Connect-Us

The Connect-Us Summer Fellows have been working hard organizing and signing up young people for the Connect-Us after school development programs. So many good conversations at backpack give aways, the Jerk and Caribbean Day Festivals and just walking down East Main Street. Bridgeport will be in the house on September 26th at the C-U Onstage! Back To School Talent Show Audition at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. C-U there!

Sign up today!!!

Emmanuel Vereen, Connect Academy and C-U Youth Leadership Team Alum, C-U Onstage! performer and former Connect-Us staff member is on his way to Southern Connecticut State University. We are so very proud of you and we love you dearly!!!

Meet the Connect-Us Young Leaders Fellows Team who will be organizing this summer throughout Bridgeport for the Connect-Us Fall C-U OnStage Talent Show, along with other C-U programs.

The Fellows had a great week of outreach inviting young people to sign up. The team cap off the week doing outreach at the Puerto Rican Day parade on Sunday. They spoke to hundreds of people and we ran into community leader Carmen Colon and State Senator, Blumenthal.

More than ever we need to make an investment in our young people to get involved and create community with other young people!!!!💎🙌🏾🌎

Calling all Performers, ages 5-25! Connect-Us C-U Onstage Talent Show Audition will take place on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 3:30pm at the Klein Memorial Auditorium located at 910 Fairfield Ave. Admission $2 - Audition time is 2 minutes/3 minutes for the Show. The Show will take place on Saturday, Oct. 26th. C-U on September 26th, for the Audition!!!

“During the journey the students take in the Connect-Us Academy, they’re constantly invited to share what they are thinking. They develop pitches and presentations with other students from different schools. They interface with business leaders and instructors who are different from them, and they experience a host of new ideas and ways of thinking about the world. Through these experiences and conversations, they develop more confidence. They start to find their voice.”

Read more in our latest newsletter!

Connect-Us: Finding Your Voice “I am normally very shy and reserved, but throughout my time collaborating with Pam Lewis and her amazing team I have learned to let myself be seen and heard. This program has not only provided me with the knowledge and attitude needed and admired in the workforce, but it has also helped me to gro...

Congratulations to the Connect-Us Academy Class of 2024!!!

Big shout out to our key note speakers, the Secretary of the State of Connecticut, Stephanie Thomas, and author, philanthropist and business leader, Ed Hajim.

The students accomplished a lot in the past 16 weeks. Whether it was pretending to be a legislative body that was creating a new law, with our partner, the law firm Pullman & Comley, participating in mock job interviews at Barnum Financial Group, writing their first resumes with the help of the team at Bridgewater Associates and our professional mentors, learning about financial literacy with J.P. Morgan, and there was so much more. It was hard work, and students also had a lot of fun!

Graduates, we are so proud of you. You took this opportunity to try out new experiences and performances, set goals for yourselves, and grow.

Congratulations once again, to the Connect-Us Academy Class of 2024!!!

A few pics from tonight’s Connect-Us Academy Graduation. Big shout out to the graduates, Stephanie Thomas, CT Secretary of the State and Ed Hajim our key note speakers. Cheers to the 2024 Class of the Connect-Us Academy.
(More pics to come tomorrow.)

Please join us for the Connect-Us Academy Graduation on Thursday, May 9 at 5:30 pm at CT State Community College Housatonic. It has been an exciting and rewarding semester, and I am so proud of the work the young people have done to challenge themselves to grow.

The highlight of the event will be the heartfelt statements shared by our graduates, reflecting on their personal development over the course of our 16 week journey. We are honored to have Stephanie Thomas, Secretary of the State of Connecticut, and Ed Hajim, Author of “The Island of the Four P’s: A Modern Fable about Preparing for the Future,” as our special guest speakers.

Please join us!!!

Join us Wednesday, May 8th to hear from author Ed Hajim and receive a FREE autographed copy of his book, Island of the Four P’s. Hosted by the Werth Center and Connect-Us!

Thank you to the team at Daversa Partners who led an extraordinary workshop last week for the Connect-Us Academy! In small breakout groups, the students developed mock pitches for companies like TikTok, AIRBNB and Netflix, and then they presented their pitches to the whole group. It was beautiful to see the young people stretching and growing right before our eyes! Thank you Angela Pezello for your leadership in organizing this workshop!

Thank you, Melissa Poli, (Human Capital Manager for the Barnum Financial Group), Michelle Hite, (Vice President, Human Resources for the Barnum Financial Group) and the entire team at Barnum for leading last week’s Connect-Us Academy workshop on “How to Interview.”

During the workshop, the students learned what companies look for in candidates and they participated in mock job interviews with the Barnum team who provided personalized feedback and tips for a successful interview.

Thank you for being so welcoming and for how your entire team so genuinely relate to the students. Always a great workshop!!

Thank you Mindee Blanco & Paul Blanco. Your partnership and support have been essential to the success of Connect-Us!

Deb Sawch, Ed.D., thank you for leading the Business Writing 101 CUA workshop this week. The young people were all very engaged and learned so much about communicating professionally.

Deb drilled down on the importance of things like brevity, structure, clarity and persuasiveness among many others. Always a favorite and most needed workshop.

The students enjoy working with you. I appreciate how you always meet the students where they are. It’s magical and amazing to watch.

Thank you for your partnership!!!

Thank you to the incredible team from JPMorgan Chase & Co., led by Kelvin Savage, CFA, CAIA, CFP®, along with Andrei Saunders, Chris Morton, CFA®, CAIA®, and Douglas Guilford for leading the Connect-Us Academy, Introduction to Investing & Personal Finance workshop.

The young people learned critical financial health skills, learned about different career paths in banking and finance, and broadened their network of business professionals and mentors.

Thank you for prioritizing the important work of supporting the growth and development of young adults in Bridgeport.

I look forward to our ongoing work together!

Thank you Melody Rollins, (Global head of Core Institutional Clients at Bridgewater Associates) for leading a great workshop last week for the Connect-Us Academy, called Building Your Personal Brand. The students learned about and discussed a host of topics including:
* What is the perception of you held by the external world.
* Share a combination of personal attributes, values and behaviors that differentiate your unique promise of value from your peers.
* What helps those assessing you to determine if they should hire, promote or do business with you.

The student’s really appreciated our last session. It was an interesting experience thinking about who they want to become and for many how they want to make a change in our world.

Black history is American history, even though so much of the history is not taught. Learning this history allows young people to develop a curiosity to learn more – they are able to see the country in a new way and see themselves as part of the country in a new way as well. At Connect-Us, we see the students become visibly more proud of who they are and more connected to the history of struggle that has embodied the Civil Rights Movement.

Let's follow the leadership of the young people of Connect-Us by investing time and energy during Black History Month in learning more about Black history/American history.

Read more in our latest newsletter!

Connect-Us: Black History is American History Dear friends, On January 15, the Connect-Us Youth Leadership Team produced “Bridgeport Has a Dream,” our annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Show, at The Klein Memorial Auditorium. 600 people came out and showed tremendous support for the young performers. Below are a few excerpts from statemen...

This week at the Connect-Us Academy, I led our “Public Speaking 101” workshop with our professional mentors and CUA Alumni. The young people learned what makes a public speaker good and they practiced performing those traits: confidence, projection, eye contact, connecting with the audience, enthusiasm, and more.

Everyone stepped out of their comfort zones, so it was a particularly playful workshop!

Next week’s workshop, “What Is Your Personal Brand?”

The 2024 Class of the Connect-Us Academy!!! Please give these young people a BIG round of applause. We just finished the our first class meeting . A shout to the Connect-Us Youth Leadership Team for all of your support producing today’s meeting. 💫

Tonight the C-U Youth Leadership Team had the opportunity to experience A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, at the Quick Arts Center at Fairfield University. The team absolutely loved the show!!!

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, will be presenting the company at the Quick Center on January 26, 2024. Company member Keerati Jinakunwiphat and the Executive Director of the Quick Center, Peter Van Heerden joined the Connect-Us Youth Leadership Team today for an educational workshop prior to the show on Friday. The young people from Connect-Us are excited to see A.I.M.’s performance on Friday! Thanks so much for joining us today! Great conversation all around about the creative process! So many life lessons!!!

Bridgeport Has A Dream!! Congratulations to all of the young people who performed in yesterday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. The young people gave very passionate and powerful performances in honor of Dr. Kings life and legacy of fighting for social and economic justice for all. Thank you to the enthusiastic audience that showed so much support for all of the performers. Happy Birthday Dr. King!!! ☮️

Bridgeport Has A Dream!! Congratulations to all of the young people who performed in yesterday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the Klein Memorial Auditorium. The young people gave very passionate and powerful performances in honor of Dr. Kings life and legacy of fighting for social and economic justice for all. Thank you to the enthusiastic audience that showed so much support for all of the performers. Happy Birthday Dr. King!!!☮️