ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships was created in 2002 at the request of city leaders to bring public awareness to the dangers of the afternoon hours for unsupervised youth in Philadelphia.  ASAP’s mission is to develop and support high-quality after school activities and resources to empower youth and strengthen communities in Philadelphia. ASAP works with schools, libraries, and community sites to serve more than 4,000 youth (K-12) annually through the following citywide initiatives: ASAP Chess, ASAP Debate, ASAP Drama, and ASAP Scrabble. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ASAP has adapted its programs to virtual platforms in order to continue to engage students, support their social-emotional well-being, and keep them connected to their school communities.

ASAP Chess helps more than 2,300 youth in Philadelphia (grades K-12) develop critical problem solving and strategic thinking skills by coordinating more than 150 out-of-school time chess clubs and organizing dozens of after school and weekend competitions each year. Students in ASAP Chess clubs learn that every move has potential value and consequences. Students are instructed to carefully evaluate their different options in pursuit of the best possible solution. By practicing these tactics in club meetings and learning from their mistakes at competitions, students spend hours outside the school day honing critical mathematical skills. Looking forward, ASAP Chess endeavors to build on this success and provide even more youth in Philadelphia with the same opportunities as their suburban and private school peers to develop key critical problem solving and strategic thinking skills.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Work in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia to promote ASAP Chess to priority schools and communities
• Work in partnership with provider sites supported by the City of Philadelphia Office of Children and Families for summer and school year programming
• Recruit and train chess coaches on how to teach chess to K-12 students in an in-person or in an online setting, with an emphasis on using the website ChessKid.com
• Provide support and encouragement for ASAP Chess coaches and volunteers through regular phone calls and emails, a weekly e-newsletter, and periodic site visits
• Assist with the planning and leadership of after school and weekend chess tournaments, including the Philadelphia Scholastic Chess League, monthly Saturday chess tournaments, and regional after school scrimmage competitions
• Manage special ASAP Chess projects as needed. This could include but is not limited to the high school chess mentor program, which matches high school chess players with middle school ASAP Chess clubs for additional coaching and mentoring support
• Promote gender equity in scholastic chess by promoting ASAP’s Philly Girls Play Chess Initiative. This includes organizing an all-girls tournament, managing a monthly Philly Girls Chess Club, and recruiting youth to attend the annual ASAP Girls Summer Chess Camp, a week-long program where more than 40 young girls spend 25 hours honing their critical thinking and strategic problem-solving skills in a supportive community
• Work with the Director of Chess Programs and Director of Programs to collect and analyze student- and club-level data to measure the program’s impact and look for opportunities for continuous quality improvement
• Support ASAP’s other initiatives as needed and contribute to overall organizational goals through participation on ASAP’s internal staff committees, including ASAP’s Racial Justice Committee

*Note: Many of these programs may be hosted in an online or virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants should demonstrate familiarity and comfort with online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.

The ideal candidate for this position will:

• Be passionate about empowering youth, strengthening communities, and providing equitable educational opportunities
• Have experience with youth development programs and/or community outreach
• Be familiar with the Philadelphia school system, preferably as an alumnus
• Demonstrate experience building relationships with external partners
• Previous experience with the City-funded Out-of-School Time (OST) system preferred but not required
• Be able to multi-task and organize multiple long-term projects with overlapping deadlines
• Exhibit a willingness to collaborate and work as a team to accomplish strategic goals
• Value creativity, critical thinking, and attention to detail
• Demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills
• Have the flexibility to work some evenings and weekends
• Competitive chess experience preferred but not required
• Experience working with virtual platforms like Zoom or Google Classroom preferred
• Ability to work in a hybrid office environment (remote and in-person) in accordance with local and state health & safety guidelines
• Required education level: minimum Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Upon employment, candidate must obtain required clearances to work with youth (available through ASAP office)

Preferred start date is October 4, 2021. Annual salary is in the range of $30,000-$40,000 and will be determined based on candidate’s strength of qualifications and relevant experience. Employment at ASAP comes with a generous benefits package, including subsidized health and dental insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, life insurance, and free enrollment in the company’s 401K plan. Employees are eligible for comp-time for working events outside of normal business schedule of 9am-5pm Monday through Friday.

For more information and to apply, please send a resume, writing sample (which can include an original lesson plan), and cover letter (to provide more information on your educational and professional experience) to Sara Morningstar, ASAP Director of Programs at smorningstar@phillyasap.org.

ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships is looking for a new Drama Coordinator who is eager to help schools, rec centers, and libraries engage and inspire youth in Philadelphia through the dramatic arts.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have experience creating drama programming, lesson plans, or activities, especially for younger students (grades K-3)
• Be capable of managing multiple priorities and timelines, such as event planning, promotion, and production
• Have experience with grassroots outreach and enjoy working collaboratively with a dedicated team of peers
• Be excited about challenging themselves and ASAP Drama to be a leader in Philadelphia’s out-of-school time and arts communities

For more information and to apply, please contact Sara Morningstar at smorningstar@phillyasap.org.

http://www.phillyasap.org/index.php/more/directorylisting

Please be sure to:

• Review your site’s listing by clicking here — http://www.phillyasap.org/index.php/more/directorylisting
• Update your current listing, with any additional program details by contacting Paul Carroll, pcarroll@phillyasap.org, 215-545-2727×11
• Submit any new location/ site listings by clicking here — http://www.phillyasap.org/index.php/more/submit-directory-listing

NOTE: The deadline for updating your listings is 8/4/17. If you need any assistance please contact Paul Carroll.

In addition, ASAP is excited to announce two new filtered activity boxes, Reading Enrichment and Reading Tutoring as part of Read by 4th , a citywide campaign to have all children reading on grade level by 4th grade in Philadelphia. There are also opportunities to find available child care subsidies at specific sites, and help text to improve the overall user experience of the directory online search engine for all!

PLUS: It’s not too late to find summer programs: click here

http://www.phillyasap.org/index.php/more/directorylisting

ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships is a non-profit organization with the mission to keep Philadelphia youth (K-12) safe and active after school. ASAP serves more than 5,500 youth annually through four major initiatives: chess, debate, drama and Scrabble. ASAP is seeking a Communications and Development Coordinator to oversee media and public relations and assist the Executive Director with strategic partnerships and grant development.

The Communications and Development Coordinator manages grant processes and strategic partnerships in collaboration with the Executive Director, the Board of Directors, and book keeper to keep funding for the organization organized and sustainable. The position also oversees outward communications from the organization such as public relations, social media, and promotional materials to keep announcements timely, coordinated, and efficient.

Duties and responsibilities

Development responsibilities:

• Prepare grant proposals, budgets, and reports in conjunction with Executive Director
• Track grants received and upcoming proposal deadlines
• Lead semi-annual appeals including tracking and thank you letters
• Identify new opportunities for funding
• Maintain catalog of common ASAP grant language and history of proposals
• Invite funders and partners to ASAP events and assist with coordinating visitors
• Pursue new strategic partnerships with potential sponsors and organizations
• Maintain mailing lists for annual report, newsletters, and annual appeals

Communications responsibilities:

• Create and distribute press releases
• Communicate with media to promote ASAP’s events and accomplishments
• Write and design monthly e-newsletters
• Maintain and update ASAP’s social media, blog, and website with timely information
• Capture and prepare stories of successes and challenges
• Design promotional materials such as brochures, flyers, invitations etc.
• Manage communications and development interns

General Office responsibilities

• Prepare materials for board meetings and cultivate relationships with board members
• Lead orientation sessions for prospective volunteers
• Create, distribute, and report on surveys for evaluating program effectiveness
• Prepare Directory mailings including maintaining contact list
• Attend community and school-based fairs for volunteer recruitment and assist at ASAP special events

Qualifications:

· Bachelor’s degree plus 2+ years’ experience with fundraising and communications/outreach

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills, experience with public speaking

· Strong interest in youth development and public education

· Strong leadership skills, self-motivated

· Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Office, Outlook and Excel

· Able to manage several tasks simultaneously and prioritize work

· Organized, professional and punctual

· Available for occasional week night and/or weekend events and site visits at schools, community and recreation centers across the City of Philadelphia

· Experience with Adobe products and/or web design is a plus, although not required

· Good sense of humor

Salary:

In the range of $40,000 per year, commensurate with experience, with generous benefits package.

Please send cover letter, references, resume and writing sample to Justin Ennis at jennis@phillyasap.org.

Spring into Scrabble!

Saturday, March 19th 12:00-3pm

Parkway Central Library (1901 Vine St. Philadelphia, PA 19103)

Free for all ages!

Spring into Scrabble is an annual community event for Scrabble enthusiasts of all ages. Players will have the opportunity to win trophies and fantastic Scrabble-themed prizes from our raffle just by participating. We will also feature our larger-than-life Scrabble rug! Don’t miss out on the fun, competition and prizes!

RSVP to: Janette Chien 215.545.2727 ext. 13 or jchien@phillyasap.org

After School Activities Partnerships’ Spring into Scrabble event will be at the Parkway Central location of the Free Library of Philadelphia from 12-3 pm on Saturday March 21st. Come out and join more than 100 Scrabble enthusiasts of all ages as they participate in ASAP’s annual event. In addition to the competitive and non-competitive sections, there will be opportunities for attendees to learn tips, tricks and hints from ASAP’s own Scrabble guru, John Green. Lucky participants will have a chance to win trophies for their Scrabble skills!

Playing Scrabble has shown to develop students’ vocabularies, transforming the way the young people think about language and develop interest in new words, while building self-confidence and providing a sense of accomplishment. ASAP had 99 Scrabble clubs last year with 1,000 students playing weekly.

http://phillyasap.org/index.php/eventcalendar/252