ICSF Professionals Team kicks off the year

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at the Boston College club provided the perfect setting for the ICSF Professionals Team Kickoff Reception, held on September 18th. Nearly 50 guests attended the Kickoff Reception, which serves to thank all who gave of their time and talents through our volunteer opportunities last year. It also is a great chance for new folks to find out more about the Professionals Team, a volunteer arm of the Catholic Schools Foundation.

Each year, a volunteer of the year award is given out and this year’s award was presented to Jamie Moore, one of two co-chairs from our Glimmer Gala in May of 2007. Jamie’s co-chair from the event, Jeannemarie Conley, presented the award and pointed out his important contributions to the Glimmer Gala, which raised over $13,000 for the ICSF. Jamie, she said, was instrumental in recruiting sponsors and auction items, as well as increasing ticket sales for the evening which drew close to 275 guests to the Boston Harbor Hotel. Thank you, Jamie, for your dedication to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund Professionals Team!

Jamie serves as a prime example of the way one person can make a big difference. We often talk about building minds and changing lives, and through our volunteer opportunities, you can help to do just that. The volunteer opportunities (Speakers Bureau, Tutoring, and Industry Tours) run on the school year schedule, beginning in October and giving students a chance to settle into their routines.

The first Speakers Bureau event for this year took place on Friday, October 12th at Holy Name Parish School in West Roxbury. Six volunteers spoke to a total of 111 students in the 5th-8th grades, sharing information about their professions, what particular education was necessary to work in their field and also encouraging the classes to work hard and to further their education.

Closely following our first speaking event was the inaugural tutoring session at Our Lady of Perpetual Help – Mission Grammar School in Roxbury on Saturday, October 13th. Held most Saturdays from 10:00am-12:00pm, tutoring allows volunteers another chance to interact with students and assist them in their studies. Volunteers needn’t be present at all sessions in order to tutor and all are welcome.

Our other opportunity, the Industry Tours Program, serves as a ‘field trip’ of sorts, bringing a group of students to a particular business, where professionals speak about their different professions and how their jobs contribute to the overall success of the organization. We look forward to setting up some exciting tours for students throughout this coming year.

These volunteer activities afford some great opportunities for directly impacting students’ lives, but there are other ways to become involved as well. Serving on one of our event planning committees can be a fun way to contribute, and proceeds from our events benefit the Inner-City Scholarship Fund. And of course, our marketing committee is always looking for some creative, fun ways to spread the word and increase the number of Professionals Team members.

To find out more about how you can get involved, please contact Melissa Ouellette, ICSF Professionals Team Coordinator, at 617-778-5981 or mouellette@csfboston.org.