The CitySquares Blog

CitySquares had a heck of a party at Vlora tonight, to officially launch of The First Annual CommuniTee Art Project. For those of you who attended the party, which saw over 200 guests, thank you for your involvement and for your donations! We’ve already raised over $2000 for the McKinley and Hurley schools in the South End. Furthermore, congratulations to Jim on winning the Placido Domingo Raffle, which included two tickets to see Placido Domingo, dinner for two at Vlora in the Back Bay, limousine transportation by MVS Limo, and hotel accommodations courtesy of Courtyard Marriott in South Boston. Pictures from the party can be seen here.

The CommuniTee Art Project is essentially a community project that involves the whole community, but begins and ends with the art programs at the Joseph J. Hurley and the McKinley Elementary Schools in Boston’s South End. Here’s how it works:

1. Students at the Joseph J. Hurley and McKinley Elementary Schools in the South End are creating designs that best reflect their perspective on the South End - something that captures the essence of the South End, in their own eyes.
2. Designs will then be put on display at local businesses in the South End as well as on CitySquares.com.
3. People will be able to vote for their favorite designs on CitySquares.com and see real time voting results.
4. Once the votes have been tallied, the finalists will be sent to a CommuniTee Committee, basically a group of South End residents, business owners, and others, who will select the winning design.
5. The winning design will be unveiled at a party in the South End.
6. The winning design will then be transferred to T Shirts, for sale throughout the South End and on CitySquares.com.
7. Proceeds from the sale of these T Shirts, as well as from local business sponsorships, will be passed right back to the Joseph J. Hurley and McKinley Elementary School art programs!

If we can be successful with this South End CommuniTee Art Project, we’ll do it again in other communities. So it’s critical that we get as much momentum as we can!

We’re very excited to announce this, and by working with the local media, with local businesses, local residents, students, and everyone else, we can make this a real success. Everyone wins, especially the students - that’s the goal.

We’re also asking businesses to contribute to the project and become an official CommuniTee Sponsor. If you’re a local business and you want to become a sponsor, please contact Caitlin Sullivan at (617) 459-4921 or email her.

Please stay tuned to this blog and to the Official CommuniTee page on CitySquares.com for the latest news. The dates and locations of all events are still being finalized and will be announced soon.

Here’s a video from the party. Sorry about the poor lighting and low resolution.

done

– Ben