Thanks to all who came out and special thanks to Martha Clark Ackermann for these great photos!

Our 3rd Annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception was a huge success! It was a magnificent evening filled with inspiring speeches, great food and drink, and wonderful music. Thank you to all who continue to support our mission to keep Amanda’s dreams alive. We are humbled by your love and generosity. Our sincere thanks to Martha Clark Ackermann for all these great photos!

The Second Annual Amanda Golf Classic held at the Essex Fells Country Club in Essex Fells NJ was a great success. Thank you to all of our generous sponsors, donors, and volunteers. The money raised will continue Amanda’s mission to provide equality in educational opportunities to kids growing up in undeserved communities. To see more photos, click here.

Shoutout to Martha Ackermann Photos for all the wonderful pictures.

We would like to introduce you to Brian Sarfo, the 2020/2021 Education Law Fellow through Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice.  Brian has been teaching 8th grade students in the Bronx about civics. He has produced a series of videos on voting rights for in class virtual discussions with students. Brian has also shared his pathway to law school video to inspire students to think about law school and a legal career.

A Note from The Amanda Rose Laura Foundation

As many of you know, today was the day that we had planned to host the Foundation’s 3^rd Annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception. While COVID-19 may have prevented us from getting together with all of you, it has not distracted the Foundation from its Mission to provide valuable resources to students in underserved communities.  Rather than reflexively shrink its funding during this pandemic period of uncertainty, we are proud to say that the Foundation has continued and expanded its funding of programs that perpetuate its Mission.  We recently endowed a second fellowship at Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice, which will allow a Fordham Law student to study and implement ways to improve educational access and opportunity for underserved school children in New York City.  We have also funded a Philadelphia-area educational organization called Restorative Practices in Action (RPIA), which largely focuses on the development of holistic teaching techniques tailored to the low-income and underserved student. In this time of crisis RPIA has, in turn, used its funding to train teachers in remote learning and provide financial assistance to students and their families for grocery and medical bills.  And, apropos of the recent school closings, the Foundation has recently provided funding to the Brick Education Network, a Newark-based charter school organization that has established a meals program for its students who, without their usual school meals, would likely go hungry at home. 

The Foundation’s support of these programs and others that fulfill its Mission will not be deterred.  We wish all of you continued health and well-being through this COVID-19 crisis, and thank you for everything you have done for the Foundation.  To see what we have accomplished through your support, please visit our website, www.arlaurafoundation.org.

Dear Friends,

The Coronavirus pandemic has certainly interrupted our daily lives.  We hope you are all doing everything you can to keep yourself, your loved ones and your neighbors as safe and healthy as possible.  To do its part in that effort, and after much careful consideration, the Board of The Amanda Rose Laura Foundation has decided to cancel this year’s Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception that was scheduled for May 1st at the J.W. Marriott Essex House in New York.

We regret we won’t be getting to introduce you to some of the worthy and impressive recipients of our recent grants and scholarships who would have been speaking to you at this year’s Reception. So far this year, the Foundation has funded a new program in the Philadelphia area called Restorative Practices in Action, whose mission is to prepare a community of inner-city teachers to better educate minority youth. The Foundation has endowed three new Amanda Rose Laura Scholars at NJ LEEP, and awarded two other students a stipend for college visits.  We have also endowed a Model UN Scholarship to two needy students at Mount St. Mary Academy, and outfitted new Student Ambassadors at Chicago Math & Science Academy. Please see our 2019 newsletter to see all of the other things we have accomplished in the past year.

The Foundation is grateful for your generosity, and we have no doubt this year’s Cocktail Reception would have been as grand a success as last year’s. Rest assured that the Foundation will not be deterred from continuing its mission to fund extra- and co-curricular programs that provide students in underserved areas with resources they otherwise would go without.  Your continued support despite the cancellation of the event would be ever more meaningful. Please consider making a donation now. 

Additionally, our 2nd Annual Amanda Golf Classic will take place on September 28th at Essex Fells Country Club and we will be sending you more information about that outing in the near future. 

With your help, we will keep Amanda’s dream alive of helping enhance educational opportunities for those in need, one child at a time.

With our deepest gratitude,

Rosemary Laura

NOTE: This event has been cancelled.

The third annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Party will be at the JW Marriott Essex House in NYC. Details to follow!

We helped hundreds of underserved students this year, and we couldn’t have done it without you! This year, thanks to your generosity, we were able to provide extraordinary educational experiences which will impact hundreds of children in need. We couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you for your continued support of The Amanda Rose Laura Foundation. As you choose your year-end charitable donations, please consider making a donation to continue Amanda’s mission to level the playing field and enrich the lives of underserved children. Read on to see all we have accomplished this year. We have many more plans for 2020 as we continue to change the world one child at a time. 2019 Grants Funded three Amanda Rose Laura Teaching Fellows We provided funding to three Teach for America corps members and alumni to develop and implement innovative and impactful projects. Molly Harris, Chicago Fellow We funded Molly’s middle school Model United Nations project at KIPP Academy. In the spring, Molly brought a group of middle school students to New York City for the Model UN Conference. This team worked throughout the school year developing their skills for the event. Aleanbh Finn, New Jersey Fellow We funded Aleanbh’s robotics program, which includes a daily robotics course and two robotics competition teams. Aleabnh says, “Thanks to the Amanda Rose Laura Foundation I was not only able to purchase the iPads needed for student success in the program, but I was able to register an additional team and accept more students into our program!” Catarina Ribeira, New Jersey Fellow We funded Catarina’s data-driven intervention reading program, in which students who have fallen behind in reading develop foundational reading and phonics skills. Catarina says, ” “If we don’t want children to see reading as a chore, we need to offer it to them as a gift.” Granted the Amanda Rose Laura Fulbright Scholarship to Laura Moeller The Foundation funded Laura’s participation in the annual Berlin Conference of Fulbright Grantees. Laura is pursuing a career in education policy and plans to continue Amanda’s mission of bringing people of different cultures together and changing the world through education. Awarded three Amanda Rose Laura Scholars We partnered with NJ LEEP’s college preparatory program to award three Amanda Rose Laura Scholars. This year’s scholars are Ashley Laveriano, Jadsika Sivaranshan, and Remi Amokomowo. These scholarships fund all aspects of the college application process, including ACT prep, interviewing skills, college visits, application and financial aid assistance, and transition to college life. Sponsored a student to attend this year’s Model UN competition We awarded The Amanda Rose Laura Model UN Scholarship to Vanessa Sousa. This grant allowed Vanessa to attend the Model UN competition in Washington DC. Vanessa, whose family suffered the loss of her dad last year, said “This [grant] not only lifted a financial burden from my shoulders but it also provided light to a bright future after a dark time.” Worked to improve the inequitable NYC high school application system We granted the Amanda Rose Laura Education Law Fellowship to Laura Petty, a second-year student at Fordham Law. She will work with Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice to find solutions to the flawed and inequitable New York City high school application process. Partnered with Let’s Get Ready in Philadelphia In November, The Foundation partnered with Let’s Get Ready (LGR) and funded two Philadelphia LGR transition coaches who will be known as Amanda Rose Laura Fellows. Rachelle St. Fleur, a student at Drexel University, and Jasmine Hassan, a student at Temple University, will coach underserved high school students in the Philadelphia area with the support they need to navigate the college application, financial aid, and enrollment process. They will also help those students navigate college life once accepted and matriculated. 2019 Fundraising Events Raised money while spinning to Amanda’s favorite songs We held our second annual Spin Into the New Year spinning event in January. We spun to Amanda’s favorite songs while raising money for The Foundation. Held our second annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Party In May, we held our second annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Party to raise money for The Foundation. This year’s party was on the rooftop of the Yale Club in New York City. It was a sold out event and a great fundraising success. The first annual Amanda Golf Classic In September we held our first Amanda Golf Classic at Essex Fells Country Club in New Jersey. With dozen of generous sponsors and nearly 100 golfers, the outing raised significant funds for future Amanda Rose Laura Scholars and Fellows. Upcoming Foundation Events May 1, 2020: 3rd Annual Promise Fulfilled Cocktail Reception at the iconic Essex House Hotel on Central Park South in New York City September 28, 2020: 2nd Annual Amanda Golf Classic at Essex Fells Country Club in Essex Fells, NJ. Go to arlaurafoundation.org or follow us on Facebook (ARLFoundation) or Instagram (@arlaurafoundation) for more details.