Sigma Pi - Cornell University

Summer 2019 Newsletter

Mu Chapter of Sigma Pi at Cornell University, Educational Foundation

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Page 2 T he Cornell University Chapter of College Mentors for Kids wrapped up their sixth year of programming on the first of May, serving over 40 kids from Caroline and Cayuga Heights Elementary Schools. Supported by the generosity of the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation and other community members, the chapter focused on program quality and safety for the 2018-19 program year. Mentoring transforms lives. College Mentors for Kids connects kids to college students through weekly, on-campus activities that inspire growth, confidence, and enable brighter futures. Over the course of the program year, mentors created positive relationships with their little buddies, participating in activities that facilitated a shared experience and exposed little buddies to what college life is like at Cornell Uni- versity. A few activity highlights: an activity with Theta Tau, an engi- neering fraternity on campus, where mentors and little buddies learned about careers in engineering and constructed their own rollercoasters; obstacle courses and leadership lessons with Cornell ROTC; learning about business plans with Phi Gamma Nu, a business fraternity on campus; and an activity on service and the role of seeing-eye dogs with Guiding Eyes, a community service organization at Cornell. Looking forward, the chapter will continue to focus on strengthening its partnership with Caroline and Cayuga Heights Elementary Schools, working toward increasing service numbers in the fall. The Cornell chapter continues to excel in male mentor recruitment, with a higher percentage of male mentors to female mentors in the program. College Mentors for Kids is an excit- ing opportunity for Cornell students to engage with the Ithaca community. If you know of a current or incoming student at Cornell that is interested in learning more about College Mentors for Kids, there are still positions available for the 2019-20 program year. Contact skohls@collegementors.org for more information. Cornell University Chapter ContinUes to strengthen partnership with College Mentor for Kids Middle: Sigma Pi brother Justin with his little buddy, Jesse. Justin has been involved in the program for three years, serving in both leadership and mentorship roles. Mu Chapter Educational Foundation Financial Update I n the wake of two years devoted significantly to generating donations toward the Learning Commons portion of the Dining and Learn- ing for the 21st Century campaign and the Mark Hausknecht Memorial Wi-Fi Project, the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2019, was a much quiet- er fundraising year for the Educational Founda- tion. It was nonetheless a highly successful year on the financial front with 51 alumni and friends of Mu Chapter collectively contributing $26,312 to the Foundation during the year. At the fiscal year end, the Foundation's investment portfolio was valued at $58,799. Consistent with the con- servative investment allocation strategy adopted to facilitate meeting grant award commitments, the investment portfolio successfully returned 8.26% on the year. The Foundation made grant awards of well over $50,000 during the past year in fulfilling our charter to support educational-related program- ming that benefits the Mu Chapter undergraduate brothers, the Cornell community, and youth of the Greater Ithaca community, as well as provide mentorship and leadership opportunities for Mu Chapter brothers. With the help of our donors, we were able to: • Be a leading supporter of College Mentors for Kids; • Provide onsite speaker presentations in the Learning Commons; • Sponsor 11 attendees at Andrew Sorkin's Deal Book Conference in NYC; • Provide access to Take Note, CourseHero and Chegg—technologies that aid and facilitate student online studying and collaboration; • Fund two house intern positions focused on Career Services and supporting the Educational Foundation community activities; • Fund the annual Bert Harrop Scholarship for academic excellence and Sigma Pi and community-oriented commitment; and, • Fund completion of constructing and equipping the Learning Commons. We are thrilled that the Learning Commons has already become a focal point for collaborative study and is now a significant part of how un- dergraduates prepare for their daily academic challenges. Mu Chapter is flourishing as a true hub for education and stands out from its peer fraternities. The Educational Foundation thanks all those who have supported and continue to support our efforts, financially and otherwise. None of these activities could take place without the generosity of the Mu Chapter alumni community. We look forward to working together with our undergrad- uate brothers, our alumni, and our friends in the coming 2019-20 year! Fraternally, Tom Silver '81 President tsilver10359@yahoo.com (914) 582-1604

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