FALL 2022 NEWSLETTER
Contents:
  1. Hello and Welcome! by Tunç Altinbas
  2. Connectivity in Faces of New York by Angelica Suri
  3. Non Binary in CISV by CJ Sesny
  4. Meet Your New Junior Board! by Eser Taneli
  5. Memories and Souvenirs by Tom Crovitz
  6. Small But Mighty by Dinu Antonescu
  7. CISV Through Generations by Tolga Taneli
  8. Regional Mini-Camp in Spring
  9. Long Time Travelin' Man by Julie Harrison
  10. "I Want to be a JC" by Alara Altinbas
  11. Volunteers Needed
  12. Abundance in Giving
  13. Our Bon Voyage Picnic in June
Hello and Welcome!
by Tunç Altinbas (Trustee)

G’mar chatima tova to those observing Yom Kippur. So far, 2022 has been a successful year for the New York Chapter. We emerged from the pandemic (all CISV programs were cancelled for two years) and sent a total of 36 delegates to international programs this past summer and 31 to a local program. 

  • 12 delegates participating in 3 Village programs for 11 year olds
  • 8 delegates participating in 2 Youth Meeting programs 12-13 year olds 
  • 7 delegates participating in 2 Step Up programs for 14 year olds
  • 4 delegates participating in 1 Step Up program for 15 year olds
  • 2 delegates participating in Fortnight for 16 year olds
  • 2 delegates participating in Junior Counselor program for 16-17 year olds
  • 1 delegate participating in Seminar Camp for 16-17 year olds
  • 31 delegates participating in Mosaic "Faces of New York" for 11-12 year olds

Our delegates visited 11 destinations in 7 countries. 4 destinations were domestic. In our domestic Mosaic program, a diverse group of 31 delegates from the New York area experienced a free one-week overnight summer camp in Hopewell Junction, NY. We could not have achieved this success without the help of our volunteers. We should all be very proud.

For the upcoming year, the applications will be open by mid-November or early December. Please follow us on our website at newyork.cisvusa.org by signing up on our mail-list or on Facebook to find out more about the happenings in the NY Chapter.
Connectivity in 
Faces of New York
by Angelica Suri (JB)

In the "Faces of New York" Mosaic camp this past summer, the theme was connectivity. Each day we had a sub-theme pertaining to connectivity. All of the activities were related to the theme and we debriefed afterwards. At the beginning of the camp I was very nervous as I didn’t know anyone there but by the end I made many friends and it was so much fun. All the counselors were really nice and understanding. Every day we had four activities which nourished our physical and mental well-being. I was very tired by the end of the day but I felt like I had accomplished so much. Our last day together was the toughest as I made some amazing and close friends in such a short time. Given a chance I would always like to come back to camp and re-live the journey once again. 

Photo above left: Mosaic 2022 kids, Angelica second from left, standing.
Non Binary in CISV
by CJ Sesny (Junior Branch)

It's not easy being transgender in many places of the world today. Things like perceived judgements, lack of pronoun awareness, inclusive bathroom and changing rooms make traveling hard and stressful. It was my first time going to one of the CISV summer camps and I did not have to worry about any of these problems. My fields of experience included not feeling judged in any way possible, everyone being supportive with my gender and boundaries. AND I didn’t have any problems with the showers, restrooms or bunks. 

I had an amazing camp and bonded with many people from other country delegations including the staff and leaders. It is so nice to see all of the pictures the staff and leaders took and look/think about all the memories. Having no phones allows you to really connect with your fellow campers. At first, I really wanted to talk to family and friends but then as I started to make friends I wasn’t even thinking about my phone. I’m very glad I can connect with my new friends on WhatsApp and social media, and talk all about them to my family. It is so nice to see everyone’s culture and get to taste the foods and candies they eat as well as the holidays and traditions. CISV camp activities are more mindful and encourage you to think more globally. They get you to think about the problems that occur within your country and also listen to the problems in other countries.

Photo above: Delegation to Youth Meeting Netherlands 2022 at the airport, CJ third from right.
Meet Your New Junior Board! by Eser Taneli (LJR)

The new Junior Board is super excited to be planning events this year. We have several brand new members, with tons of fresh ideas.

•Local Junior Representative (LJR): Eser Taneli
•Junior Local Junior Representative (JLJR): Veda Kumar
•Secretary: Malaka Baghdady
•Treasurers: Sasha Van Leeuwen + Alara Altinbas
•Social Media Managers: Katie Sesny, Ceylin Altinbas + Isabelle Tina
•Extended Board: Sophie Van Riel, Connor Chun, Matteo Schiera + Jaden Alford

Fall minicamp is the weekend of October 21, planned entirely by the Junior Board. Register here! We have two activities in the works for this coming winter. Stay tuned for more details to come.

Memories and Souvenirs
by Tom Crovitz (JB)
 
This summer CISV NY went to Munich, Germany for the Million Dreams Village, with Saskia Binder as our fearless leader. My US delegation went along with 8 other delegations, Great Britain (two delegations), Germany, Austria, Spain, Norway, Italy, and the Netherlands. I made a ton of friends from all over the world, and had many great experiences. 

Some of the highlights from Germany include our delegation dressing up as New York Yankees and the Statue of Liberty, and the many fun energizers. My personal favorites are “I have a Mango,” “Mhm Mhm, in a Swimming Pool,” and “Little Sally Walker.” I also really enjoyed the fun activities. My favorite activity was life-sized “Stratego”, where we all got roles with power levels, and it was basically tag. I also did a lot of trading with other kids. From the GB Manchester delegation I got a drawstring bag. From the Netherlands, I got an orange cape and some HagelSlag (Sprinkles). I came back with many memories and prized souvenirs to remember the Village and friends by. This experience got me really interested in CISV — and I was even "camp-sick" when I came home — that is homesick for my new global friends at camp. I am excited to participate in more CISV in the coming years.  

Photo above: The Munich Village delegation, Tom third from left.
Small But Mighty
by Dinu Antonescu (JB)

As my very first CISV experience, together with three amazing teammates, Renata, Carol, and Isabelle, I attended he Veni Vidi Vici Step-Up hosted by the Northeast Ohio Chapter. Finding a leader was especially challenging, but our patience and worries were rewarded with the best leader we could hope for, Drew. Although we did not have much time to get to know one another, within the first few days we all became very close with Drew, or Drewski, as I like to call her. Our camp included four delegations from Austria, Mexico, France and the US. Due to the small number of participants we became very close. Together, we built an "International Village" for three weeks. By making beautiful memories, we were able to not only form everlasting bonds which were sealed with our farewell tears, but also to learn from one another. For instance, through our evening discussions, The Austrian Leader taught me that, “The ones crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.” To ingrain this, he offered me a CISV Austria shirt with this message… Which is washed less than it should :-). This memorable experience was only possible because Priya introduced me to CISV. Thank you so much Priya!!!

Photo above right: Delegates in NE Ohio Step Up 2022.
CISV Through Generations by Tolga Taneli (Parent)

Some of my most memorable and important friendships are those that got their start through CISV. When I was a JC from Bursa, Turkey in 1987, I met Barbara at Fragola Village (Gorizia, Italy) where she was the Leader from Vienna, Austria. Not long after Village, I visited Barbara in Vienna, and maybe saw her one more time, shortly thereafter. This was long before Google, cell phones or email. A few years ago, I followed some crumbs on the Internet and managed to find and exchange emails with Barbara. We briefly reminisced about our Village experiences and were delighted to find out that our children were enthusiastic CISVers. 

Last holiday season, I sent Barbara a family photo and we started another email exchange. We talked about our lives, COVID and how upsetting it was that there had been no in-person CISV gatherings. We were disappointed that a new generation of CISVers had been denied the opportunity to connect at Village, which had been such a formative experience for both of us. 
Not more than two days passed when Barbara wrote back to me with excitement. She had printed out my family’s photo and placed it on the kitchen board. Her son Theo walked by and asked: “Why is my friend Eser’s photo on the board?!” It turns out, unbeknown to either of us, that Theo and Eser had become friends during the 2019 Step-Up in Vasteras, Sweden, 32 years after Barbara and I had met in Gorizia. 

In a year that seemed so disconnected and remote for all of us, this is a warm connection that could only happen in CISV!

Photos above: left: Tolga and Barbara circa 1988; middle: Eser, Tolga, Alexandra & Kaan; right: Lena, Theo, Barbara & Andreas.
Regional Mini-Camp Last Spring
Long Time Travelin' Man
by Julie Harrison (Board Member)
 
Arnold Miller is an adventurer. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, he always knew he wanted to travel the world. At age 81, he has been to over 100 countries with his wife, Marilyn, of 58 years, whom he met on a blind date and proposed marriage to within three weeks. Their first trip together was when they were pregnant with their first child; they traveled to three countries on $10 a day! At that point, they thought that “once we had kids, we would never be able to travel again” – little did they know. As a family they took trips to Kenya, Morocco and Mexico. In true CISV spirit, Arnold and Marilyn travel to get to know a place, eschewing tourist attractions. They rarely stay at a resort, and the only group tours they’ve taken were in countries that required it, like Papua New Guinea, Antarctica, and the early days of an open China. 

Arnold and Marilyn became involved with CISV New York in 1981 when their eldest child, Steven, was 11 years old. Steven went to Romania for Village, and at that point it was a communist country. Since there were no phone communications or email, they didn’t hear from him for a month. Talk about trusting CISV! The next year Steven did an Interchange with Sweden. At that time, Interchange took place over two summers, each exchange for 3 weeks. The families have been friends ever since! Steven also did Seminar in Costa Rica, and became a leader. Eric, their second son, also participated in Village, Interchange, Seminar, and JC. Arnold’s grandchildren, Sara, Leela and Mason, have been involved with CISV through Mosaic, Village, JC and mini-camps.

In 1982/83, Arnold joined the board and has been going strong for 30 years. The first few years he was involved, the chapter was struggling. After a big fundraising gala in Central Park with Brook Shields, they lost so much money that CISV NY almost went bankrupt. “It was a rag-tag chapter back then,” said Arnold. Maybe this is why he’s always mindful of budgetary expenditures in the chapter, and by turns attracts numerous donors. The only job on the board that Arnold hasn’t volunteered for is treasurer, but as far as money goes, he keeps a tight ship. One major kudos was his vision for Mosaic “Faces of New York,” a free one-week residential camp for local kids, which he pitched to the chapter and is now in its 11th year. He is retired from owning his own business, Irvin Simon Photographers, which he built up over the years and is now owned by his sons. We are grateful for Arnold’s success and accumulated knowledge of CISV New York!
"I Want to be a JC"
by Alara Altinbas (JB)
 
Six years ago, when I participated in the Village program in South Korea, the first thing I told my parents when I got back was that I wanted to be a JC when I was older. I made very strong and long-lasting friendships with the JCs at my village, and I wanted to be able to have the same. This summer, I was granted the chance to go to Mexico as a JC; I jumped at the opportunity. Through my experience, I have developed a sense of cross-cultural understanding, embraced acceptance, and grown in willingness to leave behind the familiar for the unknown. I was acting as a role model to these kids while leading their activities, but honestly, they have taught me a lot more things about new cultures and how alike we are to each other. Although we came from different lands, I will be forever grateful to these kids, who have shown me that we need to preserve what we believe in while learning to respect and integrate with the differences around us.

Photo above: Alara, forth from right.
Volunteers Needed

CISV is a global, volunteer-led organization committed to working for a more just and peaceful world. We do this through building friendship and a commitment to local and global community service in our participants.

Every year, our dedicated and passionate volunteers of all ages give their expertise, skills, life experience, energy, and time to run our chapter, programs, and junior branches. Whether you’re 16 or 60, you can offer an hour or two every month or give a more regular commitment. There are many exciting and flexible ways for you to get involved with CISV. Currently, we are in need of the following:

•President (or Co-President)
•Vice-President (or Co-Vice-President)
•Hosting Chair
•Selection Chair
•Fundraising Committee
•Public Relations Committee

For more information, please contact us, even if you can't find something above that you're interested in! We need you in many ways!

Photo above: CISV New York chapter development meeting.
Abundance in Giving

We are grateful this year for the CISV Detroit Hosting Fund committee who awarded us $8,000 to support our Step Up program, which we hosted in upstate New York for three weeks. The cost was about $110,000. We also recieved a generous $10,000 grant from the Jim Jacobs Foundation to help fund Mosaic "Faces of New York." The total cost of that camp was about $23,000. As a completely volunteer-run organization, raising funds is achieved with the support of members like you. Please consider a gift to the chapter, and/or join our fundraising committee. Contact newyork@cisvusa.org
Our Bon Voyage Picnic in June
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Newsletter compiled by Julie Harrison and Bernice Wright, designed by Julie Harrison, © CISV NY 2022