Cabrini Connections Mixes It Up

In an effort to expand the Cabrini Connections' program from within, several volunteers have taking the lead in putting together Monthly Mixers so that volunteers, staff, board members, family, and friends of the program can socialize and get to know one another. This past Saturday the second Monthly Mixer of the year took place at the Mad River Bar and Grill.

We didn't have 100+ people that came out to take advantage of the opportunity, but the group of about 20 that was present definitely enjoyed the venue, the football games that were being shown, and most of all enjoyed the opportunity to really get to know those that are in the program and friends that were interested learning more about the program. There were very little business cards being exchanged but ideas about ways in which to provide even more support to the Cabrini Connections' program were shared all throughout the night!

Hopefully the ideas that were discussed will turn into reality and everybody that were present will make an effort to attend the next big event of Cabrini Connections which is the 5th Annual Martini Madness. There are many ways to support and/or be a part of this event, you can make an effort to attend the event, purchase raffle tickets for the silent auction, donate an item for the silent auction, and/or donate to the overall event as a sponsor.

Best Start in Years...and Only Going to Get Better!

After much anticipation the Cabrini Connections’ program opened its doors for the official start of the 2010-2011 Tutoring/Mentoring Season last week with the best start in years! There were nearly 65 students that attended (several students observing and enrolling for this week) and nearly 70 volunteers (club coordinators and college zone coordinators officially start this week). Not only were the numbers good, but everybody seemed to enjoy the first night and are looking forward to a great second week…and a GREAT year!

We’d also like to say THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS to veteran volunteer Allen “A.J.” Tyson for entering his 40th year of volunteer service!!!! He has and continues to be a very special gift for the students, volunteers, and the program as a whole…THANK YOU!!!

We are still in the process of enrolling more great students and volunteers in the program for the year and are confident that the sessions will continue to operate at a very high level. We still are in need of financial resources so that we can continue to provide both students and volunteers with the necessary resources to be successful in and outside of the program. If you or anybody in your network is interested in supporting what we do here at Cabrini Connections, donations can be submitted here. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact our office.

Help us turn "Dreams Into Reality..."

Kicking Off the 2010-2011 Tutoring/Mentoring Season!

The 2010-2010 NFL season started with a great Thursday night classic between the Saints and the Vikings last Thursday and week one of the NFL season ended with a great game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Charges. For many NFL fans, this past week has been like Christmas. For the players, coaches, and all of the National Football League employees this was the start of another season in which everybody involved are trying to reach their goals. All of the hard work in the off season, decisions that were made, and adjustments from last season lead up to that opening kickoff this week. We will continue to follow our favorite teams and players throughout their journey this season to see who will be crowned the Super Bowl Champion.

The Cabrini Connections' team in the Tutoring/Mentoring League is officially kicking off our first game this week as well with our Wednesday and Thursday night tutoring/mentoring sessions. Just like the players, coaches, and respective organizations of the NFL, we have made worked hard over the summer, made necessary changes and additions to our personnel, looked at the game tape, analyzed the player and coach's statistics from the previous season, and we too are hoping that we are not only prepared for a great season...but we hope to be in the hunt for a Super Bowl Champion at the end of the season.

One of the ways in which we worked on our preparation for this season was by meeting with nearly all of the returning players and coaches and conducting individual evaluations. We met with 98% of the coaches and 95% of the players, and we are excited about what we were able to take away from those summer evaluations.

We hosted a couple of preseason games last week with our coach's and player's orientations. Overall, the front office is satisfied with what we seen out there last week, but just like in the NFL, we could have been a little better prepared and you hear this a lot in the NFL and that is the phrase of "showing up." In the NFL it could mean showing up mentality, physically, and/or emotionally. And that translates to how we would like to use it as well when it comes to our preseason games last week. We had some players and coaches stand out during the preseason games, but there were a number of players and coaches that didn't "show up" for the first night. But that is preseason and we will continue to improve in all phrases and positions of the game so that EVERYBODY shows up and are ready for this week's kick off!

Coming off a season where 9 of our veteran players were selected to the Pro Bowl (high school graduation) and are all hopefully headed to the Tutoring/Mentoring Hall of Fame (college/university), we have high hopes and goals for this year's team. But just having high hopes won't get it done. It will take each player, coach, and fan doing their part to prepare week in and week out to be successful, and overall it will take a team effort!

None of the players, coaches, and fans can just "show up" and expect to be successful, it takes a lot of practicing, understanding your role on the team, learning from others that were a part of the team or on another team in the league, and collectively working together for the overall success of the team. And that goal this year and for the years to come is to turn Dreams Into Reality!

Support the 2010-2011 Cabrini Connections TEAM