Thanks to John Kuiphoff, The College of New Jersey Chair of Interactive Media, for leading our students in an awesome afternoon of programming, coding, and fun! In addition to learning the basics of code, they were introduced to some of the trends in the digital media space including an exploration of Virtual Reality.

The students wrapped the day with Michael Smith, KidzBeatz Audio Engineer, in a recording studio learning about Audio Production ... and even created their own original track.

And of course, a couple of students were able to lend a hand with our crew capturing footage from the day...

Trenton, NJ -- "AWESOME!" We must have said it a hundred times throughout the day volunteering with Comcast at Anchor House. We envisioned. We pitched. We planned. We organized. And yesterday it all came to life. Our wonderful, dedicated team at Beyond Expectations working side by side at Comcast Cares Day with some of the most friendly, caring (and fun) volunteers that we've ever encountered!

photos courtesy of Shelley Kusnetz and Carla Hicks

Hard to believe how much each of the teams accomplished in just a few hours ... from landscaping to painting, organizing the food pantry, assembling toiletry bags, and wrapping mounds of toys. We could hardly contain our excitement as we launched our new 18 Cookie Project! Everyone seemed to connect with the "backstory" of the project as we baked, wrapped, and custom designed each gift bag ... then witnessed the very first cookies being purchased.

It's never just about us.

In addition to our goal of helping to raise awareness of the plight of young people in foster care, we helped introduce a whole new group of people to Anchor House and their work with homeless, runaway, and abused youth.

Our sincere thanks to all of the wonderful volunteers, families, and friends who helped to make the event so memorable. To say it was amazing to watch the day unfold is an understatement.

It's really a testament to the power of everyday people working together to do whatever we can to impact young people throughout our communities whose lives deserve a chance.

>> Trenton Times spotlight

It's a wrap! Our Spring 2014 Young Professionals Leadership Initiative came to an end on Saturday, March 29. Beyond Expectations works with teens across the entire state of New Jersey. This Mercer County session focused on young adults from the Anchor House Youth Achievers Council, Anchor Link, and Anchor Line programs who successfully completed the six-week leadership training in 3 tracks:

Careers and Employment Skills
Independent Living Skills
Media Advocacy

The objective of our leadership program is to help students uncover their own existing talents, work collaboratively as they learn new skills, and build professional relationships with our facilitators and volunteers.

To address the real issues around independent living, a strong emphasis was placed on budgeting and the basics of finance on "how money works". Executive Chef Kahlil Wyche related hands-on practices in the culinary industry to managing a household budget. During week 5, students had an opportunity to put the instruction to use by developing a budget, selecting the menu items, and preparing a three course meal for the entire group within their budget.

There was a focus throughout our entire program to strengthen communication skills particularly to prepare them for job interviews on the final day of class with our corporate partner AMC Hamilton 24 Theatres.

In preparation, students received direct training from our team of facilitators, Toastmasters, National Speakers Association, and Dow Jones News Fund. They prepared personal brand statements, conducted background research on AMC, and participated in mock interviews.

Finally, through ongoing hands-on instruction, confidence grew as students became more comfortable in front of and behind the camera working collaboratively as part of our production crew. Efforts will continue as we prepare to implement their ideas for the Family Film Screening slated for Sunday, May 18.

Special thanks to the staff at Anchor House, AMC Hamilton Theatres General Manager Gregory Rice and Senior Manager Tracy Brangan, Kat Clayton at Jersey Cares, Dr. He Len Chung's Collaborative Research Lab students at The College of New Jersey, our entire crew of facilitators and volunteers.

Another great program with another group of phenomenal young adults!

>> more highlights

Trenton, NJ - We're moving closer to the live job interviews for the participants of our Young Professionals Leadership Initiative. This week, Kevin Thompson, president of the National Speakers Association (NJ Chapter) and Distinguished Toastmaster, facilitated a workshop on Personal Branding.

Our team of facilitators then worked individually to help develop their own personal brand statements and conduct online background research on the interviewing company. They had an opportunity to put their statements immediately into practice during individual mock interviews with Mr. Thompson.

Executive Chef Kahlil Wyche continued his Independent Living Series with an introduction to general budgeting principles. The budgets will be used to help the participants develop a greater awareness of earning, managing, saving, and spending money.

We wrapped the day with a review of media terminology and crew positions as we plan for our annual Spring Film Screening (in collaboration with SCRA - Society for Community Resource & Action) on Sunday, May 18.

An awesome afternoon of CODING!

2014 Comcast Cares Day w/ BE @ Anchor House

Spring Young Professionals Leadership Initiative is a wrap!

Personal Branding Workshop w/ NSA President Kevin Thompson