Students Inspire Guests at annual A WOW! Affair

Once a year, the elegance of a fundraiser meets the energy of a middle school at Citizen Schools' gala A WOW! Affair. On Wednesday, April 30, more than 450 guests gathered in Boston's Museum of Science to celebrate our students' learning and to honor our deep partnership with Google. Sixth and seventh graders dressed in their Sunday best pitched their phone app ideas, showed off evidence found at a "crime scene," and drove their robotic cars around a track--all in an effort to inspire guests to contribute to Citizen Schools' expanded learning time partnerships in the Boston area and nationwide.

With the help of event chairs Steven Schwartz and Steve Vinter and the host committee of 29 strong, the event was a huge success, raising over $426,000. The students, volunteers, and school partners of Citizen Schools are enormously grateful for the generosity of citizens like them!

View a slideshow from the event:

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The audience heard inspiring remarks from:

  • Christian Pleitez, 6th grade, Edwards Middle School
  • Larry Summers, Citizen Schools National Board Chair, President Emeritus at Harvard University, and former Treasury Secretary of the United States
  • Eric Schwarz, Co-Founder and CEO of Citizen Schools
  • Steve Vinter, Engineering Director at Google Cambridge
  • MacCalvin Romain, Citizen Schools alumus, current volunteer teacher, and Senior Technology Analyst at DigitasLBi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4845jkP9YLA

Film Credits:  Director: Aaron Shadwell Producer: Colin Stokes

Special Thanks: Wesley Alvaro Dillon Bly Torrence Boone Bijoyini Chatterjee Kelsey Craw Claire Hughes Johnson Tay Karim Mary Pishny Carol Rosenberg Liz Schwab Alan Su Steve Vinter Christina Wire The students and teachers at Dever McCormack K-8 School The students and teachers at Edwards Middle School The students and teachers at McKinley Institute of Technology

Alfredo Padilla