Winter Program Highlights
Fiver’s in-person programs have continued to be a place of fun, reconnecting, learning, and growing for our youth! In addition, we have had some amazing corporate volunteers supporting our programs.
In December, Fiver hosted its annual holiday party where we welcomed more than 45 youth participants and their families, and alumni to bring in the holidays with exciting games and activities. Our friends from Camp IHC brought additional holiday cheer with Amazon gift cards for each family, an annual fundraising effort of their camp community!
We started the new year on a celebratory note with Alumni Weekend. The festivities began with a reunion, where Fiver graduates from the last 15 years joined us to celebrate at the office, connect with each other, and welcome the newest class of alumni. The following day we held our Alumni Induction Ceremony. Fiver’s class of 2022 was inducted into a network of more than 700 alumni. The afternoon was emceed by Fiver Alumni Board member Taylor Butts ‘08 included speeches from our newest graduates and reflections from class of 2012 graduate Juan Frias. Fiver alumni will continue to have the support of Fiver staff, board members, and graduates as they embark on their post-high school journeys.
Fiver also hosted a Day of Service for participants and volunteers to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Volunteers from Global Holdings visited the NYC office to help 40 participants complete various office projects.
In February, Fiver hosted its annual “Somebunny Loves You” Valentine’s Day party. Nearly 50 participants and their families came to the Fiver office to play various Valentine’s Day themed games. Volunteers from Universal Processing also visited the office to distribute gifts that they purchased and donated to Fiver earlier this year. During New York’s midwinter recess, we hosted our annual minicamp. Fiver youth participated in cooking competitions, museum visits, indoor sports and games, and much more, ensuring that they remained engaged and connected during their time off from school.
This month also marked the beginning of our High School Internship program and Neuberger Berman Investment Camp partnership.
During this internship, high school students will have the opportunity to be interns at Fiver, working on various projects in teams. Teams will include Yearbook, Social Media, Office Redecorating, Job Training, Camp T-Shirt design, and LGBTQ+ Inclusion. Interns will be paid stipends and receive professional development training in Project Management from BNY Mellon volunteer Beamon Kendall, III.
Investment Camp is an opportunity for our Interns and Fivers to learn financial literacy skills weekly with our Neuberger Berman partners and try out their stock trading skills in a stock picking game utilizing Investopedia’s stock tracking website. We are thrilled to provide our youth with continuous opportunities to network with career professionals from various industries. We are grateful to have the support from volunteers throughout New York City to enhance our program offerings for our youth.
