State Farm™ is proud to team up with YSA to offer grants of up to $1,000 for programs enhancing student achievement through service-learning in K-12 public schools in all fifty US states, the District of Columbia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. Each grant engages participating teachers and students in a service and learning program that promotes academic achievement, workplace readiness, and stronger communities. The State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement Grant requires a 12 to 14 week Semester of Service™.

http://www.ysa.org/goodneighbor

» Learn more about the National Youth Leadership Training.
http://www.nylc.org/nylt

We look forward to your participation!

Below is a list of upcoming webinars coordinated by the Professional Development team at NYLC. Registration is free and available at the NYLC bookstore.

http://www.nylc.org/store

Pay it Forward
Wed., May 16
1:00 p.m. (ET); 12:00 p.m. (CT); 11:00 a.m. (MT); 10:00 a.m. (PT)
Learn about Students Today Leaders Forever’s dynamic programming for youth in college, high school, and middle school.

Activating Youth to Tackle Big Issues
Tues., June 5
1:00 p.m. (ET); 12:00 p.m. (CT); 11:00 a.m. (MT); 10:00 a.m. (PT)
Learn about mobilizing campaigns, service-learning grants, and resources that YSA (Youth Service America) has to help engage youth, teachers, and community organizers in service.

Partnerships, Peace-Building, and Youth Engagement
Wed., June 13
1:00 p.m. (ET); 12:00 p.m. (CT); 11:00 a.m. (MT); 10:00 a.m. (PT)
Learn about youthrive’s programming and how it inspires and engages youth and adults through education, leadership, and service to integrate peace-making activities into their lives, their communities, and the world.

Learn, Serve, Succeed: Tools and Techniques for Youth Service-Learning
Fri., June 29
1:00 p.m. (ET); 12:00 p.m. (CT); 11:00 a.m. (MT); 10:00 a.m. (PT)
Learn about Director of Project Service Leadership Kate McPhereson’s Learn, Serve, Succeed: Tools and Techniques for Youth Service-Learning guide.

Register for these free sessions at the NYLC bookstore.

http://www.nylc.org/store

Catchafire matches professionals who want to give their skills with nonprofits and social enterprises that need their help. We match professionals and organizations based on a variety of characteristics including skills, cause interests, and time availability.

We help organizations identify their needs as short-term, discrete, and individual-based projects. Our projects are structured in this way to make it easy for professionals to help in the midst of their busy daily lives. Check out our projects here.

We charge nonprofits and social enterprises an annual membership fee. This fee ensures that our organizations are committed to their Catchafire projects and have skin in the game. The fee covers access to Catchafire projects, a Catchafire Account Manager to assess your organizational needs and guide you towards the right projects in the correct sequence, invitations to networking events, and access to our Pro Bono Engagement Seminar, among other benefits. The Catchafire membership is designed to stretch an organization’s budget at least 10X and save them significant time and resources in recruiting, vetting and managing the right talent for the job. Our service is free for all professionals wanting to donate their time. We also help corporations by offering pro bono opportunities for their employees.

Catchafire is a New York City-based, for-profit social mission business and a certified B-Corporation.

http://www.catchafire.org

The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University has announced a call for applications for the 2012 Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation.

The annual Drucker Award is granted to a social-sector organization that demonstrates Peter Drucker’s definition of innovation — “change that creates a new dimension of performance.” In addition, the judges look for programs that are highly effective and that have made a difference in the lives of the people they serve.

Applicants must be nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations.

Funded by a grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation, the first-place prize is $100,000. The second-place award is $7,500, and the third-place prize is $5,000.

Complete program guidelines, an FAQ, the online application form, and information about previous awardees are available at the Drucker Institute Web site.

http://www.druckerinstitute.com/link/2012-call-for-drucker-award-applications/

Amie’s Place Foundation is a New York City-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to helping support organizations that provide direct services for critically and chronically ill children and adults, veterans, the frail elderly, and women and children fleeing domestic violence who risk losing their pets because no one is there to help them.

About Amie’s Place Foundation: It all began in 1982 in Long Beach, Long Island, with the exceptional work of Lewis Gelfand, DVM who provides pet care treatment and assistance for people too ill to care for their pets. Based on Dr. Gelfand’s work, Amie’s Place Foundation was established in New York City to fund organizations that provide programs for people who need help caring for their pets, who risk losing them during times of crisis, or who face barriers limiting access to their pets when they most need each other. In light of the profound healing effect that pets have on individuals who are going through a difficult, sometimes life-changing event, the Foundation works to provide necessary pet-care assistance and to promote public awareness of the unique relationship a beloved pet and its human companion share. Grants have funded the first Senior Center and hospital-based programs at The Caring Community and St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village, New York City. Amie’s Place Foundation has funded programs that include Beth Israel Hospital, JASA, Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, PAWS NY and Search and Care. The Foundation hopes to see these model programs replicated around the nation to prevent the unnecessary separation of people and pets that need each other.

Organizations within and outside New York City are welcome to apply and should mail an LOI prior to submitting an application to: Amie’s Place Foundation – Church Street Station – PO Box 1799 – New York, New York 10008. LOIs must include most recent IRS tax-exempt status letter and brief history and goals of the applicant organization; description of the program to be funded and the organization’s involvement with the issues it seeks to address; a summary of activities for which the organization requests support; an outline of the organization’s objectives, anticipated outcomes and implications. Please include the approximate starting date of the program, the duration that the funding will cover, amount of funding needed, other sources of support, and current contact information of the person responsible for communicating with the Foundation. Following Amie’s Place Foundation Board review, qualified organizations will be invited to submit a complete application package.

Visit the foundation Web site, linked below, for more information.

http://www.amiesplacefoundation.org/html/apply.html

Teachers in New Jersey and Delaware are invited to apply for funding through PSEG’s Environmental Education Grant program, which provides grants to educators who can link their students’ understanding of science, mathematics, computer science, and/or technology with an enthusiasm and appreciation for the environment.

The PSEG Foundation will award a total of $35,000 for the purchase of equipment, materials, and field trips that would not normally be provided by the school or school district. Grants of up to $3,500 per project are available.

Teachers of grades K-9 are encouraged to apply. Applications that focus on ideas for the development of one or more classroom units, expansion or refinement of an existing course or curriculum, and extension of classroom work to community or afterschool activities will be considered. Projects must be conducted over at least two years.

Teachers from public, private, parochial, and charter schools in PSE&G’s utility service area and PSEG’s Estuary Enhancement Program area are invited to apply, as are schools in New Jersey’s Salem and Cumberland counties and the state of Delaware.

For the list of eligible communities, program guidelines, and the application form, visit the PSEG Web site.

http://www.pseg.com/info/community/education/grants.jsp

The Mario Savio Memorial Lecture Fund is accepting nominations for the annual Mario Savio Young Activist Award.

The award is presented each year to a young person (or persons) with a deep commitment to human rights and social justice and a proven ability to transform this commitment into effective action. The recipients should have demonstrated leadership ability, creativity, and integrity. Preference will be given to candidates who have not been widely recognized and do not have personal privilege or a strong institutional base of support.

To be eligible, nominees must be between the ages of 16 and 26; engaged in activism for social change related to peace, human rights, economic or social justice, or freedom of expression; working within the context of an organization, social movement, or larger community effort; and considered by others within that context as an inspirational leader or motivating force. The nominees’ work must be based in the United States.

Anyone may nominate a candidate, including members of the general public.

The award carries a cash prize of $6,000, to be divided equally between the prize-winner and an organization of his or her choosing. The award will be presented at an award ceremony in Berkeley, California (travel expenses paid).

Complete program guidelines and the nomination form are available at the Mario Savio Memorial Lecture Fund Web site.

http://www.savio.org/young_activist_award.html

The Safeway Foundation is partnering with Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland to develop community and clinic-based programs designed to reduce the burden of childhood obesity. The program seeks to fund nonprofit organizations with innovative programs to address childhood obesity.

The goals of the program are to empower innovative programs to expand and enhance services, increase capacity, and/or incorporate new strategies to support healthy body weights among children and/or adolescents; evaluate the impact of existing programs; and identify promising approaches that could be replicated, adapted, and implemented in diverse communities nationwide.

The Safeway/CHRCO funding partnership is open to a wide variety of research projects with the potential to prevent and/or treat childhood obesity in communities and medical centers throughout the United States. Preference will be given to proposals that can be implemented and sustained within a community or medical center for little additional cost. Preference also will be given to organizations working in communities where Safeway stores are present.

Interest areas include but are not limited to clinic-community partnerships that create opportunities for children to be physically active; targeted education programs that encourage healthy snacks in children and/or adolescents; school-clinic partnerships that enhance healthy eating and active living in the school environment; and family programs that demonstrate health-supporting activities for children and/or adolescents.

Applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, or have a fiscal sponsor that is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The applicant does not have to be affiliated with a healthcare facility or clinic. Applicants must be based within ten miles of a Safeway store (with some flexibility for regions with low-density stores). Proposed programs must use an inter-disciplinary model that includes at least one partnership with a community, clinic, business, and/or academic institution.

Applications will be scored on innovation, potential for immediate implementation, sustainability, and the degree to which the funding will contribute to the overall capacity of the program and personnel. Applicants are strongly advised to include specific measurable outcomes in their project plan.

Initially, the Safeway Foundation is committing $2 million to support about fifteen one-year awards. The amounts awarded may range from $3,000 to a maximum of $100,000 depending on the specific needs of the project. The majority of awards will be within the range of $40,000 to $75,000. Grant funds may not be used for capital improvements, equipment, new staff positions, general donations, loans, student aid, or scholarships. Indirect costs are permissible up to 15 percent of the total costs.

The complete Request for Proposals and the online application form are available at the Safeway Foundation Web site.

http://www.safewayfoundation.org/get-funded/index.html

Universities in metropolitan and urban areas are positioned in locations, which afford them unusual and matchless opportunities to partner with other organizations, companies, and groups often not present in other areas. Their roles in the community are impacted by these connections and offer solutions to unusual problems and creative ideas for new directions.

This conference will explore how working together with all types of partners can augment the impact of a university and open new bridges to success for the future. Partnerships in the areas of enriching student learning, increasing faculty roles and impact both in the academic setting and in the community, augmenting the outreach of the university, creating projects, and developing academic opportunities that respond to and involve the local community are just a few examples of presentations which suitable for this theme. The conference will provide a forum for students, faculty and administrators to share ideas, experiences, and make recommendations concerning the leadership role that metropolitan universities must assume in creating the future.

Please join us for this exciting opportunity to learn about others’ successes and share through plenary sessions, paper presentations, special topic panels, roundtables, and poster sessions.Suggested Topics Related to “Working Together Works: Partnering for Progress:”

Real learning for real life: partners for progress
University/community partnering
Non-traditional educational infrastructure
Environmental initiatives
Wellness and public health projects and possibilities
Community partnerships for student learning
Faculty roles with strong ties to the community
Extending the university’s reach through community partnerships
Translational research and its impact on the community
Local learning communities

Proposal Submission Guidelines
Individuals must submit written proposals in Microsoft Word (Arial font 10) related to the conference theme for paper presentations, panel discussions, roundtable discussions, or poster displays. Submissions must include the following information:

Title of proposal
Presentation type desired:
Individual paper (15 minutes)
Panel (4 to 5 thematically related presentations, total of 1hour)
Poster
Roundtable (two presenters per table, 50 minutes total)
Intended audience for presentation (e.g., administrators, faculty, students, etc.)
Name(s) of presenter(s), affiliation, address and e-mail contact information (student presenters should identify themselves as such, as some student presentations will be grouped in student-led sessions) For group presentations, an asterisk (*) after the name of the lead presenter will denote the corresponding presenter.
Biographical sketch of presenter(s) (limit of two sentences per presenter)
250-word abstract describing the presentation and topic
AV equipment needs (please note that presenters will need to bring their own laptop computer):
LCD projector
Overhead projector
Flip chart only

Proposals should be submitted to cumuproposals@utc.edu. Questions regarding the proposal format and content can be addressed to Valerie Rutledge at valerie-rutledge@utc.edu.

Submission Deadline
The submission deadline is June 15, 2012.

Selection and Notification
The Program Committee will evaluate proposals with regard to relevance to the conference theme, potential interest to attendees, and the significance of the topic to the mission of the coalition. Notification letters will be sent electronically by June 22, 2012 to the corresponding presenter. All presenters must be registered for the conference and are expected to pay all related costs. CUMU will invite conference presenters to submit papers to the editor of Metropolitan Universities journal for possible publication in the journal.

Download this free guide from KIDS Consortium to develop service-learning lessons in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM) classes.  Sign-up online to receive regular updates on service-learning instructional strategies.

http://kidsconsortium.org/stem_service_learningguide.php

This guide, a supplement to the more comprehensive KIDS As Planners: A Guide to Strengthening Students, Schools and Communities through Service-Learning, is designed to help you integrate service-learning into STEM content areas and make use of Curriculum Topic Study (CTS), a valuable means of ensuring that STEM projects are developmentally appropriate and aligned with science standards.

Examples in this guide, based on the experience of more than a dozen classrooms, help illustrate how to plan and structure a STEM/service-learning project and how these projects benefit students, schools and communities.

The Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND) seeks two full-time AmeriCorps*VISTAs to develop a new partnership between PHENND and the School District of Philadelphia.

About PHENND

PHENND is a consortium of 33 colleges and universities in the greater Philadelphia area. PHENND works to build the capacity of its member institutions to develop mutually beneficial, sustained, and democratic community-based service-learning partnerships. The consortium actively seeks to revitalize local communities and schools and foster civic responsibility among the region’s colleges and universities.

About the position:

The two AmeriCorps*VISTAs sought for this coming year will develop a new partnership between PHENND and the School District. This new partnership will itself be a multi-year VISTA project through which VISTAs are placed in schools to serve as “School Partnerships Coordinators.” This first year is a planning year; the selected candidates will work closely with PHENND and School District staff to develop systems and processes for:

selecting participating schools
training potential host schools
selecting and training future VISTAs
generating overall and school-specific goals and performance measures
determining the possible role of lead partners
outlining day-to-day roles of the VISTAs

AmeriCorps*VISTAs needed for this program should be:

self-motivated and self-directed
able to network and build relationships with diverse constituencies
comfortable in different institutional settings (academic, community-based, etc.)
quick learners
comfortable with a work environment that is primarily office-based, but with regular travel to public schools, nonprofit organizations, local universities, and other sites as needed
able to navigate public transit (or with access to a car though public transit preferred)
familiar with the general landscape of public schooling, community partnerships, community service and volunteering, and service-learning at both the K-12 and collegiate levels
passionate about improving educational opportunities for low-income youth

Timeline

April 26-May 15 – Applications accepted
May 21-25 – Interviews
May 29 – Candidates selected
June/July 2012 – VISTA terms begin
June/July 2013 – VISTA terms end

Compensation

AmeriCorps*VISTAs commit to a full-time year of service for a minimal living stipend of approximately $12,962 per year. VISTA members are provided health insurance and loan forbearance for any current federal student loans. Upon completion of the full year, they also receive an AmeriCorps Education Award of $5500 that can be used to pay for future educational expenses and/or pay off student loans. The PHENND VISTAs will also receive a SEPTA transpass to facilitate their transportation throughout the year.

All interested applicants should contact Liz Shriver for more information at 215-573-2379 or eshriver@phennd.org. To be considered, please email a cover letter and resume to eshriver@phennd.org.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/

http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/MENU/Published/CNP/cnp.htm

Interested parties may obtain an electronic copy of the following publications from the “Forms and Pubs” section of IRS.gov and entering either 1101 or 4671 in the “Find” box:

Publication 1101,TCE Program Application Package and Guidelines for Managing a TCE Program

Publication 4671, VITA Grant Program Overview and Application Instructions

Although these publications are available now and provide information on how to complete the application, interested applicants must wait until the announcements post on Grants.gov on May 1 to download the appropriate application.

The Grant Program Office will host a conference call to review the application process on May 8 and May 9.  Please plan to review the publication for the grant you are interested in prior to the conference call and formulate any questions not answered by the publication.  A question and answer session is scheduled at the end of each call.  Material presented each day will be the same so plan to attend only one session by dialing in using the following information.

Toll-free Number:  (888) 285-4585
Participant Code:  162701
Time:  1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT

A slide presentation will be posted on the VITA Grant Program (http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=184243,00.html) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=109754,00.html) webpage on http://irs.gov by Friday, May 4, 2012, under the “What’s Happening” section.  Please plan to download a copy of the presentation to view during the discussion.  Within a week after the call, a script of the presentation will also be posted.

Registration is not required; however, lines are limited to 200 callers each session.  For organizations planning to have more than one individual attend, please share a line.  Access to the call begins 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.

As the baby boomers age, the population of Americans over the age of 65 is expected to increase to about 55 million in 2020 – nearly 15 million more than in 2010. The increase in the older population will result in a surging demand for the delivery of services and create new challenges for older people, their caregivers, and nutrition and social services professionals who seek to ensure these services’ availability. Projections of an aging population with a greater chronic disease burden, as well as an increasing preference to live independently rather than in an institution, only add to the importance of preparation.

In light of these developments and projections, the IOM held a workshop October 5-6, 2011, to illuminate issues related to community-based delivery of nutrition services for older adults and to identify nutrition interventions and model programs which support the transition to home care as well as health and independent living in the community. The workshop aimed to improve awareness and understanding of the technical and policy challenges related to nutrition needs of older adults in community settings. This document summarizes the workshop.

http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2012/Nutrition-and-Healthy-Aging-in-the-Community.aspx

“The White House convened a diverse group of stakeholders on April 16, 2012 to discuss the importance of environmental education and the core concepts and principles that contribute the most to environmental literacy, including panel discussions with environmental education leaders, remarks from several Administration officials and a panel on the Federal government’s on-going commitment to the field of environmental education.”

View some of the presentations at

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko9iraBEw3o&feature=relmfu

Part 2: : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGDMysjDic&feature=youtube_gdata

The Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation need your help identifying exemplary afterschool programs serving middle school youth to win a $10,000 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award and to be featured in our 2012 series of issue briefs. The MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Awards aim to identify potentially lesser-known, yet highly effective programs and the individuals running them. Nominees will be judged by the innovative nature of their approach and demonstrated effectiveness. Each of the five award winners will receive $10,000 for their program.

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/metLife.cfm

Love Your Park Day is now, Love Your Park Week: May 12-19!  In partnership with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and volunteer park groups, Philadelphia’s parks will be energized through a week-long, city-wide celebration:  Love Your Park Week.  The week begins on Saturday, May 12 with a service day at more than 70 parks across the city.

The love doesn’t stop there!  Parks will hold fabulous events all week including:
*    Mother’s Day Oldies Night at Campbell Square
*    Phillies Pep Rally at Pleasant Hill Park
*    Speed dating in LOVE Park
*    “Old School Game Night” in Clark Park
*    DJ Jerry Blavat night at FDR Park
*    Historic Mansion Bike Tour
*    Spring Festival at Cianfrani Park
*    Hula Hoop Exhibition and Contest at Malcolm X Park
*    and more!

Last but not least, we are holding a “Show Us the Love!” contest – in words and a photos, tell us why you love your park and you’ll be entered to win fabulous prizes!

To volunteer, enter the contest, see a list of events or find more information, please visit http://www.loveyourpark.org.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact parks@pennhort.org or 215-988-1611.

Feature Class:

HTML
Take control of your website!
Do you need to change content on your website?
Add or remove events?
Add a photo, post an employment opportunity, appeal to donors?
Learn how to create basic web pages using HTML, the building block of the web. Students will complete hands-on exercises to create web pages with text and graphics, create links to other pages, add and change colors and features simply using a web browser.

Course Length:   Full day Class Duration – 7 hours
Cost:   Member – $85 – Non member – $130

Click Here to View the Training Calendar!

http://www.npowerpa.org/training/classroom

Upcoming May Training Classes

Tuesday, May 8th – Introduction to Excel – 9 AM to Noon
Thursday, May 10th- Intermediate Word – 9 AM to Noon
Tuesday, May 15th – Introduction to Access – 9 AM to 4 PM
Wednesday, May 16th – HTML- 9 AM to 4PM
Wednesday, May 23rd – Intermediate Excel- 9 AM to 4 PM
Wednesday, May 30th – Advanced Excel – 9 AM to 4PM

Click here to register!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?key=0Aqv3uAnhmO4ycFgtRUpoQUdXdko5eExjUGtSaHNNSVE#gid=0

NPower PA is located at:
We are located at:
417 N. 8th Street
Suite 203
Philadelphia, PA 19123