FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Comprehensive Youth Development to Host 7th Annual Spelling Bee for Grownups Fundraiser on May 21
Tickets are available here >>
NEW YORK, NY – May 14, 2025 – Comprehensive Youth Development (CYD), a nonprofit that has served NYC public high school students for 30 years, will be holding its 7th Annual Spelling Bee for Grownups Fundraiser on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from 6pm to 9 pm at Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side. Cheryl Wills of NY1 News will be the guest host and “Bee Master.”
This evening of inspiration and spirited competition shines a spotlight on some of the incredible 3,000 NYC public high school students CYD serves. These bright young minds will take the stage for the finals of their school spelling bees and a powerful conversation about how CYD’s in-school advisors have helped them build clear, actionable plans for life after graduation. Adult guests will then jump into the action in a fast-paced, crowd-pleasing spelling showdown of their own. This event will bring together CYD’s Board members – top leaders at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Standard Industries, Mizuho, and more – alongside teachers and principals from CYD’s three partner schools, many of whom will join the fun as Bee contestants.
Event sponsors include Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP, Goldman Sachs Gives, Women X Meta, and Standard Industries. All proceeds from the Bee go directly toward CYD’s free services for underserved young people in high-need public high schools.
CYD Executive Director Michael Roberts said, “CYD’s Spelling Bee is an unconventional fundraiser, which makes it favorite with guests. This event gives adults a chance to feel like children again. No matter how old you are, when you stand up on stage trying to spell a word out loud, you feel like you’re back in school. It brings out people’s competitive sides and their silly sides. And one of the best parts of the Bee is that it puts our amazing and hardworking young people in the spotlight. Guests get to learn about these students and the impact CYD has on them. It’s always a fun and memorable night, and it’s all for a wonderful cause – helping the city’s youth prepare for successful lives that can break cycles of poverty.”
About CYD
Led by Executive Director Michael Roberts, a longtime advocate for older and underserved youth in NYC, Comprehensive Youth Development serves 3,000 young people in 3 public high schools, including 2 transfer schools for older and immigrant youth: Manhattan Comprehensive Night & Day High School, City-As-School, and the High School for Health Professions and Human Services. CYD’s mission is to partner with NYC public high schools to prepare young people to secure successful futures for themselves and their families. CYD’s advisors are embedded in each school, where they provide free on-site college and career advising and support services.
About Cheryl Wills
Cheryl Wills is an Emmy award-winning journalist and author based in New York City, where she hosts NY1’s “New York Tonight” and “NY1 at Ten” on weeknights. She also hosts the weekly public affairs program “In Focus with Cheryl Wills.” She is also the acclaimed author of a series of books about her family’s transition from slavery to freedom. Cheryl has keynoted events all over the world and teaches students about her grandfather’s service with United States Color Troops. In her career of over 30 years in journalism, she has received honors from the Alliance for Women in Media, the New York Press Club, the Newswomen’s Club of New York, the Associated Press, and the United Nations Correspondents Association. City & State Magazine hailed her as one of New York’s most “remarkable women.”
Contact:
Megan Campbell,
Director of Development & Communications
megancampbell@cydnyc.org
