Spring 2007 - Milton Academy
Spring 2007 - Milton Academy Spring 2007 - Milton Academy
Post ScriptPost Script is a department that opens windows into the lives and experiences of your fellow Milton alumni.Graduates may author the pieces, or they may react to our interview questions. Opinions, memories, explorations,reactions to political or educational issues are all fair game. We believe you will find your Miltonpeers informative, provocative and entertaining. Please email us with your reactions and your ideas atcathy_everett@milton.edu.Social Venture PartnersNew philanthropy that includes thinking about, acting on and investing in social changeA year ago when I moved to Denver toget married, I wanted to volunteer beforepursuing my master’s degree in socialwork. My husband suggested SocialVenture Partners Denver (SVP), an organizationthat matches business-minded professionalswith Denver-area nonprofitsneeding their expertise. My husband wasalready involved with SVP and was hopingthat I, too, would become inspired by theorganization. In meeting with the organization’sexecutive director, I immediatelydecided to become a partner. Whatintrigued me most was that each year SVPworks with three local youth-focused nonprofitsthat are in varying stages of development.These nonprofits are selectedannually by a special grantmaking committeemade up of partners who decidewhich organizations to fund. At the time,SVP’s three beneficiaries were ColoradoMESA, which provides opportunities forminority and female students to becomemore familiar with math, engineering andscience in the hope that they will pursueone of these disciplines in college;OpenWorld Learning (OWL; www.openworldlearning.org),which supports children’sschool success by tapping into thepower of digital technology and peer teachingto ignite learning after school, duringsummers, and at home; and YouthBiz,Inc., a social enterprise that teaches leadershipand business skills to inner-city teens.My dilemma became choosing amongthese organizations.Being a partner at SVP means making aminimum financial contribution each yearof $2,500. Funds from all the partners—SVP Denver currently has 48—are pooledand invested as grants to local nonprofitorganizations that have been selected bySVP’s Grantmaking Committee. Once agrant is made, SVP works with the nonprofitto improve its ability to deliver effectiveprograms by appointing partners withspecific expertise—from fund raising tomarketing to technology—to help theorganization succeed and grow. Accordingto SVP, “The combination of financial contributionswith ‘time and expertise’ is primarilya response to needs expressed bymany nonprofits and mirrors the practicesof investors in start-up businesses andentrepreneurs in the for-profit world.” SVPlooks to invest in organizations that will beaffected by the contribution of its fundsand skills.Partners can attend SVP lunches every fewmonths to hear grantees talk about theirorganizations and goals. During the firstlunch group, I met Christopher Myers, thefounder and CEO of OpenWorld Learning,also a Milton Academy alumnus, whospoke passionately about his organization.I learned that Chris’ experience at Miltoninspired him to start OWL, now an awardwinningafter-school and summer programfor primarily low-income children inthe Denver Public Schools. OWL developsleadership skills through creative use ofdigital technology and peer teaching. Itsstudents design their own software using acomputer program called MicroWorlds,which is a child-friendly computer programminglanguage that was first developedat MIT. Those of you who attendedMilton’s Lower School may rememberworking on a crude LOGO-based programwhere you could command a “turtle” tomove right, left, up or down. MicroWorldsis also LOGO-based and uses turtles, onlyMicroWorlds is much more sophisticatedand graphics rich. After speaking withChris about OWL and about Milton, Idecided to make OWL my focus throughSVP. I volunteered once a week during thesummer at one of the elementary-schoolsites and also joined the OWL CommunityOutreach Team, whose goal is to help theorganization with public relations throughorganizing benefits and other events.The year I joined SVP, I had the opportunityto be a part of the 2007 GrantmakingCommittee, which was a rewarding andvaluable experience. By using criteriaestablished by SVP, the 2007 committeenarrowed down approximately 35 proposalsfrom Denver-area organizations, eventuallyselecting one new grantee called40 Milton Magazine
Smart-Girl. Smart-Girl is a research-basedproven program of prevention and enrichmentthat uses positive peer influence tosupport and inspire middle-school girls tomake smart choices and become confident,capable and self-reliant women.Colorado MESA and OWL will also continueas 2007 grantees. Not only was it unforgettableto become involved with selectinga grantee, but having the chance to discoverso many fabulous Denver-area organizationswas astounding. I have kept eachproposal to use as future social workresources from groups such as DenverUrban Gardens, which helps low-incomefamilies supplement their diet with producegrown in nearby public gardens, andHorseback Miracles, which provides therapeutichorseback riding for high-riskteens. An additional bonus to joining SVPis that most partners are young professionalsin their 30s and 40s, so it has been achance to meet other young people interestedin philanthropy.SVP Denver was started in 2000 and sincethen has contributed more than $450,000to local charities and thousands of communityservice hours to grantees. SVP Denverhas supported 11 nonprofits whose focus isK–12 education and youth development. In2007, the committee will also accept proposalsfocused on early childhood education.For those of you interested in SVPbut live elsewhere, there are 20 SVPorganizations in cities including Boston(617-338-2590 ext. 270), Rhode Island(401-274-4564 ext. 3399), Dallas (214-855-5520), Seattle (206-374-8757), and LosAngeles (310-281-7509). To find an SVPnear you, visit www.svpi.org/whoweare/affiliates.asp. Most affiliates focus on childrenand education in some capacity andI’m sure would love your help. For moreinformation, visit www.svpi.org.Jenna Bertocchi Stapleton ’92Jenna Bertocchi Stapleton ’92, Christopher Myers ’80 and OpenWorld Learning (OWL) students and teachers in Denver, Colorado41 Milton Magazine
- Page 4 and 5: PublicProblemSolvingTaking on our m
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- Page 8 and 9: Yeng Felipe Butler ’92“Business
- Page 10 and 11: L E A D E R S H I PMarketing toUnde
- Page 12 and 13: Sally Bowles ’56Sally Bowles has
- Page 14 and 15: P O L I T I C A LA C T I V I S M“
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- Page 28 and 29: E D U C A T I O NCitizen Schools“
- Page 30 and 31: E D U C A T I O N“Lights-on”Chr
- Page 32 and 33: A TM I L T O NFaculty AdvisorsSheph
- Page 34 and 35: LORAX, named for the Dr.Seuss chara
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- Page 38 and 39: headquarters in Charlestown. Theirt
- Page 40 and 41: Faculty PerspectiveSelf EducationEd
- Page 44 and 45: Post ScriptMilton at the Midpoint o
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- Page 48 and 49: In•Sight“The Edge of One of Man
- Page 50 and 51: —Tara Sharma, Grade 3OnCentreA Su
- Page 52 and 53: Perry Gift, continuedHistorians, wr
- Page 54 and 55: Alumni AuthorRecently Published Wor
- Page 56 and 57: Who’s in charge? And why?On Wedne
- Page 58 and 59: Class Notes1936Rosemary Crocker Kem
- Page 60 and 61: Catharine MacLaren ’87 married Er
- Page 62 and 63: Darren Ross, Jon Cope and André He
- Page 64 and 65: Milton AcademyBoard of Trustees,200
- Page 66 and 67: “…we were not in a hothouse, bu
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Smart-Girl. Smart-Girl is a research-basedproven program of prevention and enrichmentthat uses positive peer influence tosupport and inspire middle-school girls tomake smart choices and become confident,capable and self-reliant women.Colorado MESA and OWL will also continueas <strong>2007</strong> grantees. Not only was it unforgettableto become involved with selectinga grantee, but having the chance to discoverso many fabulous Denver-area organizationswas astounding. I have kept eachproposal to use as future social workresources from groups such as DenverUrban Gardens, which helps low-incomefamilies supplement their diet with producegrown in nearby public gardens, andHorseback Miracles, which provides therapeutichorseback riding for high-riskteens. An additional bonus to joining SVPis that most partners are young professionalsin their 30s and 40s, so it has been achance to meet other young people interestedin philanthropy.SVP Denver was started in 2000 and sincethen has contributed more than $450,000to local charities and thousands of communityservice hours to grantees. SVP Denverhas supported 11 nonprofits whose focus isK–12 education and youth development. In<strong>2007</strong>, the committee will also accept proposalsfocused on early childhood education.For those of you interested in SVPbut live elsewhere, there are 20 SVPorganizations in cities including Boston(617-338-2590 ext. 270), Rhode Island(401-274-4564 ext. 3399), Dallas (214-855-5520), Seattle (206-374-8757), and LosAngeles (310-281-7509). To find an SVPnear you, visit www.svpi.org/whoweare/affiliates.asp. Most affiliates focus on childrenand education in some capacity andI’m sure would love your help. For moreinformation, visit www.svpi.org.Jenna Bertocchi Stapleton ’92Jenna Bertocchi Stapleton ’92, Christopher Myers ’80 and OpenWorld Learning (OWL) students and teachers in Denver, Colorado41 <strong>Milton</strong> Magazine
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