PRHS Project Success students have their year-end celebration this week. Their first year has been a busy one -- roller skating, parades, lots of good times. But they've been working on their attendance and grades, too. And some very practical things like learning to fill out applications for summer jobs. Way to go!

YABC Year-End Celebration - in the PeacePower tradition the Young Adult Borough Center held it's year-end celebration June 15th to honor new graduates, good grades, improved grades, contributions to community life, and just about everything else they could think of. YABC serves older students, many of whom dropped out and now attend YABC in the evening while working. How many people graduated? We won't know for sure for awhile. The diplomas come from the student's home school, so the guidance counselors there still have to sort through all the credits. But everyone agreed, it's been a great year with lots accomplished. Congratulations to all.

Kathy Vaughan reports that several people responded to her request for opportunities to talk about mediation. This spring staff have been to all three police precincts, two precinct community councils and several PTAs. If you have a group that could benefit from knowing more about mediation she'd love to oblige.

The Community Dispute Resolution Center welcomes Gary Carsel as a case manager. Gary is no newcomer to the New York Center, though. He's been an active volunteer here since 2001. Gary has mediated in Manhattan through the New York Metropolitan Better Business Bureau. In Staten Island and the Bronx he's mediated Civil and community Mediations and arbitrated the Lemon Law .

The First World/Fifth National Mediation Conference: "A route towards a culture of peace" will take place in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico next November. Yo u can visit their website for more details.

Read about the New Beginnings Cultural Extravaganza in the SI Advance article now on our website.

Mosaic Youth Fest plans underway - 300 youth groups meet regularly on SI - faith-based, teen centers, after-school programs, -- all kinds of youth groups. And now plans are underway to hold a Mosaic Youth Fest in the fall. We're reaching out to groups and individual young people to participate in the planning, train to facilitate workshops, develop publicity and outreach, and about a thousand other things. For more information contact Mike Baver at 718-815-4557, x24.

Andrew brought the house down at our recent breakfast fundraiser. The placemats on the table were blowups of his tenth grade report card -- grade average 45.4 %. Pretty pathetic.

Andrew was straight about it. He was up to no good in high school. Drugs, alcohol, absenteeism, and, yes, violence. The last straw was slugging the assistant principal in the cafeteria. He was out. New Beginnings wasn't really a choice for him.

Then he talked about what happened at New Beginnings. How things were different; the staff here tapped into a different part of him. He began to change.

He stood before a group of forty adults and told us what it meant to him that his parents could now be proud of him. That he was bringing them joy, not pain. That New Beginnings had, indeed, brought him a new beginning.

Then he asked us to open the envelope. Inside was a copy of his most recent report card - grade average 84.29 %. He brought the house down.

Andrew Paniagua was one of several at our fundraising breakfast who shared stories of the NY Center changing lives. Your contributions of time, money, and moral support make these changes possible.

Thanks to students Tanasia Peat for her poetry, Husayn Whigham, Paul Outlaw, and Kevin Hurd from McKee After 3 for facilitating Big Wind Blows; Andrew Paniagua from New Beginnings; Alex Korkov from the SI Office of the Commission on Human Rights who spoke about the Mosaic Coalition; and Andrew Greenfield, Asst. Principal, PRHS, who told folks that Andrew's isn't a unique story. He sees the impact the NY Center staff makes everyday.

Have you got a personal or organization-wide elevator speech? You know, that 45 second speech about what you do that takes less time than an elevator trip from the top floor to the lobby. The point - to provide a ready answer to the question (in our case) 'What is it that NY Center does?'

It's common wisdom in the 'for profit' world to have one that's for potential customers, another when you're looking for job leads, and one for that venture capitalist you run into by chance. Well, we need one, too for potential donors, funders, clients and volunteers. One that staff, mediators, volunteers, and board can all use so our message is clear.

We want it to generate interest. Stimulate questions. Twenty-five words or less is ideal. No jargon - just real world benefits we provide to our community. We tried one approach in our special events issue last week but we're not satisified yet.

The New York Center for Interpersonal Development finds ways to strengthen communities and build relationships by learning and teaching the tools to resolve conflicts and support one another.

Try your hand at it. All submissions welcome. Maybe Dom will spring for a prize. We'd love to see any speech you develop for yourself or another organization, too. We'll post them on our website with a link to yours - an advertisement of sorts-to spur creativity.

Friday, June 17, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM -ACRGNY Annual Conference - ADR: WAVE OF THE FUTURE OR FALSE PROPHECY? Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. For details visit: WWW.ACRGNY.ORG

Friday, June 17, 1-2 pm
Tuesday, June 28, 8-9 am
Thursday, July 14, 6-7 pm
Come Get to Know Us - Join us for a one- hour conversation about how we strengthen communities and improve relationships. We won't run overtime. We won't ask for money. We just want you to know us. 130 Stuyvesant Place, 5th floor. RSVP Liz Bonici or 718-815-4557, x 30

June 23, 24, 26,27, 28 : Divorce Mediation Training with Adam Berner, NY Center Training Institute. For details, check here or call Kathy Vaughan at 718-815-4557, ext 25.

Wednesday, June 29 Beyond Bias, From Tolerance to Trust, Building Trust Skills in Diverse Communities Sponsored by Project Hospitality, this year's summit begins with a panel of leaders who've worked to create diverse and vibrant communities. We'll break into discussion groups to share ideas and strategize. For more information contact Kathy Vaughan at 718-815-4557

Thursday, July 7 - Mosaic Coalition Meeting - Help us plan the 2005 Celebrate Diversity event. This year we honor our Indian, Cuban, Irish, Jewish and Albanian friends and neighbors. All are welcome. For more information contact Angela D'Aiuto at 718-815-4557, x18