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LEAP Counselor Chynna: My LEAPer inspires me.
Almost 600 people connected over Zoom to celebrate the young leaders at LEAP, demonstrating the resilience the nonprofit teaches.
This past weekend, LEAP Year Event, the 26th annual fundraiser for Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership, Inc. (LEAP) went virtual for the first time ever. The celebration was a smashing success with a reception and bid-down auction, 16 conversations with fascinating guests of honor and meals from 10 local restaurants! Over 575 philanthropic donors, business owners and community leaders connected over Zoom to show their support.
Planning for the first virtual LEAP Year Event began over the summer among Covid-19 pandemic fears and with very little precedent or resources on hosting a successful online fundraiser. Judy Clark, LEAP supporter and member of the LEAP Year Event Planning Committee, reflected on the process.
“We had to sort through so many thoughts of what would people want to hear when we knew they would be Zoomed out, on the edge of election frenzy, worrying about the children,” Clark said.
The committee drew inspiration from the New Haven-based International Festival of Arts and Ideas and solicited thoughts and opinions from community members.
On Thursday evening, friends and acquaintances at the event kept texting Clark.
“I heard many times through the night of LEAP Year Event 2021, ‘Thank you for keeping this tradition going.’ And I think that is what it was…. We were showing ourselves and our community that we can do this. That we are strong when we are together and hopeful. Resilience. Isn’t that what LEAP teaches?”
The hard work paid off – the event raised over $280,000 to support LEAP programming. Hosting a virtual fundraiser also had unique benefits: the diverse group hailed from 16 states and Washington D.C., with LEAP supporters joining from as far away as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many LEAP alumni were among the audience, as were a number of guests who joined for the very first time.
The event itself began at 6:30pm on Thursday with a live broadcast reception hosted by LEAP Executive Director Henry Fernandez and facilitated by Happily, a global events company contracted by LEAP to help with the event production. Attendees shared in the chat their reasons for joining: “Children are the cornerstone of the future!” “We love LEAP’s concept of older kids mentoring younger kids.” “We support LEAP because it works!”
“An investment in LEAP is an investment in our youth, and so an investment in our community and our future,” said Charles Noble of Noble Wealth Advisors, the event’s Anniversary sponsor in a video played during the reception.
Over 50 LEAP youth counselors and staff members attended the event. Several of them, along with LEAP children and parents in pre-recorded videos, spoke about the impact that LEAP has had on them. Chynna, a LEAP senior counselor and psychology student at the University of New Haven, shared how her experience working with her LEAPer Malikhi, a student with cerebral palsy and learning disabilities, inspires her to pursue developmental psychology.
“In a world where Malikhi would be stigmatized, he succeeds and thrives at LEAP. I can see the strength and confidence LEAP has instilled in him,” Chynna said.
Chynna’s story was met with virtual cheers from the audience and illustrated the central role counselors play in the organization.
Potter: My mentor helped me get into med school.
The reception also highlighted LEAP’s long-term impact. Darrick Potter and Alison Days, LEAP alumni and former counselors who joined the broadcast from Bridgeport, Connecticut and El Paso, Texas, shared their reflections on what LEAP has meant to them. Potter discussed how LEAP was his first “real-world work experience” and shared a strategy learned at LEAP that he still uses to this day when working with patients: the positive sandwich, which begins and ends with a positive note. He also noted the power of relationships and mentors.
“I had my greatest mentor at LEAP, who helped me get into medical school, and a supervisor that helped me learn to be a working adult in the real world and care for me,” Potter said.
Days served as a counselor and resource coordinator in the early days of LEAP, in the summers of ’93 and ‘95. She shared how her experience at LEAP remains relevant in her work as a pediatrician and president of the El Paso County Medical Society, such as being resourceful within material constraints and advocating for those who may not have a voice.
“LEAP was responsible for preparing me well for the rest of my life,” she said. “I am amazingly happy that it has continued to bloom over more than 25 years.”
Ann Baker Pepe, LEAP Board Chair, then took the stage to recognize LEAP’s leadership during the Covid-19 crisis and express gratitude for the power of community.
“In this challenging year, I’m especially proud of the way LEAP responded when New Haven Public Schools shut down last March. LEAP immediately reached out to 30 youth agencies across the city to strategize together. This is an example of the important role LEAP plays in our city,” she said.
She asked the audience to join her in a moment of silence in honor of those we have lost during the pandemic, giving a special tribute to the late Louise Endel, long-time LEAP supporter, mentor, friend and founder of LEAP Year Event.
The reception closed with a lively bid-down auction (pictured above) for LEAP. The auction raised an incredible $30,000 in 16 minutes.
Afterwards, guests split off into separate Zoom rooms with their conversations of choice, having selected one of 16 different conversations with our Guests of Honor. This year, attendees had the option of joining an “Intimate Conversation” with a smaller group of under twenty participants, or a “Large Group Conversation” with audiences ranging from 30 to 70 participants. LEAP offered dinner-included and non-dinner ticket options.
To support local businesses during the pandemic, dinner-included tickets came with a three-course meal taken to-go from one of ten restaurants: Anna’s Catering, Caffé Bravo, Camacho Garage, L’Orcio, Quattro’s, Sandra’s Next Generation, September in Bangkok, Soul de Cuba, Union League Café and Zinc. In total, LEAP Year Event attendees supported these eateries with over 360 meals and almost $20,000 in revenue!
One conversation was with Marcella Nunez-Smith, who leads Biden’s health equity task force.
During the conversations, guests discussed how the digital world catalyzes “fake news” and the implications for national security and democracy with former FBI counterintelligence agent Asha Rangappa, the process of crafting a podcast episode from start to finish with award-winning writers Jake Halpern and Jack Hitt, and using DNA testing to exonerate wrongful convictions and reforming the criminal justice system with Innocence Project director Christina Swarns.
Attendees at cheesemonger Jason Sobocinski’s dinner tasted a tailored menu of cheese and beer pairings, while those joining Yale University Art Gallery Director Stephanie Wiles and Programs and Outreach Manager Roksana Filipowska got an exclusive tour of the features and capabilities of the museum’s West Campus facilities. Thirteen of these conversations took place immediately after the reception, and an additional three occurred on Saturday.
All proceeds of the event will go towards LEAP’s free education enrichment programs for New Haven youth living in low-income neighborhoods. This year, LEAP Year Event raised over $280,000 from sponsorships, event ticket sales, and individual donations to help LEAP meet the demand for enrichment, educational support and youth programs amidst the ongoing pandemic. Thank you to all LEAP supporters for helping to Create a New Haven for our Children!
LEAP Year Event was sponsored by: Noble Wealth Advisors of Janney Montgomery Scott; Jay & Grace Bright; Roger Ibbotson; Roz and Jerry Meyer; The George Ellis Co.; Bill Aseltyne and Jeff Stryker; Building & Construction Trades Council New Haven & Vicinity; Laborers; Local 455; Operating Engineers Local 478; Carpenters Local 326; Insulators Local 33; New York Life Investments; Hap and Stacey Perkins with Unicorr Packaging Group; Dechert, LLP; GSB Wealth management; Jacqueline Koral; Cynthia Mann, MD; Ruby Melton; The Morrison & Foerster Foundation; Webster Bank; Alan & Pnina Weiss; Joel Zackin & Celeste Suggs; Alison Bonds & Larry Levine; Marna Borgstrom; The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; Eder Bros., Inc.; George & Barb Germano; Kreitler Financial; Marcum, LLP; Dr. Marcus McFerren/The Dermatology Group of New Haven; Nellie Mae Education Foundation; John S. Nussbaum; People’s United Bank; The United Illuminating Company & Southern CT Gas; Bank of America; Wiggin & Dana LLP; Julie Wilson & Thomas Ruggieri; Yale University Office of New Haven Affairs; A‑1 Toyota; Centerbrook Architects and Planners, LLC; Connecticut Custom Aquatics; Dimeo Construction Company; Jody Ellant & Howard Reiter with Romag; Jane Farrington; Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven; Jordan’s Furniture; Langan; Kate McKenzie and Craig Crews; Oak Tree Development; Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; Petra Construction Corporation; Lisa Stanger & Greg Colodner; Subway; Visiting Angels, Home Care Associates of; Yale New Haven Health; Albertus Magnus College; Barclay Damon LLP; Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center; Gerald Kahn & Kathryn Hill; Gateway Community College Foundation; Law Office of W. Martyn Philpot, Jr. LLC; Neubert, Pepe & Monteith, P.C.; New Haven Bank; Sydney Perry; Carol Sirot; Splash Car Wash; Thea Moritz; The Wine Thief and Black Hog Brewing Co.