Archive for April, 2011

Thanks to the charitable donations from our Juniors Tap for Charity event, the Penn Class of 2012 was able to raise over $1700 for educational development! Though funds were originally to go to Save the Children’s Rewriting the Future Campaign (for international educational development), this campaign had already been fulfilled by the time our fundraising was complete. Instead, the funds have been donated to Kitab Korner, a non-profit organization based out of India founded by Penn senior Poorvi Kunzru. We as the 2012 Class Board selected Kitab Korner due to its incredible dedication to educational development and KKEF’s ability to fully maximize the $1700 that has been donated. As you will read below, thanks to the Class of 2012′s partnership with Kitab Korner, hundreds of school children in India will be endowed with the gift of books for years to come.

The Kitab Korner Educational Foundation (KKEF) is a non-profit organization with the mission of helping underprivileged children read their way to a better life.  KKEF works towards this mission by establishing sustainable library centers in underprivileged communities including slums and government schools in India.  Till date we have established 11 library centers, across 2 Indian states (Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra), which have brought 3000 children an incremental 5000 books and 100 workshops. Over the years we have partnered with several reputable Indian organizations including Zensar Technologies and the Akanksha Foundation and have received extensive coverage in the media for our work.  For more information, please visit www.kitabkorner.org.

Each Kitab Korner library center costs approximately $850 to create.  Thanks to your generous contributions totalling $1700, Kitab Korner will be able to establish two Kitab Korner library centers, bringing them closer to their goal of 50 libraries by December of next year. The “UPenn Class of 2012” library centers will be set-up this June, in two government schools located just outside of Mumbai. Each library will benefit approximately 200-300 school children. We look forward to sending you updates and pictures of the library centers once they have been set-up!

COREY METZMAN and JACOB “COBI” BLUMENFELD-GANTZ (both W/C’12)

Founders of Dorm Room Diplomacy

Recognized by President Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference (April 2, 2011)

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Corey and Cobi founded Dorm Room Diplomacy (DRD) with a group of American and Middle Eastern college students who believe that mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue are key to the pursuit of peace between the West and the Arab World. DRD was inspired through a series of conversations that they had with Middle Eastern students, when Corey studied Arabic in Jordan and Cobi attended the Seeds of Peace camp. Each week, DRD connects American college students (from Penn and other schools!) to our peers in the Middle East using online videoconferencing, and students discuss everything from American foreign policy to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to the role of the news media. Starting this spring, DRD will partner with the U.S. State Department, which will invite a prominent diplomat to join monthly online conversations and answer questions from students in the Middle East. Last weekend, Corey and Cobi—along with the rest of the DRD team—were recognized by President Clinton for their work, and they are excited to continue expanding to new campuses in the U.S. and abroad.

Besides DRD, Corey is a student in the Huntsman Program, the co-chair of the Wharton Dean’s Advisory Board, a brother in Sigma Alpha Mu, a MGMT 100 TA, and a member of the Huntsman Student Advisory Board. He was recently awarded the 2011 Truman Scholarship, and he also works on international development projects in Nicaragua, Tanzania, and Kenya. Cobi is pursuing degrees in Diplomatic History and OPIM, serves on the board of Penn Model Congress, and dances for Soundworks Tap Factory. He is currently studying abroad in Israel, where he is researching the connection between the West Bank economy and public perceptions of Salaam Fayyad, the Palestinian Prime Minister in the West Bank.

YouTube Clip of Award from President Clinton

Congrats to Sining Zhou, SAS’12 for having her Hey Day T-shirt design selected as the design contest winner!

Hey Day Package prices will be as follows:

$35 for the T-shirt, Hat&Cane, and Picnic

$20 for the T-shirt and Picnic

$15 for the Hat&Cane and Picnic

- More details with regards to the Picnic, Hat/Cane, and Package sales to come soon -

Get Amped,

– 2012 Class Board –