Please Touch Museum Honors EducationWorks
EducationWorks was honored by the Please Touch Museum as a “Great Friend to Kids”. The 16th Annual Great Friend to Kids Award honored individuals and organizations with ties to the Philadelphia region that made outstanding contributions to enriching the lives of children. The ceremony was held at the Please Touch Museum on Thursday, November 10th.
Dr. Martin Friedman, Founder and Executive Director of EducationWorks stated “We are pleased and honored to be recognized for the great work the staff and 500 AmeriCorps volunteers do in schools every day. The year round partnerships with the City of Philadelphia, the School District and numerous nonprofits and funders makes EducationWorks such a success….On behalf of the children we are proud to accept this award”.
Mark Dubowe, who nominated EducationWorks for the award, stated “As a member of the board of trustees, I am happy that such a great organization is being recognized. We need to be there for kids when school is not.”
This year, the Please Touch Museum also honored Elizabeth Cartmell, ConKerr Cancer, Fresh Artists, and former NBC10 anchor Dave Roberts.
Take a look at the video the museum created for the event:EducationWorks Hosted Lights On After School Event
EducationWorks (EW) afterschool programs held Lights On Afterschool rallies on October 20th at 18 EW K-8 sites. The rally gave parents, supporters, and community members a chance to see what EducationWorks afterschool programs are all about. The event was part of the nationwide Lights On Afterschool Rally organized by the Afterschool Alliance.
HiSTEP: Recycle Rewards
This summer students in EducationWorks HiSTEP program in South Philadelphia High School are spreading the word on Philadelphia’s Recycle Rewards Program.
They are creating advertisements to get the message of recycling out to the community with public service announcements in the form of commercials and podcasts.
One student with the program wrote on the group's blog that, “This is really fun because we get to use stuff that we wouldn't use in our everyday lives like big cameras that professionals use to film movies, digital voice recorders with microphones, flips cams and digital cameras… We get to write our own scripts and decide how everything looks that gives us the power to have a say in what we do which I like.”
See the blog for yourself at :
http://ewhistep.blogspot.com/2011/07/southern-histep-recycle-rewards.htmlThank You Champions for Children
150 children and youth this summer in Camden, Trenton, and Philadelphia are able to engage in educational programs, arts and crafts, and activities thanks to contributions to the EducationWorks (EW) summer scholarship fund.
The 2nd annual Champions for Children friend-raiser took place in April of 2011, and raised over $22,000 in scholarships for EducationWorks summer camp. Each event participant sent one child to camp. Donors to the fund included the students of South Philadelphia High School EducationWorks program. They raised enough money to support 2.5 scholarships. Two of these students were also guest speakers at the event. Antwan Currie and Chanel Jacson spoke on how EducationWorks programs have influenced their lives and education in a positive manner.
“This year’s Champions event was a success due to the tireless work of the dedicated EducationWorks staff and board . . . As a result, more children in our region will have a wonderful and educational summer experience” ~Stephen Roker, a key event organizer, and the vice chair of the EW board.
Thanks to all the board members, staff, speakers, and Champions for Children who made this an exceptional event!
Champions for Children
March 16, 2011 - We are committed to enabling inner city youth to break the cycle of poverty by helping them succeed in school. A big part of that is their participation in fun, and educationally enriching, summer programs. Last summer, 1,500 children participated in our summer camps. This summer, we want to enroll even more. Because our summer camp registration fee discourages some families from enrolling their children, we have created a scholarship fund.
The EducationWorks summer program has a number of features that distinguish it. Camp serves children from Kindergarten to Grade 8 and operates from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., five days a week. Over 300 AmeriCorps members provide leadership and about 250 high school students serve as junior counselors and role models. In addition to swimming, trips, and arts and crafts, there's a major academic component which ensures children read and write every day. This summer's theme, Growing Peaceful Communities, teaches children how to solve conflicts and address differences in peaceful ways.
Join us on April 13th to learn more about EducationWorks and meet youth involved in our programs. Please make a tax-deductible donation to send a child to camp -- $150 supports one child for the full summer camp experience.
On behalf of the children, thank you in advance for your support.
Youth Service America and Heery International Foundation award four grants to EW
January 28, 2011 - In quick succession, Youth Service America (YSA) has awarded three grants to EducationWorks:
-- Selected (for the eighth year) as the Local Lead Agency in the Philadelphia region for Global Youth Service Day (April 15-17).
-- A State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant to support our youth-led anti-violence programs.
-- A UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning grant to support our youth-led childhood-obesity prevention programs.
In addition to these grants, EW has accepted recent invitations from YSA to be part of its new Global Youth Service Network and to serve on the local planning team for its annual conference, which will be held in Philadelphia this fall.
YSA (YSA.org) supports a global culture of engaged youth committed to a lifetime of service.
In mid-January Heery International Foundation announced that it selected EducationWorks as one of three organizations nationwide to receive a $5,000 grant.
"The Heery Foundation board was very impressed by EducationWorks' mission. We believe that it's an excellent match for our focus areas and goals," said Bill Heitz, Heery President and CEO.
The grant will enable us to provide books for our literacy programs, a digital camera for our media program, and curriculum materials for our childhood obesity, math and science, and environmental programs. It will also help us take high school students on college visits.
Recent changes to our Board of Trustees
December 10, 2010 - EducationWorks’ Board of Trustees welcomes John D. White, MST to its Board of Trustees. White, a Financial Advisor at Principal Financial Group, brings a wealth of financial expertise and experience to the board.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of an organization that does so much to positively influence the youth of Philadelphia,” said White. “I look forward to working with EducationWorks to help make a meaningful impact on the lives of Philadelphia’s children and young adults.”
The Board has also elected Lisa Dickson, Senior Vice President at Radian Guaranty Inc., as its new Chair. Dickson joined the board in Feb. 2009 and served as Treasurer. She has more than 20 years of experiences in the finance industry. As Chair, Dickson aims to “inspire active leadership and involvement,” and “to continue the momentum that the organization and the board have built up in the last few years.”
Stepping up as Vice Chair is Stephan Roker, Senior Vice President of Operations for Independence Blue Cross. Roker joined the board in April 2009 and currently serves as Chair of the Marketing and Development committee. He has played key roles in EducationWorks events such as Champions for Children in June, which raised scholarship dollars for low-income children to go to EducationWorks summer camps.
Join EducationWorks for a 3rd term of service!
September 27, 2010 - Most former and current AmeriCorps members can now serve more than two terms of service.
New AmeriCorps members 55 or older can now transfer their education award to their children or grandchildren.
As the provider of the largest AmeriCorps program in Pennsylvania and Trenton, EducationWorks is now accepting third term corpsmembers to continue making a difference in the Delaware Valley.
To apply for Philadelphia and Camden programs, contact the Recruitment Department at (215) 221-6900. For programs in Trenton, contact Nancie Dent at (267) 575-7112. You could be joining the efforts of over 450 EducationWorks AmeriCorps members to enrich lives of children, youth, and families!
Expanding our reach to Camden
September 17, 2010 - The New Jersey Department of Education has awarded EducationWorks a five-year grant to provide programs for fourth through twelfth graders in three Camden City Public Schools.
The programs will have a major focus on visual and performing arts, engage 29 AmeriCorps members, and serve 220 students during the school year and summer.
This will give us a firm base on which to build a large, robust set of programs throughout the city.
Philadelphians laugh for EducationWorks
August 13, 2010 - The Philadelphia Joke Initiative has announced that their 24-hour improv event, “Dazed and Amused”, will benefit EducationWorks, a nonprofit organization that provides educational services and out-of-school programs to Philadelphia area students.
The event will be held at the Adrienne Theater ( 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA) from 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27 to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28. For 24 continuous hours, the cast will perform a variety of improv games that include both longform and shortform formats. Each will be allowed two 30-minute naps, which must be taken on one of two onstage cots. Executive Director of EducationWorks Martin Friedman will also appear on stage to read a story, from which the cast will perform an improv skit.
Prices for tickets purchased in advance range from $7-$24, and those at the door from $10-$30. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to EducationWorks.
“To paraphrase Colin Powell, in a time where we seem to find plenty of money to house adult prisoners, could we better spend money growing children to become successful productive citizens of tomorrow?” said Julie Swarts, Director of Development at EducationWorks. “A well rounded education is the answer.”
Directing the show is Mary Carpenter, whose directing and performance credits include “1812 Productions”, “ComedySportz”, “Philadelphia Theatre Company”, and “ Second City”. In addition to Carpenter, the cast includes Philadelphia comedy veterans Mario Fraboni and Nathan Holt. Flying in for the event are Los Angeles-based performers Thomas Fowler (“ComedySportz”, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”) and Alexis Simpson (“ComedySportz”, “Rare Bird Show”). Both Simpson and Fowler honed their skills on Philadelphia stages before pursuing their comedy careers in Hollywood.
This is the second year for “Dazed and Amused”, which debuted at last year’s Fringe Festival.
“Not only did we all survive, we put on a fantastic show,” said Carpenter. “Improv always makes people ask ‘How’d they do that?’ Doing it for 24 straight hours, well that's 'How'd they do that' to the nth degree. For those final minutes the entire audience was on its feet.”
Students celebrate fitness and literacy with Let's Read. Let's Move. Philadelphia.
July 27 , 2010 - EducationWorks recently joined Lisa Nutter in launching Let’s Read. Let’s Move. Philadelphia., a national initiative promoting anti-obesity and literacy started by First Lady Michelle Obama. The kick-off was held on Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park, where EducationWorks along with other groups from the community, led fitness activities, food demonstrations, and celebrated literacy.
Students from each organization had a chance to speak about their program, and how it helps to promote healthy habits and literacy. Tysheem Dunlap, a 7th grade camper at our EducationWorks Learning Center, spoke about our healthy nutrition and exercise curriculum: “We get to learn about being healthy. We exercise too, and the boys do martial arts!”
The event closed with the students of South Philadelphia High School program organizing a fitness session, which showed kids how to do common exercises while mixing them with fun. Our students also participated in our partner’s activities, including Students Run Philly Style’s Yoga Clinic and Breaking Barrier’s rowing demonstration.
Thanks to all the staff, members, and students who made this a wonderful event!
EW partners up to launch the GreenTeam summer program
July 13 , 2010 - EducationWorks and the Philadelphia Streets Department launched the GreenTeam Summer program with a kickoff event on Wednesday, July 7. Through partnerships with The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Recycle Bank, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, and Philadelphia Youth Network, more than 400 9th-12th graders will be provided with environmental education and paid employment for six weeks.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter said, “For Philadelphia to become the greenest big city in America, it is imperative that we get young people involved in sustainability issues. This summer program is a great step towards that achievement.”
Preceding the Mayor's remarks, UnLitter Us spoken word artist Greg Corbin performed his poem "A City Has A Heartbeat," and the participating teens attended workshops aimed to introduce them to environmental issues and four green pillars:
- Litter Reduction: Greg Corbin conducted a poetry workshop and explored how the arts can be used to create a clean city
- Recycling: The how-to overview for Philadelphia’s Recycling Rewards program
- Environmental Consciousness: Keep Philadelphia Beautiful discussed how teens can reduce their negative impact on their environment, with a special focus on plastic bags
- Recycling: The how-to overview for Philadelphia’s Recycling Rewards program
- Environmental Consciousness: Keep Philadelphia Beautiful discussed how teens can reduce their negative impact on their environment, with a special focus on plastic bags
- Sustainability: Greenworks introduced teens to opportunities to participate in the sustainability movement throughout Philadelphia
Along with leading cleanup efforts around their schools, the students will be working to raise awareness of Philadelphia recycling initiatives by UnLitter Us and Philadelphia Recycling Rewards. They will also spend one day a week learning about environmental issues and exploring college and employment opportunities that have green and sustainability focuses.
Over the next 6 weeks, follow students' work and thoughts on the EducationWorks Green Revolution blog.
$1 Million Increase in AmeriCorps Award
June 1, 2010 - The Corporation for National and Community Service has notified us that our AmeriCorps award will be increased by $1 million for the coming year. This increase will enable EW to bring on more AmeriCorps members in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, serve more students, and serve them better.
It will also allow EW to support more than 100 AmeriCorps members in dozens of nonprofits which provide out of school time programs, enabling them to join the AmeriCorps family and experience the benefits of integrating AmeriCorps members into their programs.
EW Featured As One of the Top 25 Nonprofits in New Book
March 31, 2010 - "The American Way To Change: How National Service and Volunteers Are Transforming America" by Shirley Sagawa (published by Jossey Bass) will be released on April 21 at an event at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, in conjunction with a celebration of the first anniversary of the Kennedy Serve America Act.
EducationWorks is one of 25 nonprofits highlighted, along with better known organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Teach for America. Shirley Sagawa, while a member of Ted Kennedy’s Senate staff, was instrumental to the drafting and passage of the legislation creating AmeriCorps. The book is available on Amazon.com.
Trenton Step Dancers Win National Award
March 19, 2010 - The “Wilson Steppers” from the EducationWorks after school program at Wilson Elementary School in Trenton won the first-ever award from Remo Productions, an organization dedicated to urban after school step dancing programs. They performed last year for the New Jersey AmeriCorps Week celebration at Rutgers University. Along with a monetary award, the team has been invited to perform at the Annual National Step Dancing Championship in New York this summer.
Read more about the team and its award winning application: www.artofstepping.org/scholarship.html
NJ native and four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Digg’s visited EducationWork’s Wilson Elementary after school program!
Through a series of stretches, calisthenics, races, and a brief talk about eating a healthy diet, Joetta advocated healthier lifestyles to Wilson students. You can find out more about her mission to provide fitness programs to low-income students in at-risk communities through The Joetta Clark Digg Sports Foundation website: www.joettasportsandbeyond.com/foundation/main.html
