As part of our work with the Eugenio Maria de Hostos school in Yonkers, OmnicomCares is also holding a book drive, open to the entire Omnicom Family. They need to purchase 20 book sets to support their HEART curriculum (Humanity, Ethics, Aesthetics, Respect, Responsibility, Trust), and this is where everyone’s generosity can help out. If you would like to help the school, but cannot come to far-off Yonkers, please feel free to send a check to the following address:

Checks should be made out to ‘The Volunteer Center’; please put ‘Omnicom Book Drive’ in the memo field. Checks should be mailed to:
Robyn Pyles
Omnicom Capital
One East Weaver Street
Greenwich CT, 06831

Any amounts are accepted, as is cash. Please also include an email address so we can send you the tax deduction information.

Once again, thank you for everyone’s enthusiasm for participating in this worthwhile cause. And for those of you who will be joining us, we look forward to seeing you Saturday!

After so much work renovating the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Microsociety School a few weeks back, it’s not surprising that so many folks decided to put together their own films from the event. Here, again, is a sample of just how much fun good work can be, as well as a bit more on what this whole OmnicomCares effort is all about. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us, and please don’t forget to click on the ‘book drive’ sticker if you’d like to help more!

We’ve been a little curious here about the name of the school we’ll be working on come Saturday. So we opened up the google and did some research… and found a chunk of world history none of us had been aware of before.

We discovered that Eugenio Maria de Hostos was an activist in Latin America around the turn of the century. He worked on behalf of social justice and independence for all people throughout his life. He was both an administrator and a teacher; he founded a teaching school in the Dominican Republic that promoted advanced teaching methods and helped reform schools in Chile. While in Chile he gained the right for women to be admitted to public schools and to receive training in law and medicine. He wrote books, articles and treatises on social justice, many of which are still widely read today. Many of us were particularly moved by the epitaph he wrote for himself:

“I wish that they will say: In that island (Puerto Rico) a man was born who loved truth, desired justice, and worked for the good of men.”

Something we can probably all aspire to.

We all had a great time at Saturday’s event… and as this video will prove, there is no reason why fun can’t mix with elbow grease! We’ll be posting lots and lots of pictures from the event on our Facebook fan page in the coming days and weeks, so please “fan” us there if you’re on Facebook. If not, maybe twitter’s more your thing? Whichever way you choose, please follow us to keep up on the latest news and events.

Thanks again to an amazing team of over 100 volunteers! As the school’s principal said in the previous post, you really are an extraordinary group of individuals, and make us all proud to be part of the Omnicom Family.

As a sign of appreciation for everyone’s hard work on Saturday, we wanted to share with everyone a sweet thank-you letter we just received from the principal of the Eugenio Maria de Hostos School in Yonkers…

Dear Friends of the Eugenio Maria de Hostos School,

I want to say THANKS!!!. This morning the kids were so excited to see their new computer lab and could not believe how great the building looked. I have EVERYONE asking to get into the computer lab immediately!

I want to say that I was very impressed by the Omnicom volunteers. I could not believe what an extraordinary group of individuals you employ. It was so heart warming to see such a dedicated group of individuals. The day was officially called to a close and they did not want to leave until they were finished!
In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.” Omnicom is definitely doing something and it is evident that Omnicom Cares!
Regards and thank you again,

Elda Perez-Mejia
Principal, Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety School

We just received this fun video from our friends over at the Yonkers Public Schools. It takes some of our favorite moments from the recent service project at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos School in Yonkers, puts some music to it, and really gives you a sense of just how much fun everyone had at the event. Not to mention just how a simple clean-up can affect students’ performance and attitudes. Have a look at the video below, and make sure to follow us on Twitter or befriend us on Facebook for updates on upcoming projects and fundraisers!

It was a beautiful sunny day in Yonkers. About 100 volunteers from Omnicom and the community showed up ready to work, and the next thing you know, the Hostos school was a hive of activity. Volunteers scraped walls, taped windows and doors, primed and painted. A beautiful new computer lab was built, complete with interactive whiteboards to make for an exceptional learning environment. While there is plenty more work to be done, the day was an excellent fresh start for the school and the surrounding community. We’ll be posting pictures soon both here and on our Facebook page, and don’t forget to join in on the Book Drive!

We just wanted to put a quick post up today to let you know that you can easily follow OmnicomCares’ efforts – both today and in the future. We are on twitter and facebook, and will be posting pictures live from the event, as well as follow-up announcements from our Yonkers efforts. This will also be the place where you can be alerted to future efforts… so if you’re on either of those platforms, we hope you’ll follow us.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of schools in the U.S., why did we pick this particular school? One of the factors that stood out when we were looking for this year’s service project, was the fact that 84% of the students receive free school lunches – a clear indicator of the community’s need for additional outside help.

However, one other outstanding indicator was this school’s commitment to the success of its students. More specifically, they’ve instituted something called the Microsociety Concept which teaches real-life skills to its student body. In fact, we were so impressed with the concept, we thought you too should hear more as to why we believe in this school and its students.

The Microsociety Program infuses business and government concepts through all aspects of academic instruction and social skills. Student-run businesses include a bank, courtroom, publishing center, government, library/media center, telecommunications center and marketplace with student-manufactured items for sale.

Like any real community, the school has its own constitution, government, elected executive positions, legislative representatives and a municipal court to help students understand how our government functions. Student citizens create the school economy and currency; and each student has a personal bank account to manage their Microsociety money.

As the November 7th date draws closer, we’ll be posting much more on how you too can participate, so please keep checking back!

As we mentioned in the previous post, Omnicom employees and executives will be converging on Yonkers come November 7th. We will be posting more on how you can help the school as well as more on the Microsociety Concept in days to come.  In the meantime, we have a few (of many) photos to share, and hope that as you look at these “before” pictures, you come to understand why we chose this school.

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention a group that has helped us tremendously in setting up this 2009 Service Day – The Volunteer Center of United Way. The Volunteer Center is not only the central place for local volunteers to get matched every day – it is also where nonprofits and businesses come for training and support in creating effective volunteer programs. Please visit their site to see how you might help in your own community improvement projects. Or… join their “cause” on Facebook.

As for now, here are some of the “before” pictures, with many more to come. We’ll be providing more details on the event as the time draws closer.