Samantha P. Yi, Sr. Woman's Volunteer Service Awardee

For immediate release
April 22, 2015 From: Judy Moore/University Relations For more information, contact Janet Bilandic, president, or Michele Bresler, chair of public relations, The Alumnae of Northwestern University at [email protected].

Samantha P. Yi Receives Alumnae Senior Woman’s Service Award Evanston, Ill. --- Samantha P. Yi is the recipient of the 2015 Senior Woman’s Service Award given by The Alumnae of Northwestern University. The award, established by The Alumnae in 2002, honors a senior woman for volunteer service during her undergraduate years at Northwestern University. Samantha, from Brooklyn, New York, is a senior, majoring in Social Policy in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), with a grade point average of 3.6. Her focus has been to improve the lives of underprivileged children through mentoring programs involving Northwestern students. Her major volunteer service has been with Supplies for Dreams, Inc., a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the way Chicago Public School students learn and experience life, where she serves as unpaid Executive Director. While inspiring other Northwestern students to join her, she has volunteered at the organization 20 hours a week for four years after she began mentoring a 6th grader in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. As a volunteer at Supplies for Dreams during her sophomore year, Samantha became the Supplies for Dreams Northwestern Outreach Chair, hosting events for children featuring Northwestern students such as the Purple Crayon Players and the dance group Fusion. She also enlisted Northwestern athletes to come to a “Wildcat Workout” event to educate young students about the benefits of exercise. In addition, Samantha developed a curriculum for mentoring, working with SESP professors and other experts in the field to develop a series of surveys based on a charter school character report card. In his words about Samantha, the co-founder and director of Supplies for Dreams, Hiro Kawashimi, said: “Her volunteering and leadership produced remarkable results. She led a team of 40 part-time staff and supported more than 3,600 CPS students, raised $100,000 from countless corporations and foundations, and pivoted program strategies to improve outcomes … she is an asset to our team, to the students our organization serves, and to the Northwestern University community.” Samantha also volunteered at the Chicago Office of Heartland Alliance, an organization that serves refugees and immigrants, where she was the College Prep Coordinator. During 2013-14, Samantha helped students at Evanston’s Dewey Elementary School in their Books & Breakfast program. Samantha will receive the Senior Woman’s Service Award of $2,500 at The Alumnae of Northwestern University’s Annual Board Meeting, which will be held in May 2015. She will also be recognized at Honors Day and commencement. This summer she will be interning for Terry Mazany, CEO of the Chicago Community Trust.
The Alumnae of Northwestern University is an all-volunteer organization of women that raises funds for a wide range of projects to benefit Northwestern while sharing the university’s academic resources with the community through its Continuing Education program. Founded in 1916, The Alumnae has given more than $7.5 million to the university in the form of grants, fellowships, scholarships, an endowed professorship, funding for special university projects, and summer internships. For more information, visit The Alumnae website at www.nualumnae.org.