UFT VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP - UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (UFT)/MEMBER’S ASSISTANCE PROGRAM – LET’S TALK ABOUT IT VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP
Presenting: Road Recovery’s VirtualTrax Program youth, Darryl DMC McDaniels (of the music group RUN DMC), Youth Voices Matter, Dr. Stephen Dewey, UFT President, Michael Mulgrew, and Robert Ferrell, U.S. Army Lieutenant General, VP World Wide Technology (WWT)
Location: live streamed through Cisco WebEx & YouTube
Capacity: 150 New York City middle and high schools reaching more than 1,100 students & their families
Sponsored & Supported by: UFT Member Assistance Program, Road Recovery, World Wide Technology (WWT), NYC Department of Education
Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialists, UFT Positive Learning Collaborative, UFT United Community Schools, and Seafield Treatment Center.
“Thanks, Road Recovery. Your VirtualTrax Program made it possible for the United Federation of Teachers to end this challenging school year with our ‘Let’s Talk About It’ Virtual Field Trip. The on-line event taught children coping techniques for this crisis. Together we reached more than 1,100 middle and high school students from 150 schools across New York City. We hope to work with Road Recovery and our partners at the NYC Department of Education on more of these ground-breaking events.” – Michael Mulgrew, President, UFT
The Camp Felix At Home summer program included live, interactive and engaging camp-themed programming led by veteran Camp Felix staff members and partners like Road Recovery’s music industry professionals and other supporters via online platforms. Activities included fitness/yoga/dance classes, arts and crafts activities, musical performances, talent shows, trivia and other games, sing-alongs, and other opportunities for campers to connect and communicate with each other in small virtual groups and enjoy a unique summer camp experience at home together.
“Thank you Road Recovery’s music industry team – you guys are fantastic! Our teens and staff loved spending Tuesday mornings with you all these past 4 weeks, especially Rodney! You have certainly made an impression, that’s for sure. This summer was not without its (many) challenges, but I’m so glad you joined us on this adventure! Thank you all so very much.” – Jane Feyder-Siegel, LMSW, The New York Foundling – Program Director, Camp Felix
“Road Recovery, we can’t thank you and your creative team enough for all of your hard work and dedication to bringing light and joy to our kids in such a tough time. It’s hard to remain positive when so much is uncertain and scary right now. You gave our kids the chance to express themselves and channel their emotions in a constructive and fulfilling way. No value can be placed on that… we are so grateful. We better cross paths again! We’ll make sure of it. Warm regards.” – Amanda Ricken Simonetta – Executive Director, and all of us at The Felix Organization
Road Recovery and IlluminArt Productions partnered during the Covid-19 pandemic to present Virtual Write-A-Play/Music Programs for youth in two New York City public schools: The Manhattan School of Career Development (Lower East Side, Manhattan) and PS/IS-48 (Staten Island). The overall goal of the Virtual Write-A-Play/Music was to individually and collectively engage young participants (middle school students) in the process of collaborative learning, planning, creating and completing goals of creativity, with the incentive that if participants meet their creative deadlines, their creations, artwork and voice was presented across Road Recovery and IlluminArt social media platforms. For each session, Road Recovery and IlluminArt Virtual Creative Staff Mentors conducted “check-in” meetings with the students to see how each young participant was feeling and doing in their lives followed by a discussion about what creative projects will be addressed during their Virtual Write-A-Play/Music session. Creative Staff Mentors then paired up with BOTH youth participants and school staff for the remainder of the virtual program where activities take place for remote ‘creative’ learning.