Every year, New York City public school students throughout the five boroughs participate in PENCIL™s Spring Gala to provide guests a firsthand understanding of the impact that the organization™s programs make on the lives of thousands of young people

Education nonprofit PENCIL will hold its Spring Gala on Wednesday, May 12 at Cipriani Wall Street to celebrate outstanding partnerships between New York City private sector leaders, corporations and public school principals. The event is expected to attract more than 700 supporters and has already raised $1.4 million for PENCIL.

PENCIL's 2010 Gala honored the following individuals and companies for their contributions to New York City public schools:

• Jonathan Klein, President, CNN U.S. (NYC Public School Alumni Award)


• CA, Inc, Accepted by William E. McCracken, CEO. (PENCIL Corporate Partner Award)


• Norma Kamali, Designer/President, Norma Kamali Inc. and PENCIL Board Member; and Denise DiCarlo, Principal, Gramercy Arts High School (PENCIL Partnership Award)

The event dinner chair was Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PENCIL Board Member; and co-chairs included Dave Barger, President and Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways; Lisa Belzberg, PENCIL Founder and Board Chair; Nancy Cooper, Chief Financial Officer, CA.; Katie Couric, Anchor & Managing Editor, CBS Evening News and Correspondent, 60 Minutes; and Evgeny A. Freidman, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Taxi Club Management Inc.

"PENCIL's supporters form an invaluable network that provides our public school students with the vital resources they need to realize their potential, compete in a global economy, and fulfill their dreams," said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Since 1995, PENCIL has been leading the effort to improve public education by engaging New York City's private sector in innovative, impact-driven partnerships with principals at schools throughout the five boroughs. Through the "PENCIL Partnership Program," leaders across sectors leverage their unique expertise, skills, and resources to help meet the needs of an individual school. In the past two years, the program has expanded from nearly 400 New York City schools to affiliate programs in Rochester and Baltimore. PENCIL also runs the successful "PENCIL Fellows Program" that provides successful, career-minded juniors and seniors in New York City public high schools with full-time, paid summer internship positions.

This year's theme - "Imagine What We Can Do" - signified the transformative impact that PENCIL Partnerships and internships have had on the lives of thousands of students.

"In these, the toughest of times for our schools, our partnerships are more important than ever as a means of providing school leaders with expertise, tools, and resources to give children the education they deserve," said Michael Haberman, PENCIL President. "We celebrate the incredible efforts of our principals and private sector leaders who, as PENCIL Partners and Mentors, have created new opportunities for our City's youth over the past fifteen years -- and who are today even more committed to their future."

2010 Gala Honorees

CA, Inc., PENCIL Corporate Award - Each year, PENCIL honors a corporation's outstanding commitment to improving public education in New York City through its involvement in and support of PENCIL. Since 2007, the global technology company has been providing critical technology skills, cultural awareness, and collaborative learning opportunities to support the company's PENCIL Partner schools Global Technology Preparatory and the Talented & Gifted School (TAG) in Harlem. Among their efforts, they have developed innovative technology initiatives, an international pen pal program, and a popular career awareness initiative "President For A Day" to help their Partner schools meet goals. Additionally, CA President Michael Christenson provides valuable support as a member of PENCIL's Board of Directors. "Our work in education through PENCIL is at the core of CA's philanthropic efforts here in New York City, and reflects our outreach around the globe," said William E. McCracken, CA's CEO, and a former teacher. "Our PENCIL Partnerships enable CA to have a direct impact in our areas of expertise, and have become an integral part of our culture."

Jonathan Klein, President, CNN U.S., PENCIL New York City Public School Alumni Award - This award is presented every year to an accomplished New York City public school alum who demonstrates all that can be achieved with a New York City public school education. Since joining CNN as president five years ago, Klein - a graduate of Brown University and former executive producer at CBS News and founder of The FeedRoom - has led CNN's commitment to unbiased quality journalism, provided outstanding political and election coverage and earned every major journalism award. Through PENCIL, Mr. Klein has been partnered with his alma mater PS 71 in the Bronx since 2006. He and a team of colleagues have helped create an after-school digital film program at the Pelham Bay elementary school called the "Panther News Network" (PNN) that has quickly become one of the school's most popular offerings. Of his experience, Mr. Klein says: "Getting involved in PENCIL has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It is impossible not to want to do whatever you can for these students once you meet them. Their curiosity and eagerness to learn remind me of the reasons I went into broadcasting journalism in the first place."

Norma Kamali, Designer/President, Norma Kamali Inc., and Denise DiCarlo, Principal, Gramercy Arts High School, PENCIL Partnership Award - Each year, PENCIL honors a private sector leader and school principal who are transforming their school through their PENCIL Partnership. For nearly a decade, Kamali - who launched her first collection in the late sixties and has been lauded ever since for her bold and inventive creations - has partnered with Denise DiCarlo, Principal, Gramercy Arts High School, to create authentic learning experiences that bring the school’s arts, and especially fashion, focus to life. Their efforts include internship opportunities, student design competitions, and the creation of a design studio that have helped encourage dozens of students to enter the fashion industry. DiCarlo also credits the Partnership with building a strong school identity that fosters individual student creativity and ambition. "The Partnership has solidified our identity as a new school," DiCarlo says. "Working with Norma, we have recognized that our goal is not only to achieve academic rigor -- but to provide faculty and students connections with the arts in the outside world."

PENCIL (www.pencil.org) inspires innovative solutions to the challenges facing public education by providing results-driven opportunities for the private sector to actively participate in transforming public schools. By bringing together the best ideas, resources and talent across sectors, PENCIL develops strong leaders, builds school capacity, enhances student learning, and inspires greater community and corporate support, to create real change in our City's schools. For more information about PENCIL, visit its website at www.pencil.org or call 646-638-0565.

PENCIL

PENCIL

The nonprofit organization PENCIL (www.pencil.org) inspires innovative solutions to the challenges facing New York City public schools by building and supporting customized relationships between business leaders and principals.

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