PICS/CSF News 2012-2013

Seva Kramer Honored for Role in CSF/PICS

Tribute on April 13, 2013, Sponsored by Class of '69 CSF and PICS Board of Directors

PICS Welcoms New Student Program Coordinator

Posted 11/21/2012; updated 1/15/2013

PICS welcoms Evan Schneider as a new student program coordinator next week. Evan has been part of the local Princeton community for a number of years as a Princeton Theological Seminary graduate student. During his time at the seminary, Evan was involved in a number of nonprofit organizations where he worked, as part of the ministry, on poverty and homelessness issues. After he received a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Theology, he spent the last two years in China teaching English and counseling students, as well as becoming proficient in Mandarin. Before attending the seminary, Evan worked in the financial services industry and received his bachelors in Classical Studies from the University of Oklahoma. He brings administrative skills to PICS as well as counseling experience to the students he’ll be working with.  Evan will be working with our executive director, Jeri Schaefer to administer the PICS program placing Princeton students in alumni sponsored and supported summer internships in nonprofit organizations across the United States.  Even is is enjoying his new position as he meets with students to council them on summer internship opportunities.  Applications are pouring in, with our deadline of January 18, 2013 only days away.

Hundreds attend Career Services Internship Fair

Posted 11/17/2012

PICS is gearing up for another great summer of internships for  Princeton students at alumni supported nonprofit organizations.  We had hundreds of students stop by our table at the Career Services Internship Fair on campus on November 16th.  Class of 1969 founding PICS board member Jim Floyd (photo on left) was on hand to answer students questions, as well as PICS Student Advisory Council member Ulili Elmore (class of 2013 and former intern for Scholar Academies) and Andrew Nelson (class of 2015, our student office intern) (photos on right).  The students were excited to hear about our placement offerings and looking forward to the PICS website going live on December 6, 2012.

You will hear more from our new PICS student advisory council in December as they keep you updated on their plans to help improve the quality of our program by helping with outreach to students, past PICS interns, and our alumni.

Jeri Schaefer is the new CSF Executive Director

Posted 10/9/2012

Community Service Fund Chairman Chuck Freyer reports that The Class of 1969 and PICS is proud to welcome Jeri Schaefer as our new CSF Executive Director. Jeri is a graduate of American University and New York  Law School. She brings extensive experience as a non-profit executive.

For more information please contact Jeri directly at:

Princeton University Class of 1969
Community Service Fund
P.O. Box 261
Princeton, New Jersey 08542
609-258-2682
jeris@princeton.edu

Notes from CSF Chair Chuck Freyer

Posted 10/9/2012

Bill Charrier’s recent President’s letter reported on the great year that the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund ("CSF”) and its PICS (Princeton Internships in Civic Service) Program has just had. I just want to underline a couple things to which Bill alluded.

For the third year in a row, the undergraduates demonstrated an overwhelming interest in the program. 500 students (10% of the undergraduate body) applied for our 77 internships, running the gamut from clinical internships in hospitals to teaching in charter schools to working with the homeless.

We consistently get rave reviews from the students and the organizations where they are placed. For example, the following came from a member of the Class of 2014 who worked at the American Indian Center: "Learning about the operations of non-profits, and what goes into keeping them running is something that no one can fully comprehend until they work in one….This experience has made me realize that I want to work to help people.” Stories like this, of which we heard many at the reception we held last week for the returning interns, are the reason we work so hard on the PICS Program and believe that what PICS is doing to change young lives is truly important. It is also why the University is so proud of PICS—and why you can all be so proud of it and celebrate it as the legacy of the Class of 1969!

As many of you know, our beloved Honorary Classmate and PICS Executive Director Seva Kramer has finally made good on her promise to husband Peter that she would retire. We were lucky indeed to find and hire Jeri Schaefer as our new Executive Director. Jeri is a graduate of American University and New York Law School; after practicing law for a number of years, Jeri moved into the non-profit world and comes to us after leading the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Mercer County for the past 12 years. She is passionately committed to the goals that CSF’s PICS (Princeton Internships in Civic Service) program espouses. Seva has graciously agreed to mentor her through her first year with us.

I write to you to ask that you bear in mind the importance of what PICS does when you fill out your Class Dues Cards. Our interns qualified for less Federal Work Study money this summer than in the past, and our admin costs are somewhat higher as we undergo the leadership transition. As a result, we need extra help from you to meet our budget.

So please be as generous to CSF this Fall as you can, so we can continue to change the lives of Princeton students and make both the Class of 1969 and Princeton University proud of the outcomes we achieve.