LEAP Raises $450k For Underserved Kids

This Citizen Contribution was submitted by Melissa Liriano, LEAP’s communications coordinator. 

Leadership, Education, and Athletics in Partnership, Inc.’s (LEAP) 29th annual LEAP Year was a great success, with new community connections made, fascinating topics discussed, and delicious food enjoyed by all. The fundraiser brought together public officials, business professionals, philanthropic donors, and volunteers to support LEAP’s mission of empowering New Haven’s youth to become leaders in their communities.

This year’s event raised over $450,000 through sponsorships, ticket sales, a bid-down auction, and donations. LEAP is an educational non-profit serving children and youth in New Haven since 1992. Their children’s program offers free after-school and summer programs to kids aged 7 to 12 at seven different school sites in six neighborhoods. LEAP also provides a program for young people aged 13 to 15 called Leaders in Training (LITs). It includes workshops to improve their self-confidence, financial literacy, and conflict management skills. They also participate in various activities such as swimming, theater, cooking, and dance classes. 

LITs aged 14 to 15 have opportunities for paid internships where they can learn from Counselors and Site Coordinators how to teach literacy lessons and be mentors. For those aged 16 to 18, LEAP’s program provides them with the opportunity to become Junior Counselors. They have access to resources to help them prepare for college, including college advising, college tours, and weekly check-in meetings with LEAP staff and leadership. College-aged students serve as Senior Counselors and mentors to youth by leading them through an evidence-based literacy curriculum and guiding them in fun activities related to the books they are reading. Counselors also receive support by participating in professional development and career training workshops.

LEAP provides a platform for many counselors and young people to begin their careers, especially those new to the workforce. Many young LEAPers who started the program as children return to LEAP as counselors to mentor a new generation of children. LEAP is proud to offer these free services to youth and teens thanks to the funds raised at the LEAP Year Event, 100% of which go towards maintaining programming free of charge for the community.

This year, LEAP Year Event saw over 500 attendees from Greater New Haven, New York, and even San Francisco, thanks to three virtual conversations. 

The evening began with tours of the Dixwell Community ​“Q” House followed by a cocktail reception and a welcome from LEAP Board’s Vice Chair, Tai Richardson, Noble Wealth Advisors of Janney Montgomery Scott’s Vice President, Melanie Kregling, and LEAP Executive Director Henry Fernandez. Guests then heard from Tony Scillia, Regional Managing Partner of Marcum LLP, who received the LEAP Community Service award for the value he provides to the New Haven community.

During the opening reception, attendees heard from Angel Llera, a Junior Counselor who started at LEAP as a LIT when she was just 14 years old. Today, Angel is a high school senior gearing up for college, and she has many options to choose from! She is appreciative of the support she received from her Site Coordinator, Paris Jones, who ​“helped [her] realize that [she] could reach [her] goals and have bigger dreams.” Angel said, “[Going on the LEAP college tour] opened up my idea of which colleges were possible for me… I worked as a LEAP counselor for many girls and have been their mentor, and it [led] me to want to become a social worker.” 

Afterward, guests heard from LEAP Alum Chanel Rice, who was recently promoted to Assistant Principal of Edgewood Magnet School. Chanel reflected on her experience being a LEAP Counselor for the first time and how her Site Coordinator at the time, Tomi Veale (Director of New Haven’s Elderly Services), helped develop her into the person she is today. Chanel said, ​“LEAP allowed me to grow, starting as a Senior Counselor and elevating [me] to an Assistant Site Coordinator. I am fortunate to have built strong professional relationships and friendships with some of LEAP’s greatest. I am eternally grateful for all LEAP has poured into me, professionally and personally.”

The opening reception showcased photos from the academic year and summer program, including a camping trip to Putnam Memorial State Park, field trips to places like Sonny’s Place and the Bronx Zoo, and the exciting end-of-component LEAP Expos. LEAP provides a safe and fun environment for children, and its philosophy is based on the values of community, leadership, and mentorship. 

LEAP Year Event aims to create a sense of community and connection by providing guests with personal and intimate experiences. The dinner-table setting creates a non-intimidating, casual, and warm atmosphere, perfect for those who prefer smaller crowds. With only 12 to 25 guests at each dinner in the hosts’ homes and local restaurants, there is an opportunity to get to know others, whether guests are long-time LEAP supporters or new members of the LEAP community.

After the cocktail reception, guests had the choice of attending one of 17 different dinners on Thursday, Feb. 29, and three dinners on Saturday, Mar. 2, or three conversations on Zoom, where they engaged in conversation with special guests, including Mark Simon of Centerbook Architects, Deputy Director of the Yale Quantum Institute A. Douglas Stone, The New York Times columnist Phillip Galanes, Co-Founder of Galvanize Climate Tom Steyer, and many more. The topics of conversation ranged from healthcare equity to the history of the failed founding of the first HBCU to decentralized banking. Some conversations even featured a private tour of the Yale Art Gallery and musical performances by Monk Family Jazz and STEAM Collective, Inc., The Haven String Quartet, and Andy Rubenoff.

One Zoom conversation was Plumb the Ocean’s Depths with Guest of Honor Paul Sullivan, hosted by Allie Perry and Charles Pillsbury. Sullivan discussed how the ocean shapes our climate, sustains our planet, and safeguards our economies and nations. Alva Greenberg and Roxanne Coady hosted Horacio Marquínez, a filmmaker from Panama, who shared powerful stories of Americans across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guests enjoyed watching a snippet of his documentary, America Unfiltered (2023), and discussed the importance of the arts and education equity.

These conversations held across the New Haven area make LEAP’s work possible. LEAP is gearing up for its spring break college tour, during which high school students will visit colleges in Virginia and Maryland. In addition to the college tour, LEAP is planning hiking and outdoor education trips for its teens to New Hampshire with partner the Appalachian Mountain Club and to Maine with the Ecology School, as well as a college experience at Connecticut College with partner David Dorfman Dance. These same teens will also be trained in teaching phonics and leading engaging activities based on culturally relevant books for their younger mentees in LEAP’s programs. Opportunities like these provide LEAP’s 1,300 young people with the space to explore and learn and are made possible by the community participating in LEAP Year Event.

Thank you to all who supported LEAP! Your contributions help kids in disinvested areas learn, explore new interests, and make lasting friendships. In particular, LEAP would like to thank their top sponsors: Noble Wealth Advisors of Janney Montgomery Scott, Roger Ibbotson, The George Ellis Co., Roz & Jerry Meyer, Hap & Stacey Perkins with Unicorr Packaging Group, Carol Sirot, and many more! Together, we are moving forward to create a New Haven for our children.