General Questions
What is the Idealism Cup?
The Idealism Cup is an inter-house competition highlighting 20 years of City Year New Hampshire alumni and their idealistic spirit. Each of the 676 alumni from our site have been sorted into one of four houses, and each house will compete against each other throughout the month to be crowned the Idealism Cup Champions. Alumni can support their house by donating and fundraising for our Alumni Sponsored Team and by taking part in weekly challenges and bonus activities to earn additional points. The competition will culminate at our 20th Anniversary celebration event on May 30th, where the champions will be announced!
What are the 4 houses?
The four houses of CYNH’s Idealism Cup are named after City Year founding stories.
- The Cathedral Builders ('01-'05) are a determined, scrappy, and resourceful team that came into City Year with a bright vision for the future. Setting the foundation for what was to come, the Cathedral Builders established City Year New Hampshire as a beacon of idealism in our state, and as alumni have seen our site grow and flourish for 20 years.
- The Starfish house ('06-'10) is known for their steadfastness, inclusivity, and openness to new possibilities. They grew our partnerships with the New Hampshire community, seeking out new opportunities to make a difference to each volunteer, Young Hero, student, and school.
- The Bridge Builders ('11-'15) are an adaptive, forward-thinking, and community-focused bunch. These motivated alumni were some of the first to serve full-time in Manchester, building bridges between City Year and our new partnerships during a time full of transition and transformation.
- The Ripples of Hope corps ('16-'19) is renowned for their commitment to community, equity, and belonging. Determined to make Manchester and the world a more just and inclusive place, they knew that by serving a year, their efforts would send ripples of hope forward that together would “sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
How do I find out what house I am in?
Each of the 676 alumni from our site have been sorted into one of four houses, and each house will compete against each other throughout the month. You should have received an email on May 7th with your house information, or feel free to take this QUIZ to be sorted!
What will the winning House win?
The winning house will win the prestige, honor, glory (and bragging rights) of being champions of Idealism.... as well as some CYNH 20th Anniversary swag and a special reception when we have our in-person 20th Anniversary Celebration next year.
How do I earn points?
- Fundraise: Earn 20 points by making a donation of any size to City Year New Hampshire! Your house will also earn 20 points for every $100 raised! Earn 10 points for any non-alumni donor that you get to support CYNH. Build out your personal fundraising page on our Idealism Cup site and invite others to join your team and give to City Year New Hampshire!
- Complete Weekly Missions: Each week we'll be issuing challenges such as sending us photos from your time of service, contributing to a CYNH yearbook and sharing your City Year story that will also earn you points! We understand that with everything going on right now fundraising may be challenging and we want everyone to be able to take part in this competition and be a part of this celebration.
- Special Challenges:
Finally, throughout this month we will have bonus opportunities for your house to earn points including the inter-house tournament that will be happening at our virtual celebration. The Ripples of Hope earned 50 points in our first special challenge for being the first house to reach 10 donors!
How does scoring work?
The points earned by every house member will totalled to give you your House’s total points. This is then divided by the size of each house and multiplied by 100 to give a comparative point total. This is to account for the difference in size of our houses and to ensure everyone has an opportunity to win even if they have a smaller pool of people to participate. House standings and our ultimate winner will be based on comparative point totals.
Where can I check standings?
You can view house standings here- the Idealism Cup team will be updating standings daily throughout this month.
Who can I contact for more information?
Contact Kathleen Ragan at kragan@cityyear.org for more information!