Celebrating 15 Years Futures and Options empowers New York City’s underserved youth to explore careers and Mission guides them to further their Our education and become productive citizens of the community. On the cover: Clockwise from top: Interns William Li, Joseph Smith, Yong-Hang “Tommy” Wang, Morolake Thompson, Anthony Castillo, and Samantha Hinkson. Dear Friends and Supporters, This year is a milestone for Futures and Options: We’re marking our 15th year helping motivated young men and women acquire skills and education to succeed in and contribute to a 21st-century global economy! Since 1995, more than 1,800 students have completed our career development and internship programs. Of those, 95% graduated from high school and pursued a college education. This record of achievement is made possible by our business partners. By hiring our interns, they open doors for motivated youth to explore careers. Since 1995, Futures and Options students have shared their energy and enthusiasm with more than 300 small businesses, nonprofits and multinational corporations. Through that invaluable work experience, our students learn how to succeed in a professional environment. New York City’s teen unemployment rate is at 36%. Our public high school graduation rate hovers at 63%. The need to connect youth and business has never been stronger, and Futures and Options is proud to be part of the solution. Young men and women gain career readiness and access to the economic mainstream; businesses tap into an emerging workforce with our pre-screened, trained and highly supported interns. It is, as our business partners like to say, a win-win proposition. This year’s annual report recaps our 15-year history. It also salutes the people whose vision and energy sustained us through our founding years - through the trauma and devastation of 9/11 to our recent expansion. We consider ourselves blessed to count so many businesses as our partners. We deeply appreciate our loyal supporters and welcome those who joined us this year. Thank you for giving us reasons to celebrate, encouragement to grow, and the support needed for our young people to realize their dreams. We’re looking forward to the next 15 years and beyond. Eager, motivated young people are ready to join the Futures and Options program. Businesses are eager to tap into our pipeline of talented youth. With your support, we will keep expanding opportunities for both our city’s youth and its business community. Thank you for being our champions - and for inspiring our optimism of an even brighter future. With our warmest regards, from the Chairman of Board & Executive Director Stephen E. Hessler Patricia S. Machir A Message Chairman, Board of Directors Executive Director As president of The Charles Hayden Foundation Internship directors and the Downtown- Program’s inaugural class with Futures and continued investment Lower Manhattan Options’ founder, Dr. Barbara L. Christen. from the Alliance, Association, Futures and Options Dr Barbara was ready to expand L. Christen its internship proposed program. More a public/ businesses were private sector recognizing that Begining collaboration: “Investment in Dr. Christen human capital is as The imagined a important for the program that would “bring business community together the… resources as any other long- of Downtown to provide term investment,” as those connections between Dr. Christen put it. school and work through which young people The September can be brought into the economic mainstream.” In her 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center destroyed vision, classes would correlate “with supervised paid work the Futures and Options space on the 21st floor of Tower experiences …. [and] support the student as s/he learns One. Miraculously, not one of our staff or students and while s/he is held to the standards required by the was harmed. Despite losing all records of students and marketplace, which are also the standards for higher internship contacts, as well as 40 of our 85 internship sites, education.” Futures and Options managed to place 60 interns that year. Soon after that, the U.S. Department of Labor recognized When the Alliance for Downtown New York was Futures and Options as a model youth program. established in 1995, Dr. Christen was named its vice president of education and workforce development. With Now, in our 15th year, Futures and Options still connects the support of the Alliance, as well as Manhattan High New York City’s underserved youth to careers. We are Schools superintendent Patricia Black, Dr. Christen’s inspired by the chance to change a teen’s life through work- brainstorm came to life. readiness training, career exploration and paid internships. This investment in our city’s emerging workforce remains By June, Dr. Christen had lined up commitments from more vital than ever. corporate partners and schools for funding, intern positions, students, and space. The program would focus From 2002 through 2007, The McGraw-Hill Companies on three major industries: Business, service, and property provided an internship management. Its major goal: To benefit businesses by program for students from creating a pool of high-quality, entry-level workers, along the Morris High School with helping students gain skills to enter the economic Campus in the Bronx through a partnership with Futures mainstream. and Options and McGraw- Hill’s Community Partners Soon, Linda Loffredo, from the Department of Education, Program. This program was recruited as assistant director. Lester Zimmerman, was led by Sheila Stamper, formerly of Murry Bergtraum High School and Brice Futures and Options, Amita Hargerdon, a professor in the Department of Cooperative Nagaraja, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Linda Loffredo, Futures and Options, and Louise Raymond, The McGraw-Hill Companies. Education and Placement at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, came on board as advisors. September 1995 marked the Varied Internship Partners Left: 1997 Urban (VIP) Program’s official launch, and in October, more than Leadership Fellows 25 students from nine New York high schools attended its Program participant first orientation. Linda Yip served as a senior research Five years after the VIP Program was established, assistant for Standard & Poor’s; it blossomed into Futures and Options. The newly Right: Fall 2009 Pre- independent organization was intended as a model for Intern DanMarly similar programs nationwide. With a new board of France. 2 The Alliance for Downtown New York pilots the Varied Internship Partners (VIP) Program, which provides paid, mentored internships to high school students in the 1995 Downtown business community. The Municipal Forum of New York selects VIP to manage their innovative high school internship program, the Urban 1996 Leadership Fellows Program. Independence Day: Futures and Options launches as 1999 an independent nonprofit. On September 11th, the Futures and Options offices at One World Trade Center are destroyed. Fortunately, no employees 2001 or youth are harmed. for Futures and Options Futures and Options receives recognition as a model youth workforce development program from The Department of 2002 Labor. Major Milestones Futures and Options creates a summer Internship Program for teens from The Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem with 2004 support from the Charles Hayden Foundation. With support from HSBC – North America, the George 2006 Westinghouse High School Internship Program is established. 2007 Patty Machir joins Futures and Options as executive director. Futures and Options pilots the Pre-Internship Program in 2008. The Fall 2009 class receives their certificates at the 2008 closing ceremony. Futures and Options develops the College Guidance Initiative, which serves as a platform for guiding junior and senior high school students through the college search, application and 2009 financial aid process. 2010 Futures and Options celebrates 15 years of SUCCESS! 3 Vital Statistics Interns Yong-Hang “Tommy” Wang and Asia Mills-Burton. Futures and Options recruits youth from schools lacking resources to provide educational and career guidance for young people at risk of Impact falling through the cracks. Our l Two-thirds of Futures and Options’ participants come from low-income families, and 64% qualify for free or reduced lunch. l Our student population is 57% female and 43% male. l Ethnicities represented: African American (40%), Hispanic (23%), Asian/Pacific Islander (19%), multi-ethnic (10%), Caucasian (6%), and “other” (1%). l 16% of our students are immigrants; 24% speak English as a second language. l High school juniors and seniors, ages 16-19, participate in the Internship Program. The Pre-Internship Program is open to middle and high school students ages 13-19. !"#$ &'$(() *+a-.a/(0 Rates 100% 100% 80% 60% 63% 40% 20% 0% Futures and NYC Public School 234ons Students Students * *NYC Department of Education 2009 4 1995 2010 20 youth served 254 youth served 16 internship sites 87 internship sites 9 high schools 44 high schools 100% high school 100% high school graduation rate graduation rate 94% college “The program gave me acceptance knowledge of the workplace and prepared me for the real world. It helped me take the step from high school to college and made the transition much easier. ” -Shantevia Kelly, intern at SHARE The Futures and Options Internship Program William Li, Summer Internship Program participant. is offered throughout the year to juniors and seniors from New York City’s high schools. Interns