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Executive Director Joe Kwasniewski, kicked off the evening by recognizing the more than 60 partners who provide Carver with the resources needed to carry out its mission to Build Brighter Futures.
In attendance were representatives from the Clay Arts Center, the Port Chester school district, Rye Country Day School, Boy Scouts, and Head Start. Alison Doernberg, director of Public Purpose at RCDS, provided remarks that encourage organizations to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, rather than one-directional offering of resources.
The evening also celebrated the launch of Carver Center’s new Tech Lab, an initiative borne out of a TechCorps project with students from Rye Country Day. With the buzz worthy name “Geeks 4 Good” as his website, Ryan Stackpole, recipient of a Ford Foundation grant, approached Carver Center in March with a proposal to pilot a class teaching middle schoolers how to build their own computers and learn basic programming skills.
The pilot program was so successful that Carver, along with support from donors, renovated a former class room to create a Tech Lab complete with computers, Smartboard, and mobile furnishings. Carver will soon offer STEM classes such as coding, digital music production and robotics. The Tech Lab will also be used by adult community members to learn basic computer skills.
“Our partnership with students from Rye Country Day School is a model partnership, where we both learn from each other for the sole purpose of strengthening our mission of building brighter futures,” explained Kwasniewski. “We are incredibly grateful to all of our community partners.”
In closing the evening, Tom Murphy, board member and Annual Appeal co-chair, announced that Carver has raised $475,000 for its annual campaign. All proceeds directly support the organization’s youth and family based programs and activities.
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