ANNOUNCING THE 2011 TNF NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE AGENTS
After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) - $3,500
With the mission to keep Philadelphia youth safe and active after school, ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships has dedicated time and resources to creating stimulating after school activities by recruiting volunteers, teachers and organizations to lead enrichment clubs citywide. Since 2002, ASAP has facilitated the following citywide programs: The Philadelphia Youth Chess Challenge, The Philadelphia Scholastic Chess League, Philly Girls Play Chess, The Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League, and Philly Plays Scrabble. Through a generous grant from the Northwest Fund, ASAP will be able to facilitate seven after school enrichment clubs serving between 100-115 students.
Awbury Arboretum Association - $2,500
The Awbury Arboretum Association is a 55-acre oasis in Germantown that connects urban residents with history and nature using our historic landscape. The Arboretum hosts a number of programs, many in partnership with other local organizations, which include urban farming and community gardens, environmental education, green infrastructure development and passive recreation. We work with service learning and service employment organizations to maintain and improve the arboretum, including local schools and universities, the Youth Environmental Stewardship Program and beginning this summer, with the Philadelphia Conservation Corps. We also serve as one of two training sites for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Roots to Re-entry program, which gives inmates at the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) a chance to develop new skills, gain hands-on landscaping and horticultural experience, and pursue meaningful employment upon their release. These programs help build community-based stewardship that keeps the Arboretum attractive, safe and sustainable for the more 10,000 annual visitors.
Black Writers Museum - $5,000
The Black Writers Museum (BWM) is a non-profit arts and cultural institution that provides exhibits of classic and contemporary Black authors and their compositions, and utilizes them as tools for teaching and learning. As America is faced with the ever present challenge of urban public education, the Black Writers Museum presents the literary arts as a strategy to teach, inspire, and uplift another generation of novelists, poets, essayists and literary giants. Providing public exhibits demonstrating the impact that Black literature has had on the progression of American culture, the BWM provides community and youth programming
With the mission of “providing a venue and forum for the public to explore, celebrate, and experience the wonders of writing and reading through the exhibition and study of Black Literature,” the BWM offers programming for youth, seniors, and the general public. School trips, summer camps, family day trips, educational tours and workshops for youth, guided tours for the general public, technical assistance for aspiring writers, and community forums are several of the programs and activities offered. With the new Ida B. Welles Library, Resource Center and Computer Lab, one can read, write and do research in an environment conducive to skills development, inspiration, and creativity. Utilizing three floors of exhibit space, the Black Writers Museum hosts a “Story Time”, specifically for children between the ages of four to eight years of age, and a summer writing camp for middle school students. Enriching student academics, and as a community resource for all to enjoy, the BWM is an institution of history and a resource for learning.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia - $7,500
Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia has been working with young people from disadvantaged economic, social and family circumstances for 123 years. We are dedicated to ensuring that at-risk children have greater access to quality programs that will enhance their lives and advance their futures. Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible adults. Support from The Northwest Fund will allow Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia to enhance and expand the teen program at our Germantown club in an effort to curb the high dropout and crime rates plaguing teens in this community. We expect that at least 75 young people will be impacted by this grant. The goals of the teen program at Germantown align nicely with the priorities of The Northwest Fund. By offering academic support, career counseling, life skills training and a safe place for children to congregate, learn and grow, we are straddling each of the following focus areas as identified by The Northwest Fund: Staying in School; At Work: Employment/Self Sufficiency and Safe Communities: Violence Prevention and Community Improvement.
Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia - $17,500
Founded in 1995, Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia is an award-winning organization that builds a path from middle school to college for low-income students from Philadelphia’s public schools. Using the unique ‘Students Teaching Students’ model, Breakthrough also inspires and trains outstanding college students from top schools across the country to become educators and engaged citizens by giving them responsibility for teaching in its programs. Breakthrough Philadelphia serves approximately 300 middle and high school students annually, and is part of the national Breakthrough Collaborative that includes 33 sites across the US. We operate programs at Germantown Friends School, Saint Joseph’s University, and Drexel University.
Breakthrough’s work supports the mission of the Northwest Fund by providing low-income students from Northwest Philadelphia with the education and supports they need to excel in school, and to access and succeed in higher education. We provide rigorous summer and after-school coursework that keeps students engaged during out-of-school hours, provides them with positive peer role models, and exposes them to the world of opportunities available through academic achievement. The Northwest Fund grant will support 100 middle school students from Northwest Philadelphia.
BuildaBridge - $12,000
BuildaBridge is an arts education and intervention nonprofit that engages the transformative power of the arts to bring hope and healing to children, families, and communities in the tough places of the world. BuildaBridge spans race, class, faith, and culture barriers to promote holistic personal, family, and community development. Committed to principles of love, compassion, justice, reconciliation, and service to others, BuildaBridge trains and connects compassionate artists with those in greatest need. BuildaBridge offers unique programs featuring cross-cultural perspectives and arts-integrated methods that are trauma-informed, hope-infused and child-centered. Programs falling within TNF’s guidelines include the following: 1) BuildaBridge Community, which serves Philadelphia’s disadvantaged communities year round through arts-based after-school classes in music, drama, dance, creative writing, visual arts, and culinary arts (Discovery); through an integrated art & science summer camp (Artology); and through creative arts therapeutic intervention (Healing!); and 2) BuildaBridge Institute for Arts in Transformation, a training and applied research academy designed to prepare practitioners to integrate the arts effectively in education and community development. The Institute has intensely trained over 500 people in BuildaBridge's unique classroom model for arts-based intervention with vulnerable children. We anticipate 300 people, including constituents from both Community and Institute programs will be impacted by this grant.
The Business Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise - $8,000
The mission of The Business Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise (TBC) is to equip entrepreneurs and small businesses in Philadelphia with the tools and services necessary to start, sustain, and expand their enterprises. TBC sees these efforts as absolutely crucial for energizing neighborhood economies. The purpose of the Urban Youth Entrepreneurship Works! Program is to teach students how to write a business plan and apply technology, math, and science to operating a business. The students participate in an in-school program that teaches them about the rewards and challenges of being an entrepreneur and the components of a business plan. Curriculum is primarily based on the award-winning National Foundation For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) textbook and workbook series. Core concepts are emphasized through a combination of direct instruction, interactive team-based games, small group role-playing, and power point presentations as a culminating activity. The program expects to target 40 students at Germantown High School. These students will receive 50 hours of teaching time utilizing the NFTE curriculum. In addition to the entrepreneurship curriculum being introduced to Germantown High School students, PNC Bank and TBC will be partnering with Germantown High School to include a school bank component, which the students will operate. They will learn about banking, economics, and finance right in their high school.
Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia - $7,500
Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia's mission is to improve the quality of life of Cambodian Americans in Greater Philadelphia through direct service, advocacy, and cultural education. The programs that will fall within the Northwest Fund’s guidelines are the Teens Organizing Proactivity (TOP) youth program and the Summer Career Exploration Program (SCEP). There are currently now thirty-five high school students in the Teens Organizing Proactivity youth program that is now running year round. We also will begin running our Summer Career Exploration Program this summer which includes twenty-five students. There will be a total of 60 youth within CAGP Programming under this grant. The youth will hold their own youth led workshops that will affect their peers in their high schools and community, which will reach out to even more youth outside our programming walls.
Canaan Family Life Center - $2,000
The Canaan Family Life Center has been operating in the Germantown section of Philadelphia since August of 2007. The mission of the Family Life Center (FLC) is to provide the most needy families in the Germantown area with basic individual needs, including food, clothing, education, and employment. To carry out this mission, the FLC is comprised of three Empowerment Centers focusing on Family, Economics, and Education. The Empowerment Centers are dedicated to empowering and restoring lives of the people in the Germantown and Greater Philadelphia area by connecting them with those human, economic, and education service resources that will strengthen the community. The FLC’s “Sisters Returning Home” project will provide a range of human services to twenty-five women who are leaving incarceration and attempting to re-enter the community as productive citizens. Clients receive care packages, clothing, food, and furniture as needed. Additional services include assistance with obtaining proper identification, job training referrals, interview clothing donations, housing referrals and support, computer training, mentoring of clients’ children, mental health service referrals, and transportation to visit loved ones. Providing these services ensures the clients will not return to a life of crime within the Germantown neighborhood. This program addresses the Northwest Fund’s “Safe Communities: Violence prevention and community improvement” priority. This Re-Entry program prevents repeat offenses by women who have demonstrated a capacity for criminal activity, but who want to meet the challenge of becoming contributing members of the Northwest community.
Chew and Belfield Neighbors Club, Inc. - $2,000
The Chew and Belfield Neighbors Club, Inc. (CBNC) is a 501(c)(3) community organization located in the northwest section of Philadelphia, PA. This organization was founded on prayer and volunteerism since 1981. The CBNC works to create a cleaner, safer and eco-friendly environment for the entire community--facilitating neighborhood cleanups every other Wednesday with the support of community members, neighbors, and over 21 block captains. The CBNC’s goal is also to promote educational and career opportunities and to give direction for employment and training opportunities, in order to better the community as a whole. MATH PROGRAM: The CBNC believes, as you will most likely agree, that math is a critical skill in today’s society. The goal of this program is to strengthen the math skills and build confidence within the student so that they are encouraged, unafraid, and can enjoy math. CBNC has partnered with a math engineer and professor of Drexel University’s Math Department for free math tutoring in the community. SANITATION PROGRAM: The CBNC and its surrounding boundaries loves to see their community clean. Many residents have become older and are unable to help keep their block clean. Once again, Rev. Williams’ prayers have been answered. After much negotiation an organization has agreed to provide him with volunteers to clean the sidewalks, curbs and sewer inlet areas. TNF funding will assist in the operation of both of these programs.
City Youth Association - $2,000
City Youth Association Gators is a successful all volunteer nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 2000 for the purpose of promoting scholastic activities and sports for inner-city at-risk youths. Our mission is to promote academic excellence; encourage parental involvement to get parents connected with their children’s interest; and be positive role models so we give our youth support, guidance and inspiration. The organization is based in the Olney area at Cherashore Playground at 10th Street and Olney Avenue. All activities are open to girls and boys, ages five through sixteen. The organization provides programs that support participants’ scholastic endeavors to ensure their success in school and allows participants to enhance their abilities in sports by being introduced to the qualities of sportsmanship, teamwork, character and self-reliance. We provide team activities: football, baseball, basketball and cheer, in conjunction with academic support activities through tutoring, a homework club and monitoring school grades. Currently, we have 359 youth enrolled in various activities with 91% living in the Northwest area. Our facility is small for the size of our organization but we will not leave the neighborhood because of the service we bring to the community. By having a large number of youth in a controlled environment after school and on weekends we are helping to keep these children away from negative influences and violence in their neighborhoods.
Covenant House Pennsylvania - $10,000
Covenant House is an international organization established over 40 years ago in response to a growing crisis of homelessness among urban youth in America. The mission of Covenant House Pennsylvania is to serve youth in crisis with “absolute respect and unconditional love” and additionally, “to protect and safeguard all children.” We serve any young person under the age of 21 and we are the only program in Philadelphia and the largest program in the state of Pennsylvania to provide services to this population. Covenant House Pennsylvania has had a strong presence in the city of Philadelphia since it’s beginning in 1999, and has become an important part of the Germantown community since the opening of the Crisis Center in 2001. Our role at CHPA is not to provide a “hand-out” or a “quick fix” to youth in crisis, but rather to provide them with practical tools to end the chronic cycle of homelessness. We meet not only immediate needs such as shelter, food, and clothing but also provide a comprehensive continuum of services - innovative solutions that address long-term concerns, including transitional housing, health care, educational programs, and vocational preparedness. This year alone, we will serve more than 4,000 young people and CHPA has served over 20,000 youth in need since opening our doors in 1999. If you would like to know about how to get involved, please call Aileen Callahan, Special Events Manager, at 215-951-5411. For more information on our programs, please visit our website: www.covenanthousepa.org.
Creative Germantown Initiative, Inc - $7,000
Creative Germantown Initiative, Inc. (CGI) has established the mission of strengthening the Germantown community through arts, education, and recreation, serving persons of all ages as they experience the joys and challenges of urban living. The Northwest Fund Award will contribute to the following CGI programs: “The Basement” Senior High Drop-in Center: our center provides the following essential services for students: 1.) A safe place to gather after school on the most potentially violent day of the week Friday; 2.) Positive recreation and healthy youth interaction that emphasizes respect for others, concern for the community and non-violently problem solving. Students at our center have the opportunity to participate in teen oriented activities such as video gaming, basketball and line dancing. The activity outreach is also designed to help teens find their “place or space” within the center, and; 3.) Caring adult mentors who build strong personal relationships with youth and empower youth to reach their full potential; the CGI Basketball Programs: our program provides teenagers and youth adults from low income families in our neighborhood with an outlet for quality relationships with peers and caring adults through competitive athletics; Germantown Xclusive Drill Team: the team is founded on the principle of creating a positive environment for young people in the Germantown and the surrounding area to learn and perform creative movement thru the art known as drill. Number of people impacted by the grant: 100+.
Depaul USA - $10,000
Depaul USA offers homeless and disadvantaged people the opportunity to fulfill their potential and move towards an independent and positive future. The vision of Depaul USA is that everyone should have a place to call home and a stake in their community. Depaul USA operates Depaul House, a transitional housing program for men in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA. The goal of Depaul House is to move residents from homelessness to employment, permanent housing, and a savings account within a 12-month period. Depaul House serves approximately 80 men during the year, providing them with private rooms, three meals a day, interview-appropriate clothing and personal hygiene products. Depaul House staff provides case management and support services to assist residents who are under-employed/un-employed to (re)enter the workforce and earn a living wage. The average age of Depaul House residents is 47. Nearly all residents are fathers. Approximately 60 percent have substance abuse issues, 40 percent have prior criminal histories, and 30 percent have mental health diagnoses. Approximately 40 percent of the Depaul House graduates stay in Northwest Philadelphia and return to visit staff and residents, share in special events and meals. For more information and to become involved at Depaul USA, contact Peggy Robertson via email at peggy.robertson@depaulusa.org and visit our website at www.depaulusa.org.
Dignity Housing - $15,000
Dignity’s mission is to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty that confronts low-income families and individuals in the City of Philadelphia. Dignity Housing breaks the cycle of homelessness by providing safe, decent affordable housing, promoting self-sufficiency, and creating opportunities beyond expectations. Anchored by case management, Dignity offers life skills development, education and workforce development, health and wellness supports as well as services for housing placement beyond Dignity. Dignity’s After School and Summer Enrichment Programs help children to improve self-esteem and to succeed in school and beyond. Our on-site Adult Basic Education program assists adult tenants in improving basic skills, attaining a GED or entering college and the workforce with enhanced skills. These supports and services are specifically designed to meet the needs of our homeless clients, including residents with physical and mental health disabilities, histories of substance abuse, and victims of domestic violence. Dignity Housing serves approximately 60 homeless adults – primarily single African American mothers - and 120 homeless children living in 60 units of scattered site housing located in Northwest Philadelphia. Dignity contributes to the stability and safety of the Northwest by enhancing our tenants’ self-sufficiency and by maintaining quality housing for low-income people. On May 25th, join us for the Lifetime Achievement Celebration honoring co-founder and long-time Executive Director, Alicia Christian. Visit www.dignityhousing.org for more information.
East Mt. Airy Neighbors - $3,500
The mission of East Mt. Airy Neighbors (EMAN) is one of commitment to building and sustaining a safe and healthy neighborhood, which makes the organization a perfect fit for this grant. We believe our work impacts all residents (est. 17,000) and businesses within our boundaries. Our organization is available to anyone with an interest in the community. We work to maintain and improve the quality of life in the neighborhood in a variety of areas, including crime and nuisance behavior reduction.
We are a problem-solving resource and mediator when needed, and have a structure in place to address and act on problems, resolve conflicts, and obtain help from city and state officials when necessary. Through our Zoning Committee, we address issues such as vacant properties and problem businesses that attract unwanted activities, such as loitering, underage drinking, open drug dealing and use, harassment of passers-by, etc. We believe that addressing such nuisance behaviors as early as possible prevents escalation into violent behaviors. Our cooperative relationships with other area resources, such as the Mt. Airy Liquor and Nuisance Task Force, allow us to obtain and offer support on issues that affect the wider community.
Every Murder is Real - $12,000
The mission of E.M.I.R. - Every Murder Is Real is to support, educate and advocate for families and community members who have been affected by homicide and violence. With the understanding that untreated trauma perpetuates violence our focus is to address the trauma now, to heal our community one family at a time. The programs that promote healing for the community are The Family and Friends Support Groups, Healing Through Art Grief Group for Children, and The We Live Project peace movement developed by children who have lost a loved one to violence.
The number of people that will be impacted by this grant will be numerous. When you support a parent; you heal the family and help a community. When you acknowledge the pain of children and give them a voice, you free them to love who they are, empowering them to change the culture of their communities and schools.
The Evoluer House - $5,000
The Evoluer House is a non-profit organization that empowers at-risk girls by nurturing positive self-expression and personal development. The target population is girls of color who are experiencing a unique set of social and emotional challenges and barriers. Our 12-week curriculum is designed to promote emotional, mental, and social well-being and to provide girls the tools they will need to make positive choices. Evoluer House provides a safe community for girls to share experiences and learn both from and alongside one another. Since 2004, The Evoluer House Personal Development Workshop has nurtured over 585 teen girls from the city of Philadelphia and Delaware Valley region in its programs. To date, Evoluer Program graduates have a 100% high school graduation rate, compared to the 50% graduation rate for their peers. The 12-week program offers structured workshops, designed to challenge girls to develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, such as leadership, being goal-oriented, having strong values, social consciousness, and having conviction about their own potential and self-worth. The Northwest Fund Change Agent Grant Award will make an immediate, measurable and lasting impact on the life of a young girl, helping girls pave their way to positive futures.
Face to Face - $5,000
Mission: Face to Face is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) human services organization dedicated to the health, well-being, and stability of our community. Face to Face meets basic human needs and reduces suffering. With hospitality, we provide a safe environment and practical tools, which enable the people of our community to confront personal challenges, empower their lives, and fulfill their unique potential.
Programs: Face to Face operates a variety of programs, several of which have a direct impact on the goals outlined by TNF. Our after school program and summer camp help participants with a safe environment in which they can play, learn, socialize, and grow. Our Social Services and Legal Center provide clients with the resources they need to feel empowered and take control of their lives and the community. Our Health Center administers to the most basic need within our community to be healthy, and the Dining Hall ensures a safe place for people to have a meal and connect with others.
There will be more than 2,500 people served by this grant across the continuum of our programs. We have renovated a community garden with plans to grow food that will be served in our Dining Hall, and our Summer Camp is starting in July.
FreshVisions Youth Theatre - $9,000
FreshVisions Youth Theatre Company’s (FVYTC) mission is the transformation of at-risk African-American children and youth (ages 6-17) in lower Northwest Philadelphia through the performing and theatrical arts. The company seeks to target, disadvantaged and other underserved children from the community, giving them affordable yet high quality arts and culture programming through top-level and intensive theatrical arts instruction, which is coupled with numerous performance opportunities. FVYTC is both a youth-training and youth-performance company that operates year-round presenting a regular season of youth-performed productions and special projects with its youth. The company also gives continuous classes in acting and dance. Additionally, a summer adult component is staged and is typically encompassed by the theatre’s alumni. Our program falls under the Northwest Fund’s guidelines of keeping our community safer and also enriching the quality of life within the community. We work with children at-risk, and improve their lives through art, which helps them navigate the transition into adulthood. Also, our community itself benefits by having a venue nearby where the whole family can go for a quality theatrical experience. Taking into account the number of youth we directly serve, and their immediate families, combined with our community audience we reach some 2,000 persons per year.
Gas & Electric Arts - $5,000
Gas & Electric Arts is a professional theatre company that courageously utilizes multi-disciplinary theatrical forms on stage and in communities as our means of being active citizens searching to respond to an ever-changing world. Through our theatre education program, we offer workshops and residencies, which enable participants to explore the self, society and how to make individual and community change. Participants gain playful yet powerful new tools for negotiating conflict, addressing personal and group struggles, dreams, and building community. In July 2011, Gas & Electric Arts will launch PowergRRRls, a theatre & conflict resolution program for teen girls from NW Philadelphia to be held at the Philadelphia Center for Art & Technology. Power gRRRLs will enable 12-20 teen girls to creatively express themselves, enhance their sense of agency and self-esteem through interactive theatre, writing exercises, and team-building activities. They will draw from personal stories to create a unique theatre piece about issues that matter to them, while gaining tools in leadership development, advocacy and teamwork, problem-solving and communication. At summer’s end, the gRRRls will perform their original theatre piece for their peers and community—potentially 100+ people—which includes inviting audience members to step into the play and try out alternative, positive strategies for tackling the conflicts raised in performance, and rehearsing new ideas for all to utilize in reality. We plan to build Power gRRRls into a yearlong journey that empowers the teens to become activists and leaders in their community. For more information, please visit www.GasAndElectricArts.org
Germantown Soccer Club - $500
Mission: Germantown Soccer Club (GSC) promotes and advances the sport of soccer among youth ages 5 – 15 who live in the Germantown section of Philadelphia via GSC achieves this through high quality training and skill development via its recreational and competitive programs. Additionally, GSC program strives to develop leadership, sportsmanship and positive self-esteem in all its members. Programs: GSC operates year round high quality soccer training and skill developing including Soccer Spring Training, Summer Fun Drills & Skills Camps, Fall Recreational & Competitive Soccer Programs and Winter On & Off the Field Skill Builders. Impact: At least 350 youth residents of Northwest Philadelphia with 75% of living in the 19144 zip code.
Germantown Y - $5,000
The mission of the Germantown Y is to build and maintain a community where all people are encouraged to reach their fullest potential by developing healthy minds, bodies, and spirits. In its programming content, the Germantown Y strives to infuse moral values, leadership, and approaches to non-violence through specific curricula and through establishing a sense of community. Germantown Y Programs and Services that promote Employment and Self-sufficiency and impact at-risk youth to Stay in School include: Volunteer/Community Service Program- expands employment training through the documentation of administrative and custodial skills for at-risk youth and community residents. Germantown Y Transitional Housing Program- provides case management, education, and employment training and referral to over 100 men. Job placement and Resume-writing classes for the residents run weekly and GED Preparatory Program workshops are scheduled for Summer 2011. Summer Camp 2011- will serve 250 children and offer lessons on nutrition and violence prevention. After School and Teen programs- scheduled for Fall 2011, will serve up to 100 youth and provide a safe haven for ages 5-18. The Y's Computer Lab and the Homework Help Center will be fully functional by the fall of 2011. These programs and services are expected to impact well over 500 people by the end of 2011 and brings Germantown Y one step closer to operating at maximum capacity and fulfilling the goal of meeting the needs of the Northwest Philadelphia community.
Giving of Self Partnership - $1,000
Giving of Self Partnership, Inc. (GOSP) is a faith-based human service organization serving populations within Nicetown, Germantown, the Oak Lanes, Olney, Logan, and Mount Airy neighborhoods. Our organization’s mission is to provide a supportive environment that enhances the resiliency and protective factors of our challenged communities and its residents, focusing on education and healthy social development in the community.
Giving of Self Partnership provides a variety of services that directly supports the community, below list some of the services offered: Positive Spirit Project (PSP) -This program targets youth from 3rd-8th grades attending selected schools in the North and Northwest Region. The goals of this voluntary program are to increase school success, improve social skills, decrease truancy and increase access and use of appropriate resources within the community. Summer Enrichment Activities- The Summer Technology Camp targets youth from 4th-8th living in Northwest Philadelphia. Students will engage in activities that increase their opportunities to become triumphant in their lives, such as digital arts class including videography and photography, arts and crafts, Theater/drama/dance, Music, field trips and teambuilding activities. The camp runs for six weeks from July through August, 8:30am-3pm. Again Giving of Self Partnership facilitates a Summer Technology Camp the theme this year is A Summer Camp Documentary Series: “The World as We DON’T Know It.” Youth will gain more knowledge about their environment through video production. With the support of The Northwest Fund, Giving of Self Partnership is able to continue providing services to 40 youth at our Summer Technology Camp.
HERO Community Center -$2,500
The HERO, Inc. Community Center has more than thirteen years of experience in providing innovative services designed to promote and encourage self-advocacy and cooperative action. Since 1998, HERO has administered the Educational After School Program (EASP) and the “Young Minds of the Future” program for neighborhood children. The EASP focuses on children ages 5 to 14, while Young Minds serves students 14 to 18. HERO, Inc is a community-based, grassroots organization that was incorporated in 1994 as a non-profit 501 (C) 3 organization. The HERO Educational After-School Program (EASP) provides educational services to over 150 students attending Grover Cleveland and Kenderton Elementary Schools. The Educational After-School Program has access to HERO’s classrooms, library and multimedia center and computer laboratory. The Educational After-School Program offers a highly structured environment for behaviorally challenged students, providing homework assistance and tutoring, while at the same time engaging students in dynamic and culturally sensitive recreational activities. Since inappropriate classroom behaviors interfere significantly with a student’s learning and academic progress, EASP offers a structured behavior management program in all of its activities for students, which are transferable to the classroom setting. In an effort to develop insight and awareness of inappropriate behaviors, the program provides social skills training and activities designed to promote better interpersonal relations with teachers, parents, other authority figures and peers across multiple settings. Registration for the summer component of the program is currently underway. Registration for the 2011-2012 EASP will begin in August 2011.
Indochinese American Council - $10,000
The IAC’s mission is to help disadvantaged, multi-racial minority Americans including newly-arrived refugees and immigrants from all parts of the world to achieve social, economic and educational advancement and mobility. In addition, the IAC promotes racial harmony and cultural understanding between members of different ethnic groups in American society. The organization is headquartered at 4934-36 Old York Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19141.
All of IAC’s year-round and summer programs for in-school and out-of-school youths fit the TNF. They are based on the “40 assets for youth” and they provide basic education such as academic enrichment for in-school and GED/alternative high school education for high school drop-outs), life skills training, conflict resolution, pre-employment skills training, computer training, internship, and employment services. Programs for high school dropouts and high school senior provide additional services such as job specific skills training (forklift, landscaping, bike repair, and medical office) and preparation for admission to post-high school education.
Funding from the TNF will allow the IAC to implement two additional components (professional mentoring and peer mediation) to its existing program and to expand its programs to allow low in-come/ high school dropouts who are on the waiting list to attend the IAC’s alternative high school education program and to transition to college. In addition, it will also allow the IAC to build capacity of its staff through professional development and training. The IAC anticipates an enrollment of over 280 youths in these services.
Interfaith Hospitality Network - $6,000
Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (NPIHN)’s mission is to mobilize resources and volunteers among the diverse congregations and communities of Northwest Philadelphia in direct response to the needs of neighbors experiencing homelessness. NPIHN provides families with temporary shelter, supportive services, and affordable housing. By working to increase awareness of the problems of poverty and homelessness, NPIHN seeks to promote lasting solutions to homelessness and its underlying causes.
The Northwest Fund grant will enable NPIHN to provide emergency and affordable rental housing for homeless and at-risk neighbors, as well as financial literacy, job development, therapy and trauma recovery services, public benefits and tax credit counseling, and youth employment programs.
The Northwest Fund grant will serve approximately 375 individuals and involve over 1200 committed community volunteers.
Interim House - $6,500
Now celebrating its 40th Anniversary, Interim House, Inc. (IHI) is the oldest residential and outpatient substance abuse treatment program for women in Pennsylvania and one of the first on the East Coast. IHI states its mission as: “Interim House empowers women to recover from drug and alcohol addiction, pursue healthy lifestyles and find purpose and meaning in their lives.” IHI seeks to achieve the goals described in the mission statement by taking a holistic approach to providing a range of services that address clients' physical, psychological, educational, vocational, familial, social and spiritual needs.
IHI’s Job Readiness Program (JRP) falls within TNF’s guidelines for the category “At Work: Employment/Self-sufficiency”. JRP is a comprehensive program designed to help women in recovery from substance abuse and behavioral health issues develop the skills and competencies necessary to succeed in the work-world, break the cycle of intergenerational welfare, violence, abuse and dependence, achieve financial stability, and lead healthy, productive, self-sufficient lives. JRP includes: 1) an interactive job readiness curriculum, 2) on-site adult basic education (ABE) and GED instruction, 3) a Vocational Coordinator who assists clients to develop career plans and retain jobs, and 4) a paid work experience.
During the grant year, the JRP will serve approximately 170 women. Of these, 120 will reside in IHI’s Mt. Airy facility; approximately 20% of clients will move to permanent housing in the TNF zip codes when they are discharged to outpatient care.
Logan CDC - $5,000
Logan CDC's mission is to enhance the quality of life for residents and businesses through transformative community and economic development. Key areas include commercial corridor and affordable housing development, community organizing, and technology access. Through the Logan Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) and the North Broad Street Improvement Project (NBSIP), Logan CDC engages residents and businesses, creating opportunities for them to work collaboratively to address social and economic issues that impact the neighborhood. Logan NAC committees include an advisory board, zoning committee, and greening committee. NBSIP committees include clean and safe and the recently formed Logan Business Association. Logan CDC anticipates reaching 600 residents and 150 businesses through direct mailings, canvassing, neighborhood meetings, and events.
Logan CDC's Carlton Simmons Community Technology Center is committed to increasing technology access for Logan residents, providing outlets for job training and computer literacy. Logan CDC engages in community outreach and organizing through the Logan NAC, providing vital information about available City services and assistance to the targeted sub-population through community events, newsletters, and quarterly service briefings. The Logan NAC also partners with the Office of Housing and Community Development in the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, providing door-to-door outreach to households in danger of foreclosure. The North Broad Street Improvement Project is a comprehensive volunteer-led, commercial corridor revitalization initiative to support Logan businesses. Services include technical assistance, business recruitment, streetscape and façade improvements, clean and safe workshops, and corridor maintenance.
Logan Hope - $10,000
LOGAN Hope is a place where kids from even the poorest and most at-risk situations can get a shot at a quality education. LOGAN Hope offers an alternative school for grades K-8, a summer day camp program, and an after school program all designed to provide quality educational opportunities and lasting holistic care to the at-risk children in our community at as low a cost to them as possible while helping them grow into peace-loving and functional adults. Last year our programs served approximately 150 children and their families, over 90% of whom qualified for the free & reduced lunch program. Most of our clients are the children and grandchildren of the survivors of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge Genocide of the 1970’s and 1980’s and all live in a neighborhood of high drug and crime activity and pervasive violence. The situation is dire: 80% of prison inmates are high school dropouts and 70% of kids from LOGAN Hope’s target community drop out of high school. Amazingly, LOGAN Hope graduates severely at-risk students on to successful high school careers and beyond. When other teens in our community are dropping out, getting pregnant, and falling further and further behind, LOGAN Hope’s are thriving. LOGAN Hope is working hard to create a safer neighborhood by giving deserving children a shot at a quality education. At a future. At some hope for change in a community that has seen entirely too much pain and suffering.
Lucien Crump Gallery Art Education Resource Center, Inc. -$2,000
The mission of the Lucien Crump Gallery Art Education Resource Center, Inc. is to promote and provide art education with an emphasis on youth and at-risk populations; and to employ art and art history and art activities as a means of raising self-esteem. Art from the Heart with Photography/Videography falls within The Northwest Fund’s guidelines of working to help youth Stay in School. This Program uses drawing, painting, photography, videography, and role play as means for youth to express emotions related to grief and loss. Participants are between the ages of 8 and 12 years and attend schools in the northwest region – John B. Kelly, E. T. Steel, and Thomas Mifflin Elementary Schools. The Program includes group therapy sessions led by a certified counselor, following activities for participants to talk about their feelings. Youth also have individual counseling sessions. To date, three youth have been determined to need intervention for depression through individual counseling; and staff has collaborated to provide social activities outside the home. Art from the Heart with Photography/Videography is being used by participating schools to address the emotional and psychological needs of youth, which may impact their learning because of the concentrated efforts the Program offers. One Principal describes our Program as a partnership to affect the learning of the total student. Principals and School Counselors refer students to the Program. Two schools have asked to refer students throughout the year because we currently have only fall registration. Their requests have been accepted and efforts are being made to accommodate youth throughout the year. The underlying implication is that often youth exhibit bad behavior and the time necessary to determine why and how to change bad behavior into good behavior, may be a time factor during regular school hours. A grant from The Northwest Fund is aiding the Lucien Crump Gallery Art Education Resource Center, Inc. to help youth to work through emotional and psychological issues to allow them to achieve in school.
Mt. Airy Business Improvement District - $5,000
Mission: The mission of the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District is to support economic growth, community improvement, and promote an attractive and safer Germantown Avenue commercial corridor. Goals: The goal for the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District is simple and as follows: Use the property owner’s assessments in a fiscally responsible manner to improve the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor. Objectives: The above goal is met through meeting the following objectives: Maintain a clean commercial corridor; Promote and support a safe commercial corridor; and Beautify the commercial corridor. Grant Impact: Twenty security lights will be installed in the rear of commercial properties most prone to crime and vandalism between Washington Lane and Phil-Ellena Street along the Germantown Avenue corridor in Mt. Airy. There are 111 properties between Washington Lane and Phil-Ellena Streets. The twenty additional security lights will add lighting to 18% of the commercial properties in this area of Germantown Avenue. Installing lights in the rear of commercial properties will further enhance the security lighting in the front and/or sides of the properties. The security lighting will benefit the twenty property/business owners, as well as their patrons.
Mt. Airy USA- $10,000
Mt. Airy, USA’s (MAUSA) mission is to preserve, empower and advance a vibrant and diverse Mt. Airy by stimulating development responsive to the community’s needs. We currently advance our mission through the following departmental programs: (1) housing counseling for first-time homebuyers and older adult homeowners; (2) rehabilitation and sale of commercial and residential real estate; and (3) business district revitalization
MAUSA’s housing counseling programs fall within TNF’s funding guidelines. MAUSA’s counselors provide trained, certified assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure by helping them obtain loan modifications and save their homes. Moreover, MAUSA’s pre-purchase counseling services help prospective homeowners make responsible investment decisions and assume the obligations of homeownership with a foundation of information. In prior years, MAUSA’s counselors have served nearly 600 clients annually. Given the increased demand, MAUSA will utilize this grant to expand its counseling staff and ensure that the community’s demand for counseling is met. In 2011, MAUSA’s goal is to counsel over 700 clients.
Neighborhoods Interfaith Movement - $10,000
The mission of the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement (NIM) is “to strengthen neighborhoods by engaging people of all ages – including community and business leaders, clergy and laity – in service and social justice advocacy.” Through our Professional Development for Child Care Practitioners, Child Development Associate Training Classes and One Stop Shop for Child Care Licensing, NIM staff work toward two mutually reinforcing goals: (1) offering opportunities for unemployed or underemployed women to gain the specialized skills and knowledge base needed to secure / retain employment as child care practitioners; (2) building the quality of early child care by educating the child care workforce in best practices. The Neighborhood Change Agent grant, which we received from The Northwest Fund will help us in efforts we are making to expand the scope of our employment-related work. Over 640 Northwest Philadelphia residents will be directly impacted through augmentations in services supported by this grant.
North Light Community Center - $15,000
Founded in response to youth vandalism at local rail yards in 1936, North Light Community Center is a safe and nurturing environment for children and teens. North Light’s mission is to promote the welfare of the community, including the social, educational and athletic development of its youth. With community public safety as its genesis, and a 75-year track record, North Light is uniquely positioned to facilitate, mediate and diffuse community problems, especially with youth, that could lead to crime.
North Light’s Youth Encouragement Program helps over 400 youth annually—(90%) from Northwest Philadelphia (45% Roxborough)—stay and achieve in school and become prepared for college and career success. Most North Light teens attend the persistently dangerous Roxborough High School (an Empowerment School). The average graduation rate is 56%; only 12% score proficient in reading and 9% in math. YEP provides vital education and workready supports during the prime hours when crime generally occurs.
North Light serves 3,000 people with 50,000 service units a year in Manayunk, Roxborough, East Falls and other Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods. Nearly 90% of North Light’s constituents live, work, go to school or worship in our service area (45% in Roxborough). Programs champion at-risk children, youth, and their families who are low-income and face barriers accessing affordable and quality services, including a state licensed childcare facility with year-round school-age programs, arts and recreation, senior and emergency supports, tutoring, youth leadership training and workforce development, parenting education and access to technology.
Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility - $3,000
Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) works toward the prevention of interpersonal violence with our children, in our families, and in our communities. PSR leverages its connections to the medical community, the School District of Philadelphia, neighborhood-based organizations, community leaders and residents with the goal of creating a new social norm in Philadelphia. The intent is to collectively agree that “violence and violent behavior are unacceptable.” The Peaceful Posse program places a primary emphasis on violence prevention by engaging participants in activities that allow them the context and opportunity to learn and practice alternative strategies for dealing with stress and conflict. The program provides youth with the context and opportunity to build social and emotional skills in a safe group setting. It also helps parents build skills to better understand their children, develop deeper connections, and ultimately be caring, supportive role models in their children’s lives. Peaceful Posse works with middle school age youth and their parents. Programs in Northwest Philadelphia will impact over 40 youth in 2011.
Philadelphia Tennis Club - $2,000
The Philadelphia Tennis Club was incorporated May 19, 1959 as a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the game of tennis among adults, but more importantly to encourage boys and girls, beginners and advanced, to enjoy the game and to continue the quest for grassroots tennis participation. We also host junior and adult ATA and USTA sanctioned tournaments that players from all over the nation support. PTC is the only historically black tennis club with private tennis courts in the nation that is completely self-sustaining and independent of any local, state or federal assistance.
PTC has sponsored several Junior Development Programs that helped students obtain scholarships. Former PTC Junior, Traci Green, was ranked nationally and traveled internationally as part of USTA Player Development Programs. She was on the University of Florida National Championship team. Traci is the first and only African-American head women’s' tennis coach in the Ivy League (Harvard). Today former junior Rasheeda Providence plays singles at UMASS-Amherst, while Arsenio Culver plays 1st singles at Norfolk State University.
We are a proud member and supporter of the Penn Area Neighborhood Association and its commitment to creating a safe and historic Germantown community. As a grant recipient of the Northwest Fund we are able to expand our programming into the academic year with indoor training, a new tutoring component and life skills workshops targeting approximately 50 at-risk youth in the Germantown community.
For more information about the Philadelphia Tennis Club, Inc. programs and calendar of events, visit http://www.PTC1959.org.
Porter's Day Care and Educ. Center - $12,000
Porter’s Day Care & Educational Center is a full service child care facility, located in the Logan section of Philadelphia, with on-site: day care (ages 6 months to 3 years, Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance programs (ages 3 to 5), and a private elementary school (Broad Street Academy) for grades K to 3 rd. Additionally, Porter’s offers an afterschool and summer camp, Porter's Youth Development Program (PYDP), which services children from kindergarten to 12th grade. PYDPs mission is to provide youth with a safe and healthy environment in the afterschool and summer programs, which will enhance academic goals, strengthen parent partnerships, and introduce performing arts as a venue for promoting positive structured activities. PYDP is a creative and performing arts themed program, which uses curriculum and activities to aid a child in discovering his/her natural abilities as well as, encouraging decision-making through components such as, “Career Cruising”. “Career Cruising” marries skills learned in school with career exploration. The guided curriculum is interactive and enables over 25 youth in grades 3 to 10 to explore a career choice by assessing educational attainment or experience needed and encouraging an entrepreneurial mind-set. The overall youth program follows TNF guidelines by extending the emphasis on career development to include positive youth development activities and the importance of physical health, volunteering, health & nutrition, conflict resolution, and study skills.
Sankofa Academic Enrichment After School Program - $5,000
Canaan Baptist Church has served the Germantown community for more than 100 years, ministering to the needs of people both within and outside the church. Canaan serves adults and children in need through several programs, including a day care center, an arts ministry, a life center, and an after-school program, called Sankofa Academic Enrichment After-School Program. Sankofa serves 40 children from eleven Northwest Philadelphia public schools using a documented curriculum that addresses the needs of the whole child (physical, mental, social, emotional and cultural). Sankofa is aligned with The Northwest Fund’s “Staying in School” priority by helping students achieve academically and providing them with enriching after-school programming. The ultimate goal of the program is to improve academic skills, resulting in increased PSSA scores and classroom grades for participating students. Sankofa creates a partnership with each student’s parent and teacher to provide a seamless stream of support from school to home. Students in the Sankofa program receive homework help and tutoring on a daily basis. They practice social interaction skills through a number of workshops and clubs, including chess, French and Spanish language, technology, physical education, nutrition, drama, Reading and Writing Club, newsletter writing, typing skills, and internet research. Sankofa also operates a summer camp, which this year will be themed “Around the Globe in 35 Days”. Students will visit local cultural and historic sites, create their own passports, and study the geography and culture of other countries.
Star Finder - $5,500
Starfinder Foundation’s mission is to enhance the personal growth of underserved youth through soccer and learning experiences that engage, inspire, and motivate. Based in Manayunk, Starfinder serves youth in several neighborhoods throughout the city, including Germantown, Hunting Park and Olney.
Starfinder seeks to meet children where they are, whether educationally or athletically, and help them improve their performance in the classroom, on the soccer field, and in their personal lives. Starfinder offers distinct, age-appropriate after school and summer programming for three age groups: Future Leaders (ages 6-11), Junior Leaders (ages 12 -14), and Senior Leaders (ages 15-18). Each group receives a disciplined program of soccer instruction along with enrichment instruction in three areas: Education Skills (e.g. reading, math, computer skills, college preparation), Life Skills (e.g. teamwork, perseverance, interpersonal skills), and Health and Wellness (e.g. nutrition, fitness, avoiding drugs and alcohol).
Neighborhood Change Agent Award funding from The Northwest Fund will support Starfinder’s summer programs in Germantown and Hunting Park, serving approximately 150 youth ages 6 to 12. The camps are run by Starfinder’s full time, professional program staff who have extensive experience in positive youth coaching and youth development, part time instructors, volunteers, and teens from the Senior Leaders program. Not only do these teens gain valuable employment and leadership experience, but they serve as crucial role models for the program participants who share similar backgrounds and cultures.
West Mt. Airy Neighbors - $2,500
West Mt. Airy Neighbors is an excellent fit for The Northwest Fund because we share a core mission of improving the quality of life. West Mt. Airy Neighbors was established in 1959 to enhance the quality of life in the West Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. West Mt. Airy is a unique community characterized by stable racial diversity and harmony, with a high level of community involvement in civic activities. WMAN is a vital neighborhood association that benefits from the energies and commitment of both residents and business owners. WMAN represents all of the residents of West Mt. Airy, without regard for payment of membership dues or donations. All 13,211 residents are eligible for programs offered by WMAN. Through our standing committees, we offer a regular framework to address the needs of the neighborhood. We are also able to respond immediately to unforeseen circumstances that require community input and a community voice.
Whosoever Gospel Mission -$7,500
Founded in 1892, the Whosoever Gospel Mission is committed to equipping homeless and vulnerable people with the knowledge, skills and resources they need to achieve a fulfilling life, meaningful employment and productive, independent living. Through the compassionate and holistic services provided by the Whosoever Gospel Mission, at-risk needy men, women and children experience a safe and nurturing environment, they are treated with dignity and respect, they are filled with hope and a renewed sense of self-determination, and they experience positive change and growth in every area of their lives. All of the Mission’s services are provided without charge. The Northwest Fund grant is specifically being used to support the Mission’s 6 month, residential New Life Rehabilitation and Job Readiness Program (the New Life Program) for homeless men. Through the New Life Program, homeless men achieve productive, independent living, broken families are reunited, and the greater Germantown community is benefited as homeless men are restored to society as productive, contributing citizens and assume positions of leadership and responsibility. The Mission’s on-going presence in Germantown and its success in restoring homeless men to productivity also reduce crime in the Northwest section of Philadelphia and strengthen the social fabric of the greater Germantown community. Over the course of a year, the New Life Program serves 200-250 homeless men. The Mission’s annual celebration banquet will be held at Williamson Restaurant in Horsham, PA on Saturday, November 12, 2011. Please contact the Mission’s office at 215 438 3094 ext 100 for additional details.
Wissahickon Charter School - $10,000
Wissahickon Charter School is a K-8 public charter school with a mission that focuses on the environment as an integrating theme for instruction, as well as parental involvement, service learning, and peace and conflict resolution. The school is located in Germantown and serves 415 students from across the city. A majority of the student body resides in the northwest section of Philadelphia. Student inquiry into the outside world and a commitment to making the world a better place to live and learn is at the heart of Wissahickon Charter’s curriculum. Over the course of the school year, each classroom studies a few carefully chosen central topics – terrains or whole environments, which connect social studies, science, math and literacy. These terrains often include the nearby Wissahickon Valley and its watershed, and the urban environments in which our students attend school and live. Interdisciplinary inquiry is interwoven with the daily use of evidence-based academic programs congruent with an inquiry approach to learning. The Wissahickon Charter School community shares The Northwest Fund’s goals of building and maintaining strong, safe communities. The Outdoor Program and the Sustainable Environmental curriculum provide engaging learning opportunities that accomplish the goals of staying in school and community improvement. Funds from The Northwest Fund will enable 415 students to improve academic achievement and progressively deepen their appreciation of the natural, urban world, ultimately promoting educational advancement and responsible environmental stewardship and action.
X Offenders for Community Empowerment - $5,000
X-Offenders for Community Empowerment (XCE) is a proactive crime prevention organization dedicated to reducing the level of crime and violence in the community and the resulting incarceration of thousands of young men and women who represent the future of our society. XCE was founded by formerly convicted volunteers in 2000 with the goal of reducing recidivism by embracing the formerly convicted on their return to the community from incarceration and providing direction for them to become productive members of the community and agents for positive social change. Through the Pardon Me Clinic, Pardons are one of many tools to remove barriers for the formerly convicted to become reintegrated into the free society as productive, law abiding, tax-paying citizens that are supportive of their families and the communities in which they live. XCE will continue to use the vehicle of Executive Clemency (the Pardons Process) as a means to remove the barrier and stigma of the “felon” label. XCE will support the formerly convicted through education about the pardons process, provide support in completing and filing pardons applications, provide advocacy to solicit public and political support for applicants, travel to 9 pardon hearings per year and provide ongoing technical assistance about the complete pardon process. XCE intends to assist a through upcoming clinics scheduled for 5/10, 6/09, 7/12, 8/09, 9/08, 10/11, 11/08 and 12/13. It is estimated that the awarded grant money received would impact between 280 to 300 persons.
Youth Service, Inc - $5,000
For the past sixty years, Youth Service, Inc. (YSI) has offered accessible, responsive, top quality, comprehensive services that strengthen families, foster self-sufficiency, and develop the health and well being of children and the family unit. YSI believes that strong families make communities safer – and the agency has been helping to make Germantown’s families stronger, and the Germantown community safer, for the past 30 years. YSI’s Crittenton Family Support Center is a hub of social services for more than 1,000 Northwest Philadelphia families every year and will be the location of a new program for teen girls, generously supported by The Northwest Fund. The program is projected to serve 60 teen girls over the next year with the goal of improving their behavior and life chances. There are resources within the agency and available for the girls – medical services, relationship curriculum, tutoring, education support – that will further enhance their outcomes.