NFL Draft + Open Bar Party = Scholarships

Guests will have a chance to meet NFL players at a party to raise money for Beyond the Boroughs charity.

Every year, the NFL draft gets bigger. It is the premier offseason event of America's most popular sport and, perhaps because every team, not just two, is involved, the buildup to it is comparable even to the excitement preceding the Super Bowl. One New York-based charity is hoping to capitalize on that interest and use it to help students attend college. The charity is called Beyond the Boroughs, and they will be hosting their second annual Draft Cocktail Mixer on Thursday, April 22 at 1Oak nightclub in downtown Manhattan. A number of current NFL players have been invited to attend, among them standouts Osi Umenyiora, Maurice Jones-Drew and Brian Cushing. Proceeds from ticket sales will got to Beyond the Boroughs's scholarship fund.

Beyond the Boroughs is the brainchild of former NFL lineman Tutan Reyes. A native of Jamaica, Queens, Reyes had the idea a few years ago to give a student from his old high school $10,000 to go to college. However, after consultation with education and philanthropy authority Jenny Goldstock Wright, now an administrator with Beyond the Boroughs, a more ambitious plan emerged, and in 2007 the national charity was formed. This decision, says Tutan's brother Ray Reyes, who is also an administrator with Beyond the Boroughs, resulted in a number of deliberate strategies to ensure success. They stayed, "pretty small early on" and did not overpromise or overextend themselves. "We wanted to make sure we had some deliverables." The charity's name is another example. By calling the charity Beyond the Boroughs instead of identifying it wholly with Tutan, says Ray, they have the opportunity to seek out donors who will endow scholarships in their own names. Beyond the Boroughs currently boasts two endowed scholarships, and in coming years they hope to triple that number. All told, Beyond the Boroughs gave out five scholarships last year, and they hope to slowly increase that number as well over time. Corporate partnerships will also be a part of this expansion, as a recent project with Oscar de la Renta demonstrates.

The scholarships students receive can range up to $20,000 over four years of college. Requirements for applicants are straightforward. "The biggest thing is the student has financial need and a college acceptance letter," says Ray Reyes. Other requirements include a GPA of 2.5 or higher and involvement in an extracurricular activity or work. As the name suggests, Beyond the Boroughs is not limited to applicants from New York City. Any qualifying student nationwide can apply, and it is not targeted at any specific group beyond the students who fit its stated criteria.

Readers interested in tickets to the Draft Mixer, which are $200, may purchase them here, or they can donate directly to Beyond the Boroughs here. Tonic looks forward to seeing you there!

Invitation courtesy of Beyond the Boroughs.