create posters depicting a vision for their college dreams. Coaches and Scholars will work closely over the next four years to help students develop the skills and mindsets for success.

Summer Opportunities for YPIE Scholars
These frigid temps have us looking forward to summer!  That's why we have chosen a group of Shining Stars who are helping our Scholars find summer opportunities.

Recognizing how important it is for young people to stay engaged in something meaningful during the summer, three motivated YPIE Volunteers (pictured below) made it their mission to create a database of summer opportunities for YPIE students. Organized into three categories: enrichment, volunteer, and job, the database is ready for business. 

YPIE Graduation Coaches Ruth Cowan, Marie Rama and Maxine Sugarman all understood what a valuable resource this database could be for young people who may not have the personal networks to find a summer experience. 
You can help!  We welcome all summer opportunities to add to this database.  Please send any internships, summer program and/or job opportunities to info@ypie.org.
Thank You for Volunteering, Impact100!
With the help of volunteers from Impact100 Westchester, YPIE hosted a College Application Day at Lincoln High School in mid-November. Nearly 100 Yonkers high school students signed up for the district-wide event, and received personalized assistance completing the Common App, working on college essays, creating a college list, and filling out college applications.  

Food Bank for Westchester Offers Culinary Program to YPIE Scholars
YPIE is proud to continue working with our community partner, the Food Bank for Westchester.  In addition to supplying the YPIE College Zone with much-needed after school snacks, the Food Bank also offers YPIE Scholars an engaging culinary program once per month.  Students have whipped up yogurt parfait, guacamole, no bake cheesecake, wontons, and more!  

Announcements
Become a College Coach

Work with Yonkers students to help them navigate the complex college application process and craft a winning college essay.

Attend the Spring Training
at the YPIE College Zone 

Learn more at
http://www.ypie.org/volunteer 

We also have a variety of volunteer opportunities available with varying degrees of time commitments - from one day to four years.  There's something for everybody!
Program Calendar

Check out our Program Calendar to stay up to date on all of YPIE's upcoming programs and events. 
Shop Amazon Smile!

Did you know that when you shop on Amazon you can Support YPIE? 
Shop AmazonSmile instead and Amazon will donate a percentage of the price of your eligible purchases to Yonkers Partners In Education whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.  It's easy & free!  

Click here to log in with your Amazon account and start shopping!
Thank You For Your Ongoing Support


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