Near-Peer Mentorship

Organizes annual fundraising events including the Bowl for Kids' Sake in March at King Pin’s Alley in Saratoga Springs and the David J. Capron Memorial Golf Tournament at Cronin’s Golf Resort to support youth mentoring programs.

Operates the Bigs in Blue program in Warren County, pairing law enforcement officers with youth to build strong, trusting, and lasting relationships that promote positive community policing and youth development.

Provides a resource map and guide to community services in Warren County and the Southern Adirondacks to support children and families in accessing services and eliminating barriers to success.

Matches adult volunteers with children in the community for long-term, one-on-one mentoring relationships that include regular outings, shared social and recreational activities, and participation in cultural, educational, and milestone events. Matches often last multiple years, with some enduring up to eight years or more, supporting youth through critical developmental stages.

Organizes monthly and annual events specifically for mentor-mentee pairs (Bigs and Littles) focused on recreation, education, arts, culture, and health to strengthen relationships and community connections.

Builds ongoing connections with program participants and their families through regular support, including monthly phone calls, to ensure engagement and program effectiveness.

Operates a school-based mentoring program that connects high school student volunteers with younger students in the same school district for after-school activities and relationship-building during the school year.

Provides one-to-one mentoring services to hundreds of children in Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties, with a waitlist of 180 children awaiting matches.

Operates a two-year, paid internship program placing juniors and seniors from public Title I high schools in creative organizations, combined with career exploration, college readiness, and personal development programming. Served 26 students across 26 partner organizations in New York, Los Angeles, and Pasadena during 2022–2023, with structured hours of approximately 12 per month during the school year and 48 during summer; includes mentorship, career panels, field trips, networking, Adobe Creative Cloud access, and professional skills training.

Partners with 62 public high schools across New York and Los Angeles to deliver arts education programs, reaching over 30,000 students annually. Provides funding and technical assistance to principals and teachers over four years to implement rigorous, school-day arts curricula that improve student learning and program sustainability.

Funds the capital campaign for the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, an award-winning public high school in Astoria, Queens, providing financial support for construction and development of the school building.

Provides 15 high school students from NYC partner schools each year with fully-funded, intensive performing arts training and a comprehensive college and career preparatory curriculum over three consecutive years. Includes a summer intensive at NYU Tisch School of the Arts after 10th grade, paid project-based internships after 11th grade, monthly Saturday programming, and ongoing mentorship; had 30 total students enrolled across two cohorts during 2021–2023.

Offers advanced coursework in mathematics for children as young as age 3, including topics such as symmetry, negative numbers, and set theory, using problem-solving methods. Provides Russian language instruction focused on fluency in reading, writing, and speaking, while fostering cultural appreciation of Russian literature; also offers Advanced English, French, and Spanish courses.

Employs a teaching staff of over 40 instructors and 20 teaching assistants to deliver more than 100 classes annually across multiple subjects. Maintains small, organized classes with dedicated communication between instructors and parents via email and phone, and posts homework assignments online.

Runs a structured Junior TA Program that trains and employs over 15 student assistants annually to support classroom instruction, grade homework, organize math games and competitions, and assist with SchoolNova events such as placement tests, festivals, and social gatherings. Accepts applications for the 2026–27 school year.

Provides weekly in-person and online academic enrichment classes on Sundays for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, enrolling over 450 students annually. The program covers subjects including mathematics, science, languages (French, Spanish, Russian), art, and computer science, with instruction tailored to individual student levels.

Prepares and supports students for national and international academic competitions in mathematics, physics, and related fields. Students have achieved top rankings in MAA math competitions (including Distinguished Honor Roll, top 1%), Math Kangaroo (top 30% and higher), F=ma (annually since 2019), and PhysicsBowl (annually since 2016).

Tracks and reports educational outcomes for participants, including admissions to NYC specialized high schools, Hunter College High School, private schools, and highly selective public high schools, with data indicating over 60% of students enroll in selective high schools and virtually all in schools with 90% or higher graduation rates.