Students and adults are invited to draw their ideas of a more peaceful world.

Caretoons are cartoons that promote peace and understanding.

You don’t need to be a professional cartoonist to draw a Caretoon.
The Caretoon Contest is open to people of all ages and artistic ability.

What do you think would make the world a better place?
To enter the contest, submit an original drawing illustrating concepts that bring people together… honesty, compassion, unity, forgiveness and more.   Be creative!  All ideas are welcomed.

Makes a perfect class project.
HURRY! The extended deadline is April 30, 2010.

Prizes of $500 each will be awarded to TWO adults and TWO students.

For an entry form or additional information, click here, or call 215-925-2800, ext. 124.

http://www.libertymuseum.org/programs/doc/2010_caretoons.pdf

Supported by a grant from the L.W. Pierce Family Foundation.
National Liberty Museum
321 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
215-925-2800
http://www.libertymuseum.org

Eligibility: Grants are made only to nonprofit organizations certified as tax-exempt under Sections 501(c)(3) or 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and are classified as “not a private foundation” under Section 509(a). Hospitals, educational institutions and governmental institutions meeting these requirements are eligible to apply.

Amount: Varies

Purpose of Grant: RGK Foundation awards grants in the broad areas of education, community and medicine/health. Visit the Web site for priorities under these categories.

Contact: http://www.rgkfoundation.org/

Deadline: RGK Foundation no longer accepts unsolicited grant proposals. All applicants must complete an electronic Letter of Inquiry from the Web site as the first step. There is no deadline for submitting an electronic Letter of Inquiry. Foundation staff reviews electronic Letters of Inquiry on an ongoing basis and typically responds within two days, although the foundation asks that you allow up to two weeks for a response.

Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations in locations where the Regal Entertainment Group operates.

Amount: Varies

Purpose of Grant: Funding and in-kind support to enhance organizations benefiting persons suffering economic, social, physical, or educational hardship or disadvantage, or who are otherwise in need of charitable, scientific, or educational support or assistance.

Contact: http://www.regmovies.com/corporate/communityaffairs/

Deadline: Open; funding decisions made three times per year.

The Corning Inc. Foundation supports youth-related projects and organizations, including community-service programs for students, YMCAs and youth centers in company locations.  Non-profits in company communities are eligible for funding.

Contact: Click here for more information:
http://www.corning.com/about_us/corporate_citizenship/community/corning_foundation.aspx

Deadline: Open

On March 30, the Corporation for National and Community Service released the Notice of Funding Availability for the Nonprofit Capacity Building Program, a new initiative designed to increase the capacity of small nonprofits to expand their impact in communities.  For FY 2010, $1 million is available for intermediary grantees to work with small and midsize nonprofits to develop and implement performance management systems.  The intermediaries will provide organizational development assistance to establish procedures for measuring progress and leveraging staff and volunteers toward outcomes that transform communities.  Letters of intent to apply are due on April 27, and the application deadline is May 18.  Click here for more information.

http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=81

On March 25, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced the grant competition for the Volunteer Generation Fund, a new Serve America Act program designed to strengthen the ability of organizations to recruit, retain, and manage volunteers to have a sustained impact in local communities.  The competition makes available $4 million for state service commissions to develop effective approaches to increase the number of volunteers, strengthen the capacity of volunteer connector organizations to recruit and retain volunteers, and develop strategies to effectively use volunteers to solve local problems.  Applications are due on May 18.  More information on the Volunteer Generation Fund can be found here.

http://www.nationalservice.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=80

Are you a non-profit in need of fresh leadership on your board?

United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania has a program that can help your agency recruit young talent – a diverse group of young professionals who already know what to expect from board service and how to serve effectively.

The program is called the Board Orientation Program – a five session program that focuses on fundraising, board roles and responsibilities, board/administrator relationships, legal and ethical issues, and organizational life cycles.

The training is offered to United Way’s Young Leaders Program, which is comprised of United Way leadership donors under the age of 40, as well as the young professionals involved in the Urban League and the Pyramid Club.  Over 300 have graduated from the program, and over half of those are currently serving on local boards.

After graduation, the Board Orientation Program assists the graduates with introductions to agencies who have expressed interest in younger board members.  Agencies in need of board members, especially younger ones, should register online.

http://www.uwsepa.org/bop/agency

If any program graduates have an interest in your agency, UW will forward that person’s resume to you.  The agency is then expected to contact them, discuss the agency, and perhaps invite them to speak with your board chair.  Agencies are not required to bring the referred graduates onto your board.

For more information, email Meghan Koleski at mkolesk@uwsepa.org.

The conference covers four key themes.

(1) Urban Agriculture
(2) Integrating Health, Environment and Society
(3) Food in Urban Design and Planning
(4) Urban Food Governance

Conference schedule:
End MAY 2010: Submission deadline for abstracts
Mid JUNE 2010: Confirmation of acceptance to authors
Mid AUGUST 2010: Draft Papers submitted
End SEPTEMBER 2010: Reviewers comments returned
29 OCTOBER 2010: Final papers (circa 8‐10 pages) delivered to conference

There is also a web site: http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/aesop2 holding the same information.

Please do also circulate within your networks to anybody who might be interested in presenting or attending.

Mikey Tomkins
Conference Organising Committee

On Saturday, May 8th, the Chester Youth Collaborative Youth Council will be hosting the Flip the Script, Stop the Violence 2010 Chester Youth Empowerment Summit at Widener University from 8am to 4pm.

Workshop areas will address healthy relationships, life skills, leadership, violence, bullying, peer pressure, conflict resolution, substance abuse, self esteem, hip hop culture, and other topics.

The keynote speaker will be David Miller, M.ED., Chief Visionary Officer and co-founder of the Urban Leadership Institute, and music will be provided by DJ Diamond Kuts of Power 99 and BET’s The Deal.

The summit is FREE and open to all youth ages 12-22, as well parents and practitioners. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

For more information and to find out how you can get involved call 610-497-7422 click on http://www.chesteryouthsummit.com/.

As part of its violence reduction and prevention initiatives, Mothers In Charge, is launching a Philadelphia and tri-state area campaign called 1,000 Women for 1,000 Girls.

The campaign seeks to pair girls ages 7-17 with adult women who will provide these young ladies with positive direction and encouragement.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Mothers In Charge is a national organization comprised mostly of women who have lost loved ones to violence. Its mission is to significantly reduce violence through intervention and educational programs.

Mothers In Charge has identified a decrease in recent years of positive adult female influence in the lives of young girls. Simultaneous with this trend is an increase in female violence among teenage and preteen girls.

1,000 Women for 1,000 Girls aims to reverse that trend by providing positive influence before they have the chance to get into trouble.

An information session, and dinner hosted by PECO, will be held for women interested in becoming a mentor or volunteer on Thursday, April 29th from 6 pm-8pm at the PECO Building located 2301 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Advanced registration is required by April 23rd to Mothers In Charge at 215-235-SAVE (7283).

Men II Boys, in partnership with United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, is bringing its national campaign Project COURAGE (acronym for Community Organizing Uniting Rallying and Galvanizing Events) to southeastern Pennsylvania.

The project mobilizes local communities to raise awareness and develop policy advocacy strategies to expand mentoring and responsible fatherhood opportunities designed to improve the life outcomes of black men and boys.

The movement is centered on connecting boys with positive male role models, a critical relationship needed as they ascend to manhood.

The local campaign kicks off with an event at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2600 W. Cheltenham Avenue, on Tuesday, May 4th beginning at 7pm.

Can a woman teach a boy to become a man?  What is a man? What is the greatest challenge facing the black community?  Documentarian Janks Morton will be on hand to answers these questions and facilitates a discussion with solutions following the 44-minute film “Men II Boys”.  After this event mentors and mentees sign up on the spot.

For more information on the event, click here.

http://whatmatters.uwde.org/mentoboys.jpg

For more information on Men II Boys, visit here or email mentoboys@gmail.com.

http://whatblackmenthink.com/

May 18th 7:45am-11:45pm
Simon Gratz High School
1798 W. Hunting Park Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19140

The school will be hosting a Career Day for the entire 9th grade class. This will take place during a half day schedule. Two presenters will be assigned to a classroom and will each speak for 10 minutes about their careers, industry, and future options for the students.

The WHO (Women Helping Others) Foundation supports community-focused charities that serve the overlooked needs of women, children, and families in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Funding will be considered for tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charities that have been incorporated for at least three years and have total organizational budgets of $3 million or less. Preference will be given to organizations with an operating budget of $3 million or less, those not dependent upon government grants, and those with greater organizational program costs than personnel costs. Organizations that have previously received a WHO Foundation grant should wait three years before applying again.

Grants are not provided to individuals, educational institutions, religious institutions, or governmental agencies, or for endowment campaigns, political causes, or capital campaigns. Funding will be considered for grant requests from $1,000 to $40,000 each.

Complete funding guidelines and eligibility restrictions are available at the WHO Foundation Web site.

http://www.whofoundation.org/Funding/Who_funding.asp

May 13th and 14th 8:30am – 10:55am and 12:00 noon – 1:30pm
Ben Franklin High School
550 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130

The school will need four volunteers to present on various careers allowing students to gain insight and information about different organizations and potential opportunities for internships or future career goals. The presentations will take place either in the morning or in the afternoon depending upon availability.

With the support of State Farm, Habitat for Humanity International is offering a Service-Learning Partnership Grant program to provide funds for teachers and schools interested in developing and implementing service-learning projects in partnership with their local Habitat affiliate.

For the 20010-11 school year, teachers and local Habitat affiliates can jointly apply for a one-year grant of up to $7,000 to cover educational expenses associated with the service-learning project. Of that, a maximum of $5,000 may be used as support for the local Habitat affiliate. In addition, partnerships can apply for an additional travel scholarship grant of $1,000 for teachers and affiliate staff to attend either the National Service-Learning Conference presented by the National Youth Leadership Council or the Youth Leadership Conference hosted by Habitat for Humanity International.

Eight Service-Learning Partnership grants will be awarded for the 2010-11 school year to new recipients. In addition, five grants will be awarded to schools that received a Service-Learning Partnership grant prior to 2010. Only one grant will be awarded per school system or affiliate, although the grant may involve multiple teachers and classrooms. Grants may be renewed at the end of the year.

Service-Learning Partnership information and application are available at the Habitat Web site.

http://www.habitat.org/youthprograms/parent_teacher_leader/grants.aspx

The Ford Motor Company Fund and the League of United Latin American Citizens have announced a partnership to help address the high school dropout rate among Latino students across the United States.

Under the new program, Ford Driving Dreams Through Education, ten LULAC Councils will receive grants to develop projects that provide local approaches to this important issue. Each of the ten LULAC Councils selected will receive up to $20,000 from the Ford Motor Company Fund to support implementation of their projects during a period covering two school years. The winning councils will engage their communities through creative, localized, and sustainable programs that take into account their respective educational issues, resources, and support systems.

For more information about Ford Driving Dreams through Education, or to submit a proposal, visit the LULAC Web site.

http://www.lulac.org/

As part of its recently announced Bridging Cultures initiative, the National Endowment for the Humanities is inviting proposals to plan and implement a program consisting of a forum and workshop on one of two humanities themes — “Civility and Democracy” or “The Muslim World and the Humanities.”

Project proposals for both program themes should consist of two elements — a forum that engages scholars and humanities practitioners in discussion among themselves and with a public audience; and a workshop at which humanities practitioners, scholars, and teachers collaborate to devise content, formats, training strategies, and education and dissemination methods for a nationwide or regional program that engages people in communities across the country in reflection on, and discussion of, the forum theme.

Successful applicants will be responsible for planning and implementing all aspects of the forum and workshop, including, at the program’s outcome, a plan for a public program designed to engage a broad, diverse regional or national audience in discussion of the forum theme. Successful applicants will each be awarded a grant ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 in outright or matching funds. All forum and workshop programs should take place between October 1, 2010, and March 30, 2011.

Any U.S. nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies. Eligible institutions include but are not limited to public, academic, and research libraries, museums, disciplinary and professional associations, cultural institutions, state humanities councils, and institutions of higher learning.

Visit the NEH Web site for grant program guidelines as well as further information on the Bridging Cultures program.

http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/BridgingCultures.html

A new study from the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry argues that the conditions that contribute to a high representation of African American males among incarcerated youth (60 percent) begin early in life, and are often exacerbated by experiences in school. The report projects that by 2029, prisons will house almost 30,000 of the 600,000 African American four-year-olds now living in the country. According to study author Oscar Barbarin, African American males come to school with fewer skills than their Caucasian or female counterparts at this age, who generally have better developed language, literacy, and self-regulation. Boys’ limitations are often not properly recognized or addressed as they progress though school, and this is can be compounded by behavioral issues, as well as by racial segregation within schools. Barbarin agrees that programs such as Head Start, Boys and Girls Clubs, and state-funded early childhood programs have tried to address these issues. However, Barbarin feels that the principle of the “three Xs” — “Expose, Explain, Expand” — can go a long way toward engaging children and encouraging pride by way of a caring, responsible, and ethical philosophy. Barbarin writes, “Once the juveniles enter the justice system, the repeat offender rate is sixty percent. This research calls for optimism in spite of a vicious downward cycle experienced by many young males, which marginalizes them at school, at work, at home, and in their communities.”

See the report: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123346165/abstract

For the Saturday, June 19 University City Cleanup, the University City District will assist University City blocks, block captains, student groups and neighbors by providing trash bags, work gloves, and trash pick up, as well as helping to identify special projects for groups of volunteers. To sign up for the University City Cleanup, please contact UCD’s fabulous Dexter Bryant at dexter@ucityphila.orgor 215-243-0555 x239.