Notes from The Max

A Luncheon "Thank You"

Three weeks ago, we held our 19th Annual Awards Luncheon and had the opportunity to honor some truly deserving students. More than 300 people attended the event, held in the Curry Student Center at Northeastern University. We're so glad we had the chance to share such a special day with our 2010 Max Warburg Fellows, their families, friends, teachers and principals and guests of the Courage Curriculum.

In addition, we would like to extend our thanks to:

• Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, for his continued support of the Courage Curriculum and his dedication to improving the lives of Boston's children;
• Northeastern University, including President Dr. Joseph Auon, Dr. Mark Putnam and Bob Gittens;
• Lexa Marshall, essay judging coordinator for the past 19 years and helpful editor for The Courage of Boston's Children;
• Ambassador Swanee Hunt and Dr. Charles Ansbacher, to whom this year's courage book is dedicated, for their support and dedication to children and the arts in Boston;
• Our featured guest speaker, Jacqueline Canady, a 2004 Max Warburg Fellow, for eloquently sharing the story of her life and encouraging the 2010 Fellows to keep working towards their goals; and
• The Warburg Family (Stephanie, Jonathan and Fred), for sharing Max's memory and courage and for passing along his lessons to 19 years worth of courageous children.

If you would like to receive a copy of the 2010 volume of The Courage of Boston's Children, please contact our office with your mailing address and we will be sure to send one to you.

As we approach our 20th anniversary year, the Courage Curriculum continues to grow and expand, including to school districts across the country, by partnering with Cambium Learning Technologies on a national essay contest for middle school students on the topic of courage.

One week after our luncheon in Boston, representatives from the Courage Curriculum traveled to Houston, TX, to honor the first national winner, a sixth-grade student named Maklin Ramirez, at Hartman Middle School.

We're so grateful to everyone who has helped us so many students over the last 19 years. Thank you.

Spring Update

It's almost hard to believe, but it's already April. We've been so busy here at The Max, preparing for our 19th Annual Awards Luncheon, that the time just flew by.

Our spring started off with our annual Essay Judging in early March. As in years past, we gathered at the Boston Public Library, along with approximately 100 volunteer essay judges. Over the course of two judging sessions (one in the morning and one in the evening), our volunteers read more than 2,000 essays and faced the daunting task of selecting just a handful of students to represent their classes, their schools and the courage of Boston's children. We also had the pleasure of once again hosting an "off site" judging session for a number of high school seniors at Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill.  

We cannot thank our essay judges enough for all of their hard work. These volunteer judges give their time, attention and compassion to thoughtfully read and discuss the courage essays. Every year, Courage Curriculum students are proud to learn that people from all walks of life and all over the city are reading their essays. So, thank you essay judges, for playing an important role in helping make The Courage of Boston's Children possible.

The Courage of Boston's Children, which is The Max's signature publication, will contain the essays written by this year's Max Warburg Fellows, 44 students from 35 schools, chosen by our essay judges. We continue to be impressed both by the quality of these essays and their genuine and heartfelt sincerity. The topics covered by the chosen essays are varied and diverse, just like the student authors themselves.

Now that 2010's Max Warburg Fellows are selected, we begin the process of transforming individual essays into a single bound book that tells the collective story of how these young people demonstrate courage in their lives. Each student's essay is accompanied by a picture of the student and once again, the talented photographer Craig Bailey helped us coordinate our photo sessions. I think these photo days are among our favorite days during the year, because we finally get to meet these students in person and place their face with their essay. This year's Fellows are, quite understandably, very enthusiastic and excited about their accomplishments, as are their equally proud parents and guardians.

As we move towards May, we'll begin to edit the first of many drafts of the courage book while finalizing preparations for the Awards Luncheon. Like last year, the luncheon will be held at Northeastern University and we're looking forward to giving another group of students an introduction to a college campus and the possibilities of higher education.

We'll continue to keep you updated as we finish out the school year and we certainly hope to see some of you at our Awards Luncheon in May!

December Update

Though it may not be reflected in Boston's latest weather, December is definitely upon us and The Max is officially in "busy" mode.

With our successful Take It to The Max event completed, we're now shifting our focus to our upcoming benefit gala, which will be held in January. This year, we're inviting guests to "Step Up to the Plate for Courage" since we'll be hosting the evening at Fenway Park. The benefit evening will include cocktails, entertainment and a silent auction. We're really excited to to celebrate the courage of Boston's children at America's most beloved ballpark. 

While we've been preparing for our annual gala, we also recently moved offices, from one building to another. Of course, we had to take the time to pack up our belongs and then unpack them. As we have settled in to the new office, we've had the great opportunity to re-organize all of our materials and supplies. Fall cleaning, instead of spring! We're so grateful for our new office space - I even think it makes us more productive!

Throughout the fall, we've had the help of an intern, in the form of a Northeastern University co-op student. Dyrelle has been a great asset, working on a Max Warburg Fellows alumni directory and creating digital copies of all of our courage essays from 1992 to the present. We plan to use her work during the upcoming 20th anniversary celebration of The Max Warburg Courage Curriculum.  

We hope you're enjoying the holiday season so far. Remember, books make great gifts!

Luncheon Success

(A bit belated, but no less grateful!)

A few weeks ago, we held our 18th Annual Awards Luncheon, celebrating the 2009 Max Warburg Fellows and officially concluding this year's sixth-grade program. The 46 Fellows, their families, friends, teachers and principals as well as guests of The Max filled the lower level of Northeastern University's Curry Student Center to celebrate the courage of Boston's children.

Guests dined on peanut butter & jelly (Mayor Menino's favorite!) and other delicious sandwiches and salads, while balloons, brightly colored cupcakes and M&M's decorated the room.  After the speakers addressed the crowd, this year's Fellows had their chance to shine. The students beamed when they received their medals and, deservedly so, received a standing ovation when all of the medals had been awarded. 

The event was a great success, but we could not have done it without the help of our many volunteers. From those who proofread The Courage of Boston's Children and secured gifts for the winning students to those who ensured every guest was accounted for on the day of the event, THANK YOU.

We are also very grateful to:

• Mayor Thomas Menino, who has been a longtime ally of The Max and who has worked continually to improve education for Boston's children (this year's volume of the courage book is dedicated to him);
• Northeastern University for allowing us to host our event on campus for the first time and NU President Dr. Joseph Auon, Dr. Mark Putnam (Senior VP, External Affairs) and Bob Gittens (VP, Community Affairs and Government Relations);
• Lexa Marshall, for organizing and coordinating our essay judging for the past 18 years and for her attention to detail when proofreading The Courage of Boston's Children;
• Joseph Small, Senior VP at Houghton Mifflin, for providing our 2009 Fellows with a book to inpsire them to keep reading and writing;
• Kaitlin Miller, a 2002 Warburg Fellow alumma, for offering her words of wisdom and for showing this year's students that courage is a life-long endeavor; and, of course,
• The Warburg Family (Stephanie, Jonathan and Fred), for sharing Max's memory, courage and inspiration with the children of Boston through the Courage Curriculum. 

Once again, many, many thanks to all who helped out. Your support made our event memorable!

[Note: Stay tuned for pictures from the event!  If you have some you would like to share, let us know!]