Letter from the Executive Director
Dear Friends,

No matter what stage of life we are in, September brings thoughts of heading back to school. We may be reminded of our own school experiences as we watch students return to our local colleges or send our own children off to begin their higher education journey.

At Wily, we are working to be the caring and consistent adult who walks side-by-side with the students who are managing their college experience on their own. I continue to be inspired by each and every one of the students we have come to know over the last three years. As our Scholars return to school, the Wily staff looks forward to connecting with the entire Wily Network--our Scholars, our volunteers, and our donors.
 
We are starting the school year off with some news:
  1. Wily has a new office in West Roxbury, which was donated by Blue Hills Bank and is accessible by train from all Boston-area colleges.
  2. As we prepare to engage with 40 Scholars this year, we welcome two new staff members, Bonnie Yezukevich as Program Coordinator and Coach, and Becca Butler as Operations Coordinator.
  3. In September, we will be saying goodbye to one of our coaches, Brandon Christenson. Brandon will be moving to Seattle to pursue his training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
  4. Finally, we are pleased to announce the addition of three new board members this fall: Zach Martin, Judi Rosensweig, and Kim Pappas.

We hope you will stay in touch with Wily by reading our newsletter, volunteering, and supporting our Scholars and programs.

Thank you for your continued connection to the Wily Network.

Founder and Executive Director
Thank You to Blue Hills Bank
A huge thank you to Blue Hills Bank for their generous donation of office space. The Wily staff moved into the new location at 1920 Centre Street in West Roxbury on September 7. We are looking forward to building on our sense of community and welcoming you to the new Wily office.
Wily Scholar News
Wily Summer
Four Wily Scholars spent their summers traveling abroad — in Italy, Iceland, Jordan, and France. Summer employment opportunities for our Scholars included working at Goldman Sachs, NPR, and Shakespeare in the Park (doing accounting) in New York City , Ropes & Gray law firm in Boston , ZenDesk in San Francisco, and Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Scholar internships included working for a family-court judge in Massachusetts , the agriculture department in Philadelphia, and doing research at MIT. Click here to see more photos from our Scholars.
Wily Scholar Events
Dining Out with Wily
On July 19, Judi and Bonnie and three Scholars enjoyed a delicious meal at The Local in West Newton. Thank you to the following restaurants for supporting our Dining Out with Wily restaurant program: Boston Public Market , Commonwealth , Dillon’s , Myers + Chang , Sweet Cheeks , The Local , and Trade . Contact Ashley Linell if you would like to introduce us to your favorite restaurant.
Summer Birthdays
On June 4, we celebrated the June birthdays of MIT Scholars Jonathon and Saffron, and Northeastern Scholars Chantel, Davae, and Lauren with dinner at Bertucci’s. This was a great opportunity to get together with Scholars who were spending their summer in Boston and celebrate the start of summer.
Grad Bag Day 
The Wily Network is partnering with Grad Bag to provide our Scholars with dorm supplies that Wily typically pays for out of pocket. On August 6, students were invited to a Grad Bag event where they could select up to seven dorm items from a huge selection.

Grad Bag is a green initiative to reuse college dorm supplies. Grad Bag collects and redistributes lightly used dorm room items that too often end up in landfills and gives them to incoming college freshmen from low-income households.
Wily Engagement Events
Concord Intro to Wily
On May 17, Hilary Steinert hosted a well-attended “Intro to Wily” event. Over 30 women enjoyed coffee and conversation followed by a presentation from Executive Director Judi King, board member Michael Julian, and Kyla, an MIT graduate and foster-care alumna. Michael and Kyla shared their personal experiences of navigating college on their own without the support of the Wily Network. We met many enthusiastic volunteers interested in the care package and gift-giving programs. Thank you, Hilary!
Care Package Event at Sunovion
Board member Andy Rudzinski spearheaded a Wily Welcome Back care package event at Sunovion in Marlborough. Thank you to Wendy Scoppa, Senior Manager, Community Relations, for including Wily in Sunovion’s seventh annual community service program, Hands On! On August 16, more than 20 employees participated in the Wily event, filling 25 laundry baskets with dorm room essentials and school supplies for our Scholars.
To learn more about hosting a Care Package Event, please click the button to the left.
Needham Nonprofit Hope and Comfort contributed toiletries to our Welcome Back care packages. Hope and Comfort works with distribution partners, including food pantries and children's organizations, to distribute essential items, including soap, toothpaste, and deodorant, to children and adults in greater Boston.

Kathy Alperin and Anne Cadigan also donated Welcome Back care packages . Thank you to Sunovion, Hope and Comfort, and all of our volunteers for their generous in-kind donations to our care package program.

We are excited about these new relationships and look forward to continuing to partner with these like-minded nonprofits and corporations.
Connect with Wily
We are in the process of launching our Wily volunteer program and would love to have you connect with us:

  • Send us your address to receive information and invitations to upcoming events.
  • Join our Gift Giving Program: purchase birthday and holiday gifts for one Scholar for their four years of college and a graduation gift.
  • Host or attend a Care Package event with friends or colleagues: create care packages for 10 to 15 Scholars for "Welcome Back" in September, Halloween in October, Final Exams in December or April, or Valentine's Day in February.
  • Bake cookies, brownies or some other tasty homemade treat for 10 to 15 Scholars (enough to share!) for one of their care packages.
  • Host an Intro to Wily event at your home or office to help us grow our network of supporters.
  • Help us connect to businesses and organizations in the Boston area that might provide services to Scholars. For example, we'd like to partner with a Boston-area hotel that would occasionally provide a room for a Scholar to stay in an emergency.
  • Connect our Scholars with companies that might provide informational interviews or may be looking for college-age interns to work part-time during the school year or full-time during the summer.
  • Host an activity or lead a group of Scholars on a field trip.
Wily Thanksgiving Celebration
On November 18, Wily will host our annual Thanksgiving celebration at the Brookline Teen Center . We are looking for donations of food and help with set up. Please contact Ashley Linell for more information about this volunteer opportunity.
For more information on volunteering, please click on the Volunteer button.
Wily Gift Card Program
Wily Scholars Love Gift Cards!
New board member Kim Pappas recently donated to our Gift Card program. Kim was at Staples shopping for her daughter who was about to head off for her freshman year of college. While shopping for school supplies and dorm essentials, Kim remembered our Wily Scholars and thought they might need a few things to kick off the school year. Thank you to Kim and all of the generous donors who contribute to our Gift Card program!

Over the month of September, our Scholars are moving into their dorms, and just like your typical college students, they need dorm room essentials. Gift cards help them make these purchases at no cost to Wily. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please click on the button below.
We always welcome donations of gift cards to Amazon, CVS, Target, Uber, or Visa for our Scholars.
2018-19 Annual Appeal
Wily Connects!

Look for our Annual Appeal in the mail this month, or to donate today, please click the button below.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for connecting with Wily. We couldn't do what we do without you!
Wily in the News
Thank you to Boston Voyager for the fabulous article on Judi and the Wily Network. Check out the article here !
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Our Vision
Establish the Wily Network on college campuses across
New England to improve graduation outcomes for students
navigating their college careers independently.