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Trenton, NJ -- Beyond Expectations and Anchor House had a great time at our Holiday Drive & Design wrapping gifts for Angel's Wings, an emergency shelter care program for children newborn to 12 years old. We also spent the day decorating the Anchorage residence, a transitional home for older youth ages 18-21, where a few of the guys showcased their culinary skills in the kitchen!
We were joined by Jersey Cares who shared information about the organization and potential leadership opportunities. We're working with the agency to track hours for our own volunteer and community service projects.
Our extreme gratitude to all the dedicated volunteers who braved the snow to make this such a memorable day. Special thanks to Kim McNear, Anchor House Executive Director and Mereides Delgado, Director of Aging Out Youth Services for making it all possible.
We couldn't think of a better way to wrap up the year than helping to support another organization dedicated to serving youth and families in need.
Take a look back at other videos this year!
A glance behind the scenes...
Ewing, NJ -- November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. It's an ideal opportunity for students from Beyond Expectations to work directly with students at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) to plan our 2014 film screening which will focus on the area of youth homelessness.
Students spent an entire day on the lovely Ewing campus which included an exciting, totally fun interactive scavenger hunt and a chance to participate on the crew of a simulated behind-the-scenes television segment with a representative from TCNJ Lions TV.
The afternoon was spent working collaboratively on three planning teams for the upcoming screening: Advocacy, Promotions, and Merchandising which followed with presentations of their findings to the group. The day wrapped by viewing a series of film and television projects produced by Beyond Expectations students discussing the selection process for the upcoming screening.
The Community Engaged Learning Day was organized through our campus-community partnership with the TCNJ Bonner Center, under the guise of the Center's Director, Paula Figueroa-Vega. The Bonner Center prepares college students to be engaged citizens who will help solve problems in their own communities and to work with community partners to change their respective neighborhoods.
Special thanks to the phenomenal team of Bonner Scholars (John Brown, Kerry Farnum, Julia Livesey, and Edward Bannister-Holmes) who helped organize logistics for the exciting day.
Bridgewater, NJ -- We're rarely surprised but always pleased to cross paths with youth and help them uncover their hidden skills and talents. The same held true yet again during our Weekend Retreat in Bridgewater, New Jersey with a group of phenomenal young men (ages 18-21).
What is typically taught over a series of 5 sessions was condensed into an intensive training which spawned creativity and split-second decision making. After learning the basics of film production, the group worked collaboratively to develop a concept for their own original project, storyboard, shoot, act in all of the roles, and lay down a few tracks for post-production.
Special thanks to our awesome crew, guest facilitators, and volunteers from Comcast and The Princeton Theological Seminary.