PUCFSN



	PUCFSN is a collaborative program between the University of Pennsylvania, communities of faith, public and private schools, and neighborhood organizations operating throughout West Philadelphia. Since 1998, we have created vital relationships between the leadership of our constituent members, and have established innovative collaborative projects. In 2002, our program was renewed for another four years through a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. PUCFSN is comprised of a three-part structure: a steering committee, an advisory board and academic interns. The steering committee is made up of fifteen communities of faith leaders, professors, school administrators, and community leaders meets monthly to direct our work. The larger advisory group meets 2-3 times yearly to learn from national leaders and to further direct and extend our work. Lastly, students, working as academic interns, develop and facilitate each of our projects. Through our three-part structure, PUCFSN provides technical assistance within a variety of project areas. Each area results from common interests of our members who serve to guide student interns in its execution. Some of our project areas and activities include: Extended Day Programs and Mentoring; Adult Skills Training; Technology Classes; Computer Hardware Refurbishment, Placement and Recycling (ie. computer labs); Health Care Initiatives; and Academically-Based Community Service Courses. Also, we assist local seminarians by providing unique field education placements. 1) Program activities addressing afterschool, technology, health care objectives will be met through site-specific collaborative projects. Each of these projects will be created and overseen by PUCFSN’s members, and supported through academic interns and community volunteers. Below are our goals for 2002-2006. Underneath each goal is a listing of our accomplishments in the first six months. A. Develop and operate six new afterschool or summer programs held in communities of faith. We will create at least one new afterschool and/or summer programs annually in each of the four years. The first project sites will include Grace Lutheran, Taylor Tabernacle, and Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Simpson-Fletcher United Methodist Church Christ of Calvary - CAMP St. Mary Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village West Philadelphia High School (CPR) B. Extend the work of nine successful afterschool or summer programs. We will extend the work of at least two programs per year in each of the four years. The first ones will likely include Sister Clara Muhammad School and Beulah Baptist Church. Others will include Calvin Presbyterian Church and The Ford-McKarobin Foundation of Learning. Sister Clara Muhammad School Beulah Baptist Church Calvin Presbyterian Church New Beginnings Sanctuary of Praise COGIC C. Place twenty-one refurbished computer labs (of no less than eight machines each) in communities of faith. We will establish at least five new computer labs per year. We have compiled a long list of possible sites and we are working with community partners to prioritize this work. Emmanuel Presbyterian Church Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship Triumphant Faith International Worship Center Eastwick United Methodist Church Crusaders Community Development Corporation Millennium Baptist Church World Tabernacle Gate to Heaven Ministry Conquerors CDC/Victory Christian Center Sayre United Methodist Church Wharton-Wesley United Methodist Church Holy Cross Baptist Church D. Develop and teach nine new technology classes which provide job training, basic and advance software skills, and experience in working with hardware. We will develop and teach nine new technology classes in communities of faith. Such classes provide job training, basic and advanced software skills and experience in working with hardware. We will create at least two programs per year in each of the four years. These will include St. Cyprian Catholic Church, Metropolitan Baptist Church, The Ford-McKarobin Foundation of Learning, Taylor Tabernacle Expanding, and Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church. First African Presbyterian Church Taylor Tabernacle Monumental Baptist Church Potter House Mission Train the Trainers course E. Develop three new "academically based community service" classes at Penn, and three new urban ministry classes in conjunction with local seminaries. At Penn, we will build upon the successful courses recently established in the Religious Studies and Music Departments, establishing three new courses over the next four years. Three other courses will be created at the local seminaries over the life of the grant. David Henfield Plans for an education series and spring health fair Hillel volunteers help at Health Clinic F. Expand health care knowledge and services to the community through congregational nurses, community schools, screenings, and the outreach of the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In this area, we will work with the community outreach health program at Penn’s School of Nursing directed by Margaret Cotroneo. We will share information and have our leadership committees’ work jointly to help strengthen our outreach. We expect cooperation will lead to improvements in our current health outreach, and the development of plans for future collaborations and future joint grant applications. Furthermore, we have agreed to have our students’ work jointly to advertise our programs and to have our programs send referrals to each other. G. The thirty academic interns who staff these projects will be overseen by the program director, a half-time doctoral student at the University. A full-time AmeriCorps VISTA member will make regular site visits to each of the projects, help to direct academic interns, and maintain the program office. An associate director seminarian, a new position, will direct seminary activities. The success of each of our projects requires ongoing collaboration. This collaboration and the relationships it depends upon require extensive work by program staff. Currently 18 students have been hired 2) The seminarian associate director will oversee all seminary related activities. These activities will include the development of one new course and one large meeting in conjunction with the seminaries each year. Field placements and clinical pastoral education (CPE) programs will be developed that connect to PUCFSN’s work. Seminarians will also be engaged as volunteers to support the projects listed above. This new partnership will substantially expand the human resources available for meeting community needs, and most importantly, will be a mutually beneficial partnership, providing meaningful academic and field placement partnerships for the seminaries. 3) Three large meetings will be held each year. One of these meetings will be a day-long event and feature a prominent national speaker. A second meeting will be held in conjunction with local seminaries. The third meeting will be held in conjunction with coalitions from neighboring cities including New York, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. 4) Penn’s commitment to this program will deepen in many ways. One new class will be developed each year, which engages professors and students in PUCFSN’s work. Student volunteers and workstudy students will be increasingly utilized to run PUCFSN projects. One way to do this will be to connect existing student groups to specific projects to provide their ongoing support. PUCFSN will further expand partnerships with University programs including Civic House, the Office of Community Relations, the Urban Studies department, and Dubois House, which will further increase PUCFSN’s infrastructure and accomplish the objective of embedding PUCFSN’s work into the life of the University. Goals The Program in Universities, Communities of Faith, Schools, and Neighborhood Organizations (PUCFSN) under the direction of Dr. Ira Harkavy, Director of the Center for Community Partnerships, and Rev. William Gipson, Chaplain of the University of Pennsylvania, was created to connect area leaders to one another in lasting relationships to meet the shared needs of West Philadelphia. The stated objectives of the program are to 1) develop new and expand existing projects in the areas of afterschool programs, technology, and health care; 2) extend PUCFSN’s partnerships to include local seminaries as central members of its work; 3) strengthen and expand the relationships between community members through regular meetings; and 4) further embed PUCFSN’s work into the life and goals of the University of Pennsylvania. Therefore in the past year we have focused on expanding our program activities across each of the grant areas. We have begun the process of collaboration with local seminaries and seminarians. This second four-year grant has continued the essential partnerships and program activities of the first grant cycle. The two-tier advisory structure has been slightly modified to create a new, smaller Steering Committee comprised of pastors, Penn faculty and staff, public school administrators, community leaders and seminarian representatives that meets three to four times a year and offers direction and feedback for our endeavors and these members are joined by others (similarly comprised) to form the larger Advisory Group. The Advisory Group meets twice a year for further discussion and guidance. These members form the core relationships necessary for continued success of our programs and partnerships. This structure provides regular guidance from and discussion with the Steering Committee and wide based support from the Advisory Group. University of Pennsylvania students continue to provide much of the energy, creativity and work on specific programs. While working on specific sites or project areas our academic interns partner with community of faith leaders and volunteers to develop and expand site activities. They work under the direction of site-based community of faith coordinators and they are placed by our Program Director. Our students are characterized by their independence and commitment of focus. This year we continue to expand in areas by bringing in new community partners and new student workers. Also, Seminarians have joined our work and participate in field education at our community sites. Accomplishments New after school and summer programs We have supported five new youth programs this school year. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, hosts the Expressions program, an Afterschool program that uses the arts to enhance academic skills. Expressions Works collaboratively with the Foundation Community Arts Initiative, a Community gathering site that promotes arts and culture, and Shaw Middle School, a local school two blocks away from Calvary Lutheran Church. Students were selected by their sixth grade teachers who felt that they would benefit from the Expressions program. Ten students participate in the program. Twice a week, two PUCFSN interns lead a variety of artistic activities including projects focusing on identity, family, community, and neighborhood redevelopment. Individual journal writing and reflection follows the interactive and collaborative group projects. Special workshops are held monthly with local artists at the Rotunda, the Foundation’s building. Workshops are intended to generate an awareness among the Expressions students as to what they can accomplish as activists, artists, or community leaders. Artists are chosen by how they can act as role models to the students and how they can engage the students in a fun and challenging artistic activity. Recently workshops have included mask making with Spiral Q Puppet theater on identity, portrait painting with a local painter, as well as a look at neighborhood history by Frances Aulsten at the Paul Robeson House which is a part of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. Ms. Wells at Shaw Middle School, who helped recruit students for the program, has reported that the students have since shown improvement in their class work. Simpson-Fletcher United Methodist Church At Simpson-Fletcher United Methodist Church, Reverend Robert Johnson with the help of two PUCFSN academic interns designed and started this fall an afterschool program for elementary students in the surrounding community. This fall approximately six students received homework assistance, computer instruction, and academic enrichment three afternoons a week. Pastor Johnson was especially pleased with the dedication and enthusiasm of our interns. Christ of Calvary – Collaboration in Action Mentoring Program (CAMP) Under the direction of Reverend Rodney Rogers, CAMP has trained mentors from Christ of Calvary and Sayre United Methodist to mentor seventh graders from Sayre Middle School. In addition to the mentoring program volunteers, PUCFSN academic interns and Henry Gordon, a teacher from West Philadelphia High School, tutor students in math and literacy. Finally, the program has a nutrition component that engages students, their families, and mentors twice-monthly in workshops on nutrition and healthy eating. St. Mary Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village PUCFSN academic interns assist in St. Mary's existing afterschool program housed at Lea School. The afterschool program tutors students in math and reading four days a week. In addition, on Mondays the program moves to St. Mary's where the students are producing a play on civil rights issues. Besides PUCFSN interns, St. Mary’s has recruited several other volunteers to join in producing the play and teaching enrichment curriculum. West Philadelphia High School – Community Partners in Resourcing (CPR) Reverend Rodney Rogers, with the help of a seminarian and an intern, works in a Small Learning Community at West Philadelphia High School to counsel and assist in disciplinary action with non-motivated students. So far, they have found alternatives to suspension and are working to expand these options to more students in difficult situations. In the future, we are working to organize community and faith leaders to collaborate in a plan of action to the needs of West Philadelphia High School students. Through such collaboration we are hoping to improve the learning environment in the schools, promote effective disciplinary solutions, and increase the productive use of a student's time. Extend the work of afterschool programs We have continued and expanded our involvement with four children and youth programs. Community of faith members lead these programs (two of which are faith-based schools) with the assistance of Penn students. Sister Clara Muhammad School Several PUCFSN interns have tutored and provided classroom assistance at Sister Clara Muhammad school. For example, one intern helped a third grader improve his reading skills. Providing one-on-one enrichment in a variety of subjects gives teachers the opportunity to focus on other students. The interns enjoy the atmosphere of this friendly school. PUCFSN has also supported the school’s proposal to become a charter school focusing on Middle Eastern subjects and issues. Beulah Baptist Church One PUCFSN intern continues to teach computers at Beulah Baptist School. Originally only for second and third grades, the program now covers older children as well. Without our assistance students would have very limited access to computers at school. Interns teach them the skills they need to use technology in their schoolwork in later grades. Our intern reports teaching within the school environment provides for excellent discipline and attentive students. Calvin Presbyterian Church Our academic interns continue to assist in the afterschool program at Calvin Presbyterian. The afterschool program includes homework help, math and literacy tutoring, as well as computer instruction. Interns especially bring the computer knowledge to enable the computer instruction as part of this afterschool program. By adding this knowledge, PUCFSN increases the capacity of this continuing program. New Beginnings Sanctuary of Praise COGIC Last summer, two PUCFSN interns provided needed assistance in the summer camp of New Beginnings Sanctuary of Praise COGIC. Run by church volunteers with the help of other communities of faith volunteers, the camp was an excellent example of joint partnership with PUCFSN interns. The community of faith leaders state that without the PUCFSN interns, the program would have been impossible. Children and adults alike raved about the energy and caring the two interns displayed. This camp has extended its length of operation each year, at the request of parents and children. Technology Classes We have technology classes in cooperation with community volunteers and Penn students at three sites. First African Presbyterian Church The computer courses at First African Presbyterian Church focus mainly on seniors who have gained some computer skills in previous classes and now desire new advanced classes. These courses enable the students enrolled in the classes to learn how to use technology to improve their quality of life. As their skills improve it has become necessary to expand the classroom offerings for both beginners and more advanced students. Potter House Mission Classes at the mission are geared to adults who have no computer skills. These classes, focusing on computer basics, provide students with skills to compete on the job market. Courses like this one provide students the opportunity to learn skills that they can use to improve their employment. Train the Trainers course This program is a 6-8 week course on teaching technology geared towards both current and prospective computer teachers in the West Philadelphia community. It is designed for those who already possess a working knowledge of computers from their home, professional or academic use. The goal of Training the Trainers is to create a positive environment in which participants both critique and learn from each other in order to develop and refine their teaching skills. The first three classes cover teaching fundamentals, detail how to outline a course, how to create a lesson plan and offer suggestions on teaching technology. In the second half of the course, participants prepare and teach their own lessons. This exercise is designed to boost participants’ teaching confidence while providing an opportunity to receive constructive comments from their peers and detailed, personal feedback from the course facilitators. Computer Labs Created In conjunction with the Digital Divide Program, we are creating and expanding fourteen computer labs this year in communities of faith with a total of 157 computers as listed below. In addition through the Digital Divide Program we are providing ongoing support to these computer labs. Each of these communities is invited to send several individuals to our Training the Trainers course to ensure that they have the capacity to utilize their computer labs. Several of these communities of faith are already teaching classes and utilizing their computer labs to improve their neighborhoods. We hope to work with these new partners, and others, to improve not only access to technology, but also to offer the curriculum and technical support necessary for serious, long-lasting impact. Calvary Baptist Church, 12 computers Conquerers Community Development Corp., 12 computers Crusaders Community Development Corp., 16 computers Eastwick United Methodist Church, 12 computers Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship, 12 computers Gate to Heaven Ministry, 12 computers Millennium Baptist Church, 12 computers Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 12 computers New Beginnings Church, 3 computers Potter’s House Mission, 12 computers Sayre United Methodist Church, 8 computers Second Antioch Baptist Church, 10 computers Wharton Wesley United Methodist Church, 12 computers Word Tabernacle, 12 computers Health Care Reverend David Henfield, Trauma Chaplain at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, has headed up our efforts in this area. He has worked with leaders of faith communities to access specific health issues and needs. With his help, two PUCFSN interns have recruited doctors and other speakers for a rotating community of faith health education series We have worked in conjunction with three communities of faith: Gate to Heaven, Crusaders for Christ and Calvin Presbyterian Church. We are continuing this program with additional communities of faith, with the expectation that our hosts will collaborate with other organizations and communities of faith to jointly host these speakers. This initiative aims to bring pertinent health information to communities that lack easy access to these subjects. In addition, we are planning a health fair in the fall hosted by local communities of faith. We are also exploring ways to collaborate with other health care initiatives to use technology to provide additional resources, utilizing the computer resources at Sayre Middle School, and a computer based health care curriculum and resource list developed by the Digital Divide Program. This fall, we developed a partnership with Tzedek Hillel (a student led community service organization) and a free Health Clinic at First African Presbyterian Church. The clinic is staffed by University of Pennsylvania Medical, Nursing and Social Work graduate students. Tzedek Hillel students assisted in surveying patients and making information readily and clearly available to attendees. Seminarians One exciting new partnership in this grant cycle is the opportunity of closer collaboration with local seminaries. This summer, in cooperation with our community partners, we developed several field education opportunities for seminarians at Lutheran Theological Seminary. The director of Contextual Education, Dr. Charles Leonard, in addition to President Philip Krey, has been committed to this partnership and he chose two seminarians to work with us at our non-traditional field education sites. Stephanie Collins is working with Rev. Rodney Rogers at West Philadelphia High School. She provides counseling and assesses the needs of students and families, working with staff to determine the best possible solutions for students in need. Stephanie has taken on responsibilities in facilitating meetings with potential community partners with a goal of providing long-term solutions to some of the challenges facing students at West Philadelphia High School. A’Shellarien Smith is working with Rev. Kevin Porter and a newly formed group of five West Philadelphia Presbyterian churches called the "Philadelphia Working Five." With new joint funding and a new mandate this group is expanding the role of these five churches as an independent organization. A’Shellarien visits and participates in their individual services, meets their pastors, and attends their monthly working group meetings. This has afforded her the opportunity to witness how churches with complex, even competing histories, negotiate an expanding partnership. In addition she has worked with our health initiative to establish a series of health education talks with one of these parishes. She has been able to connect our resources in other ways as well, for example, in explaining Partners for Sacred Places to one pastor and planning a youth fair with another. We are pleased to work with these talented seminarians and to be able to offer such unique opportunities for urban field work. Lutheran Theological Seminary, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and Princeton Theological Seminary field education directors: Dr. Charles Leonard, Rabbi Gail Glicksman, Dr. Harry Freebairn, Chester Polk, and Kate Bilis-Bastros. joined our steering committee in January to discuss deepening and expanding our interactions. These directors were excited, committed, and clear about the future of this program. They also suggested possible collaborations for urban ministry courses. We have met with Dr. Katie Day of Lutheran Seminary, director of their urban ministry concentration to discuss possibilities for joint courses between the University of Pennsylvania and Lutheran. The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has a strong social action component, and Rabbi Glicksman has already explored the possibility for students to receive credit for coursework related to our field education options (mainly non-Jewish). Meetings Meetings continue to be essential to developing and maintaining our partnerships. The Steering Committee (formerly the Working Group) has met twice. In June they worked to plan activities and add new programs. In January, joined by seminarian field education directors, they discussed seminarian partnerships and goals. The Advisory Group met in November to hear about programs and share ideas and stories. They convened several smaller committees to plan the Spring Conference and develop the health initiative. In addition, we have helped facilitate the following meetings to expand the relationships between community members: Last spring, several staff members from the CCP joined to create and develop a Communities of Faith Non-Profit Institute (CONFI). COFNI was held for five days in late October and focused on church finance administration, 501c(3) creation, risk management, insurance and accounting. Twenty-five members of Communities of Faith participated in this training and professional development institute. We have since established further contact with several of these new partners and will work for continued development of relationships. Program in Nonprofits, Universities, Communities and Schools (PNUCS). This fall university leaders from across the country came together for a conference on community partnerships. They met with some of our community of faith partners over a two day period. Our religious leaders shared their experiences with PUCFSN as well as their hopes and dreams for further collaboration. Their articulate, moving testimonies impressed the visiting faculty and led to a frank conversation. As a result of the expressed wish of several pastors for greater architectural assistance, we have expanded our contacts with Partners for Sacred Places. Partners is a non-profit organization that provides expertise in fundraising, grant writing, and building usage assessments for older religious buildings in Philadelphia and around the country. With our encouragement, several of our community partners have decided to take the free training offered Partners for Sacred Places. The PUCFSN Spring Conference “What about the Children? The Response of Communities of Faith to Children’s Issues” was held on April 30th at Sister Clara Muhammad School, approximately 75 people attended. In the midst of recent tragedy at Sister Clara Muhammad School, the principal Dr. Faridah Ali gave some inspirational remarks. She asked the question, “If the religious communities cannot come together to address the challenges of the neighborhoods, my God who then?” Mr. Kenny Gamble, a Philadelphia-native Grammy award winner and philanthropist, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Gamble discussed the fact that children only respond to what they are seeing. He advocated for the importance and necessity of going into the communities, taking over the street corners, and talking to the people. He also provided a brief overview of the model provided by Universal Companies. Naomi Post Street served as the moderator for the Panel on Children’s Issues and Roles of Communities of Faith in response to These Issues. Ms. Post Street is a Child Advocate and a Consultant of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The panel members included Loretta Sweet Jemmott, from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, Reverend Joseph Conner, from New Beginnings Sanctuary of Praise, and Shelly Yanoff, from the Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth. These experts provided concrete ideas for communities of faith to continue and improve addressing children’s issues. Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) Courses Dr. Timothy Rommen, Assistant Professor of Music (Ethnomusicology) was offer a course entitled “West Philadelphia Gospel Music - Communities of Faith, Faith in Community. The goals of this course are to facilitate a collaborative research environment, to produce a CD-Rom documentary, and to use the documentary as a first step toward creating an accessible, internet-based archive of West Philadelphia gospel music. Several other professors have expressed definite interest in developing ABCS courses. We are hopeful that courses will be offered by Dr. Barbara Savage (History) and Dr. Leslie Calahan (Religious Studies). There are several new faculty in the Religious Studies Department who we hope will develop new courses related to West Philadelphia. Our community partners are able to provide considerable assistance to faculty new in the area, both in their areas of research expertise and the development of new course offerings on religious diversity in Philadelphia. Challenges and Solutions As information spreads about our programs, we have gained many new partners. The challenge is to hire enough students to staff new program activities each semester, while at the same time maintaining our prior commitments. We are also asking each community of faith partner to provide volunteers as well as transportation for our interns. We hope that with these requests, we will provide for better long term sustainability. This year we had greater difficulty finding a seminarian associate director than envisioned. Future Directions We expect to continue to attract, or recruit community partners while at the same time expanding our existing and founding programs. Our work with local seminaries and seminarians is at the beginning stage but we are excited about its possibilities. At this time we have some relationship with approximately eighty communities of faith and an active relationship with forty-five. Urban ministry and ABCS courses will allow us to further integrate PUCFSN’s work with both seminaries and the University of Pennsylvania.