CLASS NOTES
Attention Car Enthusiasts! How many of you enjoy antique or classic cars? More specifically, how many of you still own the car you drove in high school? Steve Johnson ’79 recently contacted the alumni office to let us know that his beloved 1967 Ford Mustang convertible is in the final stages of a complete restoration. See the photos from Steve’s yearbook page (taken by classmate Skip Stong* in Alapocas Woods) and from Steve’s daughter’s graduation announcement last year showing a similar pose in the same car 34 years later. Steve recalled, “Bob Quillen*, Rob Heaton, Matt Hendricks, and I would arrange to arrive at school early and line up our vintage Mustangs in a row a couple times a year (occasionally Carol Quillen would join in with her Dad’s early 70s Mustang convertible, as would Greg Taylor with his late 70s Mustang II).” Steve really wants to bring his Mustang to WFS for Homecoming weekend 2014 and the Class of 1979’s 35th reunion. However, Steve is hoping not to be “just some old guy in an old car” hanging out in the parking lot; he wants company! The alumni office has agreed to reserve a portion of the parking lot for a little car reminiscing at Homecoming on Saturday October 18. If you have a classic/vintage or just “really nice” car that you wouldn’t mind letting the WFS community admire, please contact Steve to coordinate a little WFS car show. Steve can be reached at SJohnson@ FLJDCPA.com or 305.335.1752. *deceased
Andy and Jocelyn Connect the Dots by Keiko Endo ’12, Alumni Office Intern “I was always involved in stuff at Friends— committees, clerking—more than just going to class. Community involvement has always been a part of my DNA,” said Andy Aerenson ’81. “Friends School gave me the opportunities to learn how to do that. Friends is what made it a part of my life. I think that a bigger school wouldn’t have given me the chance to test out the process.” The desire to serve and to be involved in the community inspired Friends alumni and current trustees Andy Aerenson ’81 and Jocelyn Sutton Stewart ’82 to help found the board of a recently launched social venture, “popdot signs & graphics” (known most frequently as just “popdot”).
a printing business. The new project received a federal grant; Barclays assisted in branding; and popdot was born. popdot provides its fulltime workers with benefits and teaches them essential business skills. These employees are responsible for producing products such as posters, banners, window and floor graphics, and car wraps. “popdot does social good, but business people often don’t care about that unless the quality of the product is good and the price is right,”Andy remarked. “With popdot, there’s no downside. Quality and price are critical to this project working.”
Andy’s relationpopdot bridges the business and ship with West End popdot bridges the Neighborhood House business and nonnon-profit sectors, serving as has been 15 years in profit sectors, serving a sign printing company that the making. Andy as a sign printing company that strives strives to empower former foster represented West End as an attorney when to empower former care youth. the organization foster care youth. purchased houses as This for-profit venture a part of its affordable housing and foster care is jointly owned by the non-profit West End programs. Through his lawyer-client relationNeighborhood House and the Sir Speedy ship with Executive Director Paul Calistro, Wilmington printing company with which it a friendship developed, sparking a long colshares space and printing facilities. laboration between the two. When West End started Bright Spot Ventures, Calistro asked West End’s services fulfill many niches needed Andy to help and to be part of the first board by the local community, including providing of directors. popdot is Andy’s latest business means to improve the quality of life of youth venture collaboration with West End. in Delaware’s foster care system through its Life Lines Program. Jocelyn, who runs the Both Andy and Jocelyn point to the influence community relations investment team at of their Friends education in their current Barclays, notes that her relationship with West involvement in social ventures such as popdot. End started in 2000, the same year Life Lines Jocelyn said, “Friends does a great job of prowas launched. Barclays’ community relations viding a global education and perspective on program partnered with Life Lines to teach the world. You’re always looking at the world foster kids financial literacy and basic life through that lens, seeing if you can you make skills. a difference.” She added, “Friends education is different and unique. It teaches you more However, it soon became clear that even with than just numbers and literacy. It teaches you the resources provided by Life Lines, former how to be a good person in the community.” foster children were still struggling to acquire and hold down jobs. Upon reaching legal In addition to emphasizing the importance of adulthood and emancipation from the system, community involvement, Friends has helped individuals formerly in foster care oftentimes develop connections within Wilmington. Andy encounter difficulties finding jobs and become observed, “The connection between popdot homeless due to lack of assistance when develand Friends comes from multiple avenues. oping into independent young adults. “Instead Friends used Sir Speedy as its printer. Then Sir of getting a birthday cake on their 18th birthSpeedy started its involvement with popdot, day, these kids find their bags packed on the and Jocelyn and I joined popdot’s board. I front porch,” Jocelyn said. was even talking to Lou Salvadori [parent of alumni and assistant coach] the other day, With the aid of Barclays, West End developed and he mentioned how United Electric Supply, the Bright Spot Ventures program to help where he works, started using popdot because facilitate the transition. As Jocelyn explained, it’s the right thing to do.” “The idea was for Barclays to fund small businesses where the kids could work while “The value in popdot is that it parallels the learning transferrable business skills. Through Friends School mission so well,” Andy conemployment with these businesses, the kids cludes. Together, popdot, with Friends Andy gain basic skills and work experience in a and Jocelyn, shows how entities and people caring environment. Though they can still can gather their talents together to address be fired, they receive more support than they an existing resource gap in the community. would at an average workplace.” Bright Spot Through uniting for-profits and non-profits, initiatives, such as the Cool Spring Farmers foster kids and investors, lawyers and busiMarket, were so successful that the Barclaysnesses, a community ethos is formed that West End partnership was inspired to establish helps to connect the dots. QuakerMatters
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