The 1st Annual Reading is Fun Block Party! The South Side Neighborhood Team and their Neighborhood Beautification Campaign! The Northside Neighborhood Team and their 4th of July Children's Parade!
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The mission of Believe in Syracuse is to promote positive perceptions and improve the quality of life in the Greater Syracuse Area. By talking about the positive aspects of Syracuse we have built ourselves a megaphone to organize volunteers and resources to make Syracuse a better place. Our organization converts local pride into meaningful action. In order to inspire community involvement we talk about all that we have on our side here in Central New York. We have so much we can build off of to make Syracuse a better place.
Over the last 30 or so years, Syracuse lost a lot of jobs, particularly large employers and manufacturing. Over the past 5+ years the Syracuse economy has been turning a corner, evolving and beginning to thrive:
How we make Syracuse stronger: Syracuse isn't all sunshine and flowers. There are aspects of our city that need improvement. That improvement won't happen by ignoring our problems or simply bragging about how great Syracuse is. Together we roll up our sleeves and make a meaningful difference in this community we love. All the funds we raise through our membership drive and our upcoming Progress Gala at the historic Hotel Syracuse help support our mission and our programs. Three programs we organize to make Syracuse stronger are the Syracuse Neighborhood Olympics, our Community Organizing Program and our Community Service Committee.
It's not about me. It's not about our board members. It's about you. It's about the power of all of us working together. We're a grassroots organization and your support is how I know we'll continue to make a huge impact in the Syracuse community for years to come. Thank you so much for all you've done for our organization, for our mission and most of all thank you for all you do for Syracuse. John DeSantis Believe in Syracuse 315-657-7478 [email protected] http://www.facebook.com/BelieveInSyracuse https://twitter.com/BelieveInSyr Become a Member
Just three weeks ago, on Saturday May 7th the Believe in Syracuse Southside Team met at the Southside Innovation Center to clean up the abandoned parking lot on the corner of S. Salina and Brighton and the 3 blocks of Brighton Avenue between S. Salina and Midland. The neighbors stepped outside their doors to learn more about Believe in Syracuse Southside Team and our beautification initiative. We learned so much from the neighbors and found that a lot of the trash, litter and debris doesn’t come from them but people who live elsewhere. For example drivers who pass through the block of Brighton Ave throw their garbage out of the window of their cars. One neighbor said “I used to pick it up but you get tired of picking up other peoples’ mess”, “they don’t even live here”. The cleanup crew had an opportunity to speak with a couple of the members from the Masonic Lodge on Brighton about the initiative and discussed possible collaborative work efforts on the project. How exciting is that. We are all about doing it TOGETHER… Meeting the neighbors and the children in the community joining us was a great indicator that the community members are open to service and building in their own neighborhoods. This Beautification initiative is a part of the Believe in Syracuse Community Organizing Program. Our team is a coalition of Southside residents, volunteers and members of Believe in Syracuse from the Greater Syracuse area. We are certainly open to cleaning other parts of the city so please come join us at our next meeting to hear more of what who we are and what we do. Consistency is key to success and we will keep this going as long as WE have YOU to be a part of the WE. Together let’s Make a Difference!
Our next Southside Team meeting will be held on Monday May 23rd 6:00pm at the South Side Innovation Center on South Salina. Please join us! --- Lekia Hill South Side Neighborhood Team Believe in Syracuse [email protected] What makes Believe in Syracuse unique as a non-profit in this community is how positive we are and how much we talk about what makes Syracuse great. How that makes a difference is that it brings people together around community projects to improve the quality of life in Syracuse.
This Thursday at 5:30 we're opening the doors to our organization for all of you. The goal is to provide you with the opportunity to learn about four of our committees and four projects that will convert our energy and enthusiasm for Syracuse into positive action.Click here to learn more about the meeting Thursday and RSVP.
Does one of these committees or community projects spark an interest for you? Do you have an idea for how we can take these programs to the next level? This is your chance to connect on these issues. We WANT your feedback. Believe in Syracuse is an inclusive organization for all residents in the Greater Syracuse Area and there are no requirements to attending the meeting. All points of view are welcomed and encouraged. As a 3 year old organization, we are poised to grow. Get connected with us at a very exciting time for this organization. To learn more, click here or visit the URL's below: www.believeinsyracuse.org/join-believe-in-syracuse-organizational-meeting www.facebook.com/events/168824863489958/ Thanks, John DeSantis Believe in Syracuse 315-657-7478 [email protected] http://www.facebook.com/BelieveInSyracuse https://twitter.com/BelieveInSyr Visit Our Website Become a Member! Last week we held our 2015 Committee Kickoff event. Over 60 of you showed up, learned about our organization and made a statement that you're invested in Syracuse. Thank you for supporting our organization and our mission. Next week the newly launched committees of Believe in Syracuse will be meeting. The people who make up the committees will be the ones setting up our events, recruiting volunteers, promoting the positive aspects of CNY and raising funds and awareness of our organization. We're a grassroots organization and that means we're powered by people like you. For too long Syracuse lost many talented people. Syracuse lost a lot in its economy. Syracuse city schools declined. Our neighborhoods lost part of what makes them great. Help us take back what we lost. For just $25 become a member of Believe in Syracuse today to support our mission and take advantage of some fantastic networking benefits.Click here, learn more and then signup today. Donating is a great way to support our mission and network with our members. What also does those things is joining a committee and helping us organize. That's why next week we're holding the following committee meetings and we are inviting YOU to attend!
Not sure what the committees are about or which one you want to be part of? Click here to read more about each committee and then let us know if there's one you're most passionate about. When I showed up for the committee kickoff event on Wednesday, I really didn't know how many people to expect. I was telling people 40 people might come, hoping to maybe get 50. However when 60+ of you showed up, you showed us that Believe in Syracuse means something to you. It's not just a slogan or a t-shirt to wear. You really do believe in Syracuse and know that good things are possible here. Let's get to work and make the change we wish to see in our community. John DeSantis
Believe in Syracuse [email protected] http://www.facebook.com/BelieveInSyracuse https://twitter.com/BelieveInSyr Visit Our Website Become a Member Members of the Syracuse City School District Class of 2014 who are attending college with Say Yes Syracuse financial support were asked to wear T-shirts with the Say Yes logo on them or their college logo on them. We then filmed them talking about what Say Yes means to them and why the program is so important. In addition, we filmed students outside of 2014 graduation ceremonies.
We also spoke to Say Yes Scholars who have graduated from college and now have careers as well as scholars who are currently enrolled in college. Again, the purpose was to convey to the community at large just how important this program is to so many Syracuse young people. Kathy Sims Communications Director Say Yes Syracuse [email protected] www.sayyesyracuse.org Fall … the most beautiful time of year in upstate.
Help make it even more beautiful in Syracuse as visitors from around the world come to enjoy the season and area activities! Saturday, August 23rd 2014
11:30AM – 03:00PM James Pass Arboretum 100 S Avery Ave, Syracuse, New York 13204 In partnership with the Tipperary Hill Neighborhood Association, we have an exciting opportunity to assist in the cleanup of one of our areas most beautiful parks. Please join Believe in Syracuse and SUNY ESF as we clear the underbrush revealing all that the arboretum has to offer. The James pass arboretum is a wonderful nature area and collection of trees on the City’s Tipperary Hill neighborhood. This is a great opportunity not only for Tipperary Hill residents to give back to their community but also for residents from surrounding communities to become familiar with the arboretum. The Tipperary Hill Association will be providing water, coffee and breakfast pizza. The City of Syracuse will provide rakes and bags for clearing debris. Bring your own work gloves if you desire. Please sign up as soon as possible so we are able to provide adequate supplies. We look forward to working together to make Syracuse an even better place to live! Sincerely, Matt Fahey 315-289-6395 [email protected] Gina Scollo SUNY Oswego ‘14 Business Administration Henninger ‘10 “I was like “free tuition? Really?” I didn’t quite believe them at the time.” Like most other college bound students, Gina was unsure about what the four years following graduation from Henninger had in store for her. She had always figured she would go to college, but where and what for had evaded her for some time. She decided that her first move would be to attend OCC. “Since I had Say Yes behind me, I figured I could start at OCC and go from there.” She commuted from home the first semester and lived on campus the next. After that initial year, she decided to go up to SUNY Oswego. Gina was slowly but surely leaving the nest. Both she and her parents thought the decision was a smart one: “It was far enough away from Syracuse that I could really start to live on my own, yet still be able to go home whenever I wanted. Living on campus at OCC and here at Oswego, and then living off campus in my own apartment up here has been a great experience. I’ve really been able to see what it is like to live on your own, like paying the rent and bills, and making my own decisions.” Looking back on her college years brings a smile to Gina’s face: “It has all been better than I expected. Once you get here and are really at college, you see what an amazing experience it is.” Though the details haven’t always been easy to figure out, like what to major in: “First I was going for physical therapy, but then I changed over psychology for a brief period of time. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do so I called my sister. She was a business major in college and she said I should also go into business. It would give me a lot of skills to be able to have different job options for the future. She has done well for herself with a business major, so I figured it was going to be a good choice.” The big question, what her plans are for after college graduation, is in the process of being answered. Gina has a summer internship in Syracuse that she hopes will turn into a job. While she wouldn’t mind staying in Syracuse for a while, she does want to get out and see other places. This past January, Gina and a group of friends went down to Mexico on a trip to commemorate their friendships and time at college. “We did it in the winter because we weren’t sure if everyone could make it for spring break because of sports, and you really don’t know if you are going to see everyone like this again after graduation. Of course I hope we do, but you never know.” Looking back to when Say Yes first came to Syracuse, Gina remembers her initial disbelief: “When Say Yes first came to town they said that if we maintained an 85 or above average and had gone to school in the district for three or more years, then we could get free tuition. I was like “free tuition? Really?” I didn’t quite believe them at the time. But when they stuck around and showed us that they were serious I was really amazed. It was great for me and my parents. Everything about college adds up and is very expensive. Having free tuition is just amazing for us and motivates me even more --how couldn’t I go with them there? “I think Say Yes should start expanding more. To give more opportunities to more kids. A lot of them can’t because they can’t afford it. Who wouldn’t want to go if you had free four years of school, especially when tuition keeps going up every year?” Say Yes is just one of the many good things about Syracuse, according to Gina. She thinks a lot of people look to Destiny as the signal that Syracuse has increasing opportunities, but wants people to look further than that: “Destiny is really helping out the city a lot I think, but… why do you [only] want to base your destiny upon a mall? There are a lot of other good things too. Obviously Syracuse Basketball, Downtown Syracuse is always going no matter what, the MOST and Everson museums, the festivals throughout the year, the great restaurants -- It has a lot of stuff for an average sized city. I want people who have a bad perception of Syracuse to go and experience it for themselves. That’s the only way they are going to see the good in Syracuse.” Gina has a lot of hope and positive things to say about her home. When she finally gets to go travel the world, she will always have Syracuse in the back of her mind. Hopefully in her travels she will meet Salma Hayek, the actress Gina would like to portray her in the inevitable movie to be made about her life. “I love her. She is beautiful. I have always liked her, I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t want to say, like, Sandra Bullock, because she has been in every movie and Salma just hasn’t. She’s just the best.” Spotlight by: Jason Ashley Intern, Say Yes to Education | Syracuse Would you like to support more Say Yes Scholars like those featured in the Believer's Blog? Say Yes to Education Syracuse has partnered with Centscere, a unique start-up founded here in Syracuse, to securely link your philanthropy to your social media activity. Visit www.centscere.com and select Say Yes Syracuse Scholarship from the list of charities. All gifts matter and every cent is matched by SRC, Inc.
Jaquiel’s story so far is nothing shy of an inspiration. Graduating from Nottingham in 2009, he had no idea what life had in store for him. Up until that point, college wasn’t even on the table: “I do remember a lot of people being excited about Say Yes, but I didn’t really understand why. I had no experience with what college life was like, or student loans or student debt. I didn’t have to think about any of that because I didn’t think I was going to college.” However, making it to graduation was a critical point in Jaquiel’s life: “The day of my graduation George Weiss [Founder of Say Yes to Education] was giving a speech about what Say Yes was offering us. I had really never paid attention to it before that point and when I heard the part about free tuition I told myself I should go to college somewhere. “It’s free so why not? Get out and see what else is out there,” was what I was thinking.” Having decided to go to college, now he had to choose where. Monroe Community College became his pick… it just so happened to be the place a crush of his was going, so he thought “Why not?” He intended to go to study music and auditioned to get into their performance arts program. Anyone who knows Jaquiel would know that one of his greatest assets his is voice, both in his ability to speak and sing. He was always the kid in the backseat of the car singing along to songs that only he could hear. After graduating from MCC, Jaquiel decided on SUNY Fredonia as his next step in life. He had heard of its renowned music programs and thought it would be a great fit. When the next school year came around, he headed out to his new school: “That was my one mistake with Fredonia; I didn’t go check it out beforehand. When I was at MCC, I was open to everything. I was doing a million and one things. But at Fredonia, it was in a small town with not much going on. I didn’t find much to do. So I decided to transfer out.” So far, however, college has been an amazing journey for Jaquiel: “College has been different and way better than what I expected. You see college on TV where everyone is partying and things like that. Your teachers in high school all went to college… there’s a certain prestige that comes with someone that can say they went to college. I had my own connotations thinking it would be something like a prep school, but when I got there, it was so much more than that. In a university setting, most of your learning occurs outside of the classroom. Since kindergarten, the majority of your learning happens inside a classroom, but now you learn more from being around a lot of different, open minded and ambitious people. I love that.” This learning outside of the classroom through interacting with people very different from himself, has had a profound impact: “Each person that I met had a big influence on me. I had one roommate who was heavy on reading. He wouldn’t go to class, but would just read all day. He introduced me to a lot of different books that I wouldn’t have been interested in otherwise. Everyone I have met has contributed to the person I have become now.” That person, however, has seen more than his share of challenges. Despite the growth and change in Jaquiel from high school to college, there are holdovers from his past that continue to shape the way he wants his future to pan out: “I had taken a semester off and I was around some friends… they had done some things that led to me being charged with a crime. This is how I originally got into law. I remember sitting in front of the judge and he didn’t ask me a thing. He just looked at me and saw me as a black guy and smacked down the gavel and threw me in a cement box. Thankfully I had a lawyer to get me out of it, but that showed me where I stood in my advocacy for justice.” His next step is SUNY Westbury, a choice influenced by the musician in him wanting to be closer to New York City, and the justice advocate in him seeking to change lives. Jaquiel wants to be able to show others that have similar beginnings as him, that there are opportunities; that it is still possible to pursue your dreams. His internal drive to do good must constantly overcome the violence of his youth: “Syracuse for me has a yin and a yang. I visited a friend in the cemetery and I was looking around at all of the people who would not be able to live the rest of their lives. Their lives were cut short before they could even make the choices that I have been able to make. I ask myself if what I am doing is in vain, if no matter how hard I try this [the cemetery] could be my future? I have seen a lot of violence in Syracuse. When I was shaking hands with the mayor, I wanted to forget about all of it, but it’s a part of me. It has made me who I am, so at the same time I don’t want to forget it.” Jaquiel attributes his ability to overcome his life challenges to the fact that he was given hope. “I used to have the mindset that life didn’t exist outside the city of Syracuse. Now, not only do I see, but I feel that there is life beyond where I grew up. I now know that I can do something every single day to build my future. I have hope, which is what I was lacking before.” He wants to use his story and experiences to influence others: “A lot of people are still lacking that in Syracuse and I want to try to act as a liaison to give people hope. If you can give people hope, then they can make a change.” Say Yes to Education played an integral part in providing that hope for Jaquiel. “Say Yes has allowed me to find my niche. It has shown me where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. It has shown me my passion for people. I have seen where my element is, where my place in life is. It has shown me that I want to be a liaison for other people, to show them that they can get out and do what they want with their life. My grandfather always says to me “When the door is open for you, you leave it open, for someone else to come in after you.” That’s ultimately what I am trying to do, just leave the door open, because that’s what Say Yes did for me.” Moving forward, Jaquiel thinks that Syracuse and Say Yes are intertwined; that the presence of Say Yes has invigorated the city to become greater: “Say Yes makes us ask “Okay, what else can we do to make the city better? How far can we raise the bar?” That is where the city is at right now. The city is mentally together and everybody is coming to a point where we want to see how far we can go. It’s becoming more than just a basketball city, more than the city that has Syracuse University.” If you have had the pleasure of hearing Jaquiel speak, you understand the amount of passion and drive he brings to his goals. After Westbury, Jaquiel is “shooting for the stars” for law school at SU, Howard NYU, UCLA or Columbia in an effort to be able to better influence the youth of Syracuse. He will be recognized on a grander scale than Syracuse one day, and if it is in the form of a movie, Jaquiel will still be trying to make Syracuse better: “I don’t know who would play me, but the kids gotta be good looking. I would have to hold auditions. I would want him to be from Syracuse though. I feel like that would be a nice touch.” Spotlight by:Jason Ashley Intern, Say Yes to Education | Syracuse Would you like to support more Say Yes Scholars like those featured in the Believer's Blog? Say Yes to Education Syracuse has partnered with Centscere, a unique start-up founded here in Syracuse, to securely link your philanthropy to your social media activity. Visit www.centscere.com and select Say Yes Syracuse Scholarship from the list of charities. All gifts matter and every cent is matched by SRC, Inc. |
AuthorsMost posts by Believe in Syracuse founder, John DeSantis. Others are signed by their author. Archives
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