Dear Friend,

Today, I’m writing to ask you to support New Urban Arts. We recently published our annual newsletter. In it, I reflected on the importance of our annual volunteer interview process, which I went through myself twelve years ago.

When you’re in high school, you rarely have much control over your own life, and at the exact same time, you’re just starting to really know yourself and your own needs. This dynamic is one of the things that can make adolescence so tough. So when I walked into New Urban Arts for my interview, I was exhilarated to find a place committed to supporting young people’s agency.

The students ran the interview, probing me with questions about myself and why I wanted to be in their lives. They had a clear sense of ownership over a space meant to serve them—something I’d never seen before. I felt like I was getting some small taste of the freer world that I wanted to work toward.

Now, I am more aware than ever of the time, labor, and resources that go into the mentor selection process, and I’m still impressed by how well the process captures the most special part of what you support by giving to New Urban Arts. As a donor, you ensure that young people have a role in shaping their own educational experiences. You understand that the role of educators is to support young people to articulate and achieve their own goals.

You understand what we believe at our core—that with proper support and mentorship, young people will make the right decisions. Donors like you keep this spirit alive at New Urban Arts.

Will you support NUA with a year-end gift today to ensure that our mentor selection process—and everything else we do to ensure that this space is driven by youth voice—continues for years to come?

From all of us at New Urban Arts, thank you and happy holidays!

Daniel Schleifer,
Executive Director

P.S. Please consider becoming a sustaining donor by supporting NUA every month in the amount that’s just right for you.