The Philadelphia Foundation is now accepting YOUTHadelphia grant applications. A total of up to $100,000 in grants will be available for organizations serving youth with programs focused on:  Homeless Services, Mentoring, LGBTQ Support, and Teen Delinquency (through services to incarcerated youth or addressing gang violence, youth violence, and crime).

YOUTHadelphia is a diverse committee of twenty youth from across Philadelphia who come together to assess the needs of their peers and make grants to organizations working to meet those needs. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on April 4.  Grant finalists will be asked to host a service-oriented site visit between May 3 and 19.  Grants will be awarded in mid-June. To be eligible for a YOUTHadelphia grant an organization must:
•         Have clear practices to empower youth
•         Hold a 501c3 tax exempt status or a fiscal sponsor
•         Have at least three years of audits or 990’s
•         Have at least one full time staff member
•         Complete child abuse clearance for all staff and volunteers who work with youth

Download the application here.
https://www.philafound.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Public/2012_youthadelphia_grantee_application.docx

Please contact Kate Hyzer at khyzer@philafound.org or Libby Walsh at lwalsh@philafound.org with any questions.

https://www.philafound.org/ForNonprofits/DiscretionaryGrantmaking/FundforChildren/TheYOUTHadelphiaProgram/tabid/254/Default.aspx

Reclaiming Our S.W.A.G. (Soulful Wisdom and Genius)
A Life Guide Symposium for African-American Males
May 12, 2012

REGISTER NOW!
Register online:
http://www.blackmaledevelopment.com

Workshops, Health Fair, Authors’ Pavilion…and more!

BMDS/SAVING OUR BOYS/
ARCADIA UNIVERSITY
450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, PA 19038
Phone: 215-572-8510 Fax: 267-620-4780
E-mail: contact@blackmaledevelopment.com

Add us on Facebook: Black Male Development Symposium

National Conference

DATE:  June 21 – June 24, 2012

LOCATION: Moore College of Art & Design
Philadelphia, PA

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Anyone interested in learning more about this innovative learning environment:

elementary and middle school principals and teachers, after-school building and district administrators, facilitators, parents, and community members who are interested in real world learning as a strategy to motivate children to learn and improve academic achievement in grades K-8.

WHY ATTEND?

Through our highly engaging large and small group workshops, you will learn the latest cutting edge best practices including:

– Real world strategies that hook students and inspire academic achievement, social & global awareness, and 21st century habits of mind
– Authentic, enduring, and interdisciplinary applied learning tasks that make language arts, math, science and social studies relevant to kids’ lives
– Seamless integration of the new National Common Core standards into your daily instruction and facilitation

Make your reservation for inspiration

MICROSOCIETY is committed to making this conference as affordable as possible. In light of the economic realities all of us face this year, we decided to forgo a pricier hotel location and instead offer you a variety of choices to fit your budget. Our workshops will be held in a great facility, the Moore College of Art and Design – right across the street from the famed Franklin Institute. The conference kicks off Thursday evening, June 21st and runs through Sunday morning, June 24th.

To see a list of recommended accommodations for the conference, click here

http://microsociety.org/conference2012.php

Be sure to forward the news to your colleagues and associates committed to  empowering learners and illuminating opportunities through a relevant K-8 education.

MICROSOCIETY
13 S. 3rd Street, Suite 500
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
215-922-4006
http://www.microsociety.org

A Volunteer Chaperone is needed to escort and supervise students participating in United Way’s Reading Stars Program. Reading Stars is a program that works to improve fundamental reading skills for struggling students. Schools are paired with corporations who provide reading coach volunteers who work with the students for an hour each week.

Recently, one of our schools had to shut down their program due to there being insufficient staff to supervise the students as they traveled from Sheridan School to their coaching site. A volunteer is needed from 8:45- 11:15am on Tuesdays

Read more at: http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp1074800.jsp

Members of the Neighborhood Foods CSA will receive weekly shares of vegetables from West Philadelphia gardens and fruit from farms in the greater Philadelphia area. The 22-week CSA runs from mid-May to October, and offers add-on options of locally-produced seasonal jam, local honey, and bread from Four Worlds Bakery.  Purchasing a share is more then buying a product, it is an investment into local business and local communities.  All profits from our CSA are re-invested into the Haddington and Walnut Hill neighborhoods where the produce is grown, supporting urban employment and youth leadership development. We also make all of our produce affordable for residents in the neighborhood, so everyone can enjoy fresh quality produce.

To become a member, fill out the application form on the Farm to City website: http://farmtocity.org/Home.asp?mname=Neighborhood+Foods

Pick up sites are:
Walnut Hill Community Farm at 46th & Market Streets, Friday afternoon
Four Worlds Bakery at 47th & Woodland Streets, Friday evening or Saturday morning
Rittenhouse Farmers Market at 18th & Walnut Streets, Saturday morning
Narberth, Friday afternoon

The Neighborhood Foods CSA is a collaboration between West Philadelphia nonprofits Urban TreeConnection and Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation.

Join an ever-growing movement of administrators, faculty, researchers, graduate students, and community partners for the next step in growing academic programs- certificates, minors, and majors – focused on community engagement. The 3rd annual research institute will be held at Merrimack College on June 23-24 and feature conference tracks in research, best practices, program development, and syllabus construction. Please see the conference website for the schedule of events, lodging information, and key resources. Merrimack College is conveniently located just 15 miles north of Boston, and the weekend conference focuses on supporting cutting-edge research, networking, and support for developing and strengthening academic programs. Registration is just $50.

Register now by going to http://www.merrimack.edu/democracy and clicking on the summer institute box.

WOMEN’S WAY is seeking nonprofit partners in the Philadelphia region that are specifically advocating on women’s issues in the Latina community. This grant opportunity has been made possible through a special partnership with Saba Chai Five Foundation.

WOMEN’S WAY is particularly interested in organizations that are advancing one or more issues related to our core mission of equality, safety, self-sufficiency and reproductive choice for women and girls.

Through this funding opportunity, we will provide one-year grants of $2,500.00 to $10,000.00 to 3 to 6 organizations.

Application Process:

Interested organizations should submit a one (1) page concept paper outlining the advocacy work currently undertaken by the applicant organization and how this funding opportunity will help to forward that work; include primary contact information for the organization and for staff leading the advocacy work. Strong preference is for applicants that reflect female leadership at the staff and Board of Directors levels.

Concept papers will be accepted beginning April 15, 2012. Deadline to submit a concept paper is May 15, 2012.

Upon review, a select number of organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal. Details on full proposal submission will be available once an invitation is extended.

Questions:
Contact Jennifer Leith, Director of Grant making at 215-985-0333 x227

WOMEN’S WAY is the leading funding, advocacy and education organization for women in the Greater Philadelphia region, at the forefront of identifying needs, sharing knowledge and building awareness to challenge social inequities and empower women and girls.

A copy of the official registration and financial information of WOMEN’S WAY may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999.  Registration does not imply endorsement.

To see a listing of all programs available from April 2th – 6th and to register, please go to http://pg2c.wufoo.com/forms/swag-week-info/.  For more information, please call 215.686.0315 or email us at info@phillygoes2college.com.

Covering spring and summer 2012, the catalog includes 100 programs on a variety of gardening topics, including kids’ activities, trips, workshops, garden tours, classes, volunteer opportunities, and more. In addition to programs at PHS headquarters and other locations in the region, there is a roster of offerings at four PHS educational “hubs,” including PHS’s Meadowbrook Farm, Chanticleer, Hortulus Farm Nursery & Gardens, and the Salvation Army Kroc Center of Philadelphia. To view the catalog online, CLICK HERE.

http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/events/catalog2012.pdf

Registration now open for PACC’s Spring Workshop, May 31,  10 am-4 pm at Messiah College:  Measuring Community Engagement: Sustainable Methods for Capturing Community Impact Data, led by Barbara Holland. Please note that this workshop is being held as a preconference for the Faith-based Service-Learning conference at Messiah College: “Serving Our Neighbors: Learning Across the Lines that Divide Us” which begins at 5 p.m on 5/31.  Notice:  Registering through PACC registers you for the PreConference ONLY.

Workshop Description:
Community engagement relies on reciprocal community partnerships, but how do we know the partners are satisfied with the relationship and what impacts, for good or bad, they are experiencing? Many colleges and universities are eager to craft an efficient and sustainable method for collecting both descriptive and analytical data about their community engagement programs and partnerships; however, data collection models can be difficult to design and maintain. No one model serves all institutions well; the approach must reflect goals and culture of the institution and communities. This workshop will engage participants in activities that will help clarify purposes and goals for data collection and develop the initial vision for an approach to data collection that is specific, focused and useful. We will also brainstorm strategies for generating respondent participation, and look at a few examples of existing models. Participants should be prepared to share information about their goals for data collection and ways the data may be used, and to discuss any current or past attempts to seek data from partners.

Registration fees:
Campus Compact member $50, non-Campus Compact member $75.
To register go to:   https://www.elbowspace.com/servlets/cfd?xr4=&formts=2012-03-19 09:30:00.528159

Registration deadline is May 11, 2012

Click here to register!
http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/edtrust/session.php?id=7724

“We educators really do have the knowledge to provide all children with a high-quality education— an education that will help break the cycle of poverty and despair.”
—Molly Bensinger-Lacy, former principal, Graham Road Elementary School

“Leading change is certainly complex, difficult, and continuous. … The stakes are high, the risks are great, but the chance to have an impact on improving people’s lives is substantial.”
—Jody Spiro, director of educational leadership, The Wallace Foundation

Join Karin Chenoweth and Christina Theokas on Wednesday, March 21, at 4 p.m. (EDT), for the final session of our  webinar series, Great Principals Talk about Getting It Done. Guests Molly Bensinger-Lacy and Jody Spiro will talk about what we can learn from leaders of schools that are helping all students meet meaningful achievement standards. The previous five sessions are available on demand.

Supported by The Wallace Foundation, these webinars are based on Getting It Done: Leading Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (Harvard Education Press, 2011), the latest book by Chenoweth and Theokas, respectively writer-in-residence and director of research at The Education Trust.

Call for Presenters
Submissions due April 6, 2012

Open to the community, the workshop is designed to unite community partners, students, faculty, and staff interested in learning more about service-learning and civic engagement.  We anticipate a wide array of presentations that focus on service-learning, impact, assessment, and civic engagement.  For this reason, SALSA invites you to submit a presentation proposal for its annual workshop.

Workshops or presentations are 50 minutes.  They should be designed to look at different facets of impact and/or assessment.  Presenters will offer solutions about how their work, research, program initiatives, courses, and partnerships move us toward a more engaged society/institution.  Presentations should be designed to analyze and generate conversation addressing various dimensions of service and engagement.  Extra consideration will be given for workshops that engage the audience.

Presenters will be chosen on an ongoing basis in order to post the program on our website.  The final deadline for submission is March 30, 2012.  The workshop planning committee, made up of SALSA members, will review and select proposals based on applicability, creativity, and clarity.  Accepted presenters will be notified by April 6, 2012.

On behalf of the Workshop Committee, we encourage you to submit a proposal (http://www.mtaloy.edu/salsa/) that will inspire workshop attendees and help them to learn about Impact and Assessment of Service-Learning.

Please let us know if you have any questions.
Paula Craw, SALSA Workshop Host
E-mail us at: pcraw@francis.edu

Application deadline: May 5, 2012

Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) will award over 500 schools with grants, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, for the 2012-13 year school through the School Grants for Healthy Kids program. The grants, designed to help improve school nutrition and provide kids with greater access to healthy foods, are made possible through AFHK’s partnerships with Kellogg’s and the Walmart Foundation. Click here for more information and to apply.

http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/upcoming-events/grant-opportunities/school-grants-for-healthy.html

Five higher education institutions received the Presidential Award of the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to community service. The five awardees are Carson-Newman College, Miami University, North Carolina State University, Seattle University, and the University of Pennsylvania. The universities will be honored later today at the annual American Council on Education meeting in Los Angeles.

Full announcement: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=2079

Congratulations to Penn for receiving one of five Presidential Awards, and to Bryn Mawr College, Widener University and University of Delaware for making the Honor Roll with Distinction. Several other PHENND member institutions also made the larger list.

Full list of Honor Roll schools: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/initiatives/honorroll.asp

Deadline March 29, 2012

Choice Neighborhoods employs a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. The program helps communities transform neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing and investing and leveraging investments in well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs. Choice Neighborhoods will ensure that current residents will be able to benefit from this transformation, by preserving affordable housing or providing residents with the choice to move to affordable and accessible housing in another existing neighborhood of opportunity.

Click here to access the full funding announcement.
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=2012cnipg.pdf

The ESA Foundation is dedicated to supporting geographically diverse projects and programs that benefit American youth of all races and denominations and make a difference in the quality of their life, health and welfare. The Foundation seeks to harness the collective power of the interactive entertainment industry to create positive social impact in our communities, and supports. Maximum award: $50,000. Eligibility: 501(c)(3) organizations with programs that serve youths ages 7-18. Deadline: May 15, 2012.

http://www.theesa.com/foundation/application.asp

College-readiness efforts are now directed at populations less likely to apply to, or even consider, higher education, but an important component of the college-readiness equation is largely overlooked, write Mandy Savitz-Romer and Suzanne Bouffard in Education Week. To set and achieve the goal of a college degree, young people must be not only academically and financially but developmentally prepared. They must be convinced that college is possible; have clear goals and a sense of self-direction; and be focused and tenacious, even when things get tough. Students already in possession of these qualities are much more likely to sign up for college-readiness programs. But those who most need enrichment and preparation often lack ability and inclination to seek support. College-readiness practices and policies must therefore reflect an understanding of young people as individuals, in particular their critical need to achieve balance between independence and a connectedness to others. In helping students build college-going identities, personal motivation, long-term persistence, and self-regulation skills, educators can help young people to focus, delay gratification, and develop agency in setting and reaching postsecondary goals. But this will require a shift in how educators prepare students for higher education. Programs and services must incorporate nonacademic components in addition to crucial academic and financial supports to prepare students and their families for post-secondary options.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/77qctv2

When Tim Whitaker learned of the School District’s most recent cuts—closing schools following dismissal and on weekends to save money on staff, utilities and overtime—he immediately took action by extending Mighty Writers program hours and adding more evening and weekend writing workshops. The afterschool program is now open until 8 pm Monday through Thursday, as opposed to just 6 pm, and all day on Sundays.

Read more: http://www.generocity.org/news/323

See a full list of Mighty Writers current programs: http://www.mightywriters.org/writing-workshops/

In districts still recovering from funding cuts, the flood of parent- or foundation-raised dollars into school-level operations has exacerbated long-standing debates about equity, Education Week reports. Large urban districts especially grapple with this issue, since certain urban parents have limited ability to fill budget holes with their own money. Some districts have policies regulating what private donations can pay for, for instance barring use for instructional staff. Others have programs that siphon funds to needier students. In Oregon, Portland’s All Hands Raised receives money from 39 separate school foundations and uses a weighted formula to distribute “equity grants” to schools with highest need. But such efforts often meet resistance from parents who want their money to go to their child’s school alone. Some stakeholders find that setting transparent targets and goals makes centralized fundraising by foundations and PTAs go more smoothly. Others feel policies on private giving should take care not to turn away affluent families who bring resources, lobbying, and diversity to districts. But private giving also can distract from core issues of public school finance. “There isn’t enough private money in the world to pay for a high-quality education for every child,” says Amanda Broun of the Public Education Network. “Our focus instead should be on how we can ensure we are using the public resources we have well, and properly funding public education with them,” she said.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/6tvhycz

Temple University’s Fox Net Impact and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute are excited to introduce the Seventh Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference From Point A to Point Green: Reducing Cost & Carbon Through Transport. on April 9, 2012, featuring keynote speaker Stephen Gardner, Vice President for Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Investment Development for Amtrak.

This year’s event will bring together Philadelphia social entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, students and business professionals to learn more about the systems we use every day and how they are evolving to meet the needs of environmentally conscious businesses and commuters.

Click here to learn more and register for the Fox Net Impact Conference.

http://foxnetimpact.org/initiatives/social-entrepreneurship-conference-2