The Deloitte Mentoring Partnership brings together 20 City Year corps members with 20 Deloitte employees from December-June for a unique mentoring opportunity. Deloitte employees provide City Year corps members with an extended network of support and guidance by:
-Providing extra support, guidance, and motivation needed to help them complete their year of service;
-Providing resources for professional and personal development;
-Helping develop a solid LACY (Life After City Year) Plan; and
-Developing an engaged network of City Year alumni, City Year staff and external partners.
Mentors/megntee partners meet at least once a month both on their own and at structured events.
Dana Martin, Development Director, City Year Greater Philadelphia
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Camp City Year
Every year during the School District's Spring Break, City Year runs a day camp to provide a safe place to play and learn while school is out. Preparations for Camp City Year are well underway, because Spring Break is creeping up on us (April 6-9).
Camps are put together over the course of several weeks leading up to spring break. The camps leadership team--corps members who have applied to take on (over and above their day-to-day, in-class time) the challenges of finding places for, planning curricula for, and coordinating the food for 1,000 Kindergarten through 5th grade students.
This year's theme is "Adventures through Time" and will be hosted at four Recreation Centers throughout the city (Myers in Southwest, Marian Anderson in Center City, Murphy in South, and Rivera in Northeast Philadelphia).
Each camper must pay a $10 fee for the week. It's pretty cheap daycare. Each day, students will get to learn about different times and cultures, be fed breakfast, lunch and snack, and be supervised while playing and learning.
Camps are put together over the course of several weeks leading up to spring break. The camps leadership team--corps members who have applied to take on (over and above their day-to-day, in-class time) the challenges of finding places for, planning curricula for, and coordinating the food for 1,000 Kindergarten through 5th grade students.
This year's theme is "Adventures through Time" and will be hosted at four Recreation Centers throughout the city (Myers in Southwest, Marian Anderson in Center City, Murphy in South, and Rivera in Northeast Philadelphia).
Each camper must pay a $10 fee for the week. It's pretty cheap daycare. Each day, students will get to learn about different times and cultures, be fed breakfast, lunch and snack, and be supervised while playing and learning.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Philly Food: Water Ice
Philadelphia is a city well known for specific foods. After all, it’s not a Toledo cheese steak sandwich and it’s not like Denver is known for its soft pretzels. That being said, my favorite Philly specific food is water ice. Now that Daylight Savings Time is upon us and it’s still gorgeous and sunny out, I’m thinking about water ice.
Probably the most common chain to offer water ice is Rita’s. I particularly enjoy their lemon water ice as a refreshing late afternoon treat in muggy July and August. But the best water ice is the kind that comes from the corner store. It’s cheap, it’s plentiful and it comes in a ton of flavors. My particular favorite is to get a small (medium and large are actually humongous) cup of watermelon and pineapple from New Harvest Chinese-American Takeout between 48th and 49th on Spruce Street. It’s $1.50 and the best thing to enjoy on an afternoon in the park. The only caveat: as summer winds down, the owners don’t restock all the flavors, so I found myself limited to only cherry and lemon as options in September. As we gear up for spring, though, I’m pretty amped to see what’s available.
Megan, 24, Recruitment Senior Corps Member
Probably the most common chain to offer water ice is Rita’s. I particularly enjoy their lemon water ice as a refreshing late afternoon treat in muggy July and August. But the best water ice is the kind that comes from the corner store. It’s cheap, it’s plentiful and it comes in a ton of flavors. My particular favorite is to get a small (medium and large are actually humongous) cup of watermelon and pineapple from New Harvest Chinese-American Takeout between 48th and 49th on Spruce Street. It’s $1.50 and the best thing to enjoy on an afternoon in the park. The only caveat: as summer winds down, the owners don’t restock all the flavors, so I found myself limited to only cherry and lemon as options in September. As we gear up for spring, though, I’m pretty amped to see what’s available.
Megan, 24, Recruitment Senior Corps Member
Friday, March 6, 2009
Basic Training Academy
BTA stands for our Basic Training Academy. This is when the bulk of Corps Members’ training happens. BTA lasts for approximately three weeks, and includes a variety of trainings on different topics including: City Year Culture, academic support tutoring, and behavior management tools. During this period, we also do a lot of team building so that we can really come together as a corps, and start our year on a unified note!
Ragina, 24, ProServe senior corps member
Ragina, 24, ProServe senior corps member
Thursday, March 5, 2009
It took a village to raise this child
I am from the East Falls section of Philadelphia. Growing up, I was involved in various activities, including student council, basketball and softball in my neighborhood. I truly feel that my hometown is one of a kind. I am proud to have been raised in such a wonderful community. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child and I am very grateful for all of the love and support I have felt throughout my life.
I serve on the Eagles Youth Partnership team at John Paul Jones Middle School in the Port Richmond area of Philadelphia. Every day my team and I come to Jones with passion and a can-do attitude ready to serve. Each day, every member of my team follows a section of middle school students through their classes offering in-class support and guidance. We also target students that are below basic reading and math levels for one on one tutoring. Aside from academic support, we also run numerous after-school enrichment programs and participate in large and small scale service projects.
I know that I am making a difference because the children I work with are happy every single day I step into their classrooms. Simply knowing that I have the ability to improve the attitude, confidence and grades of a child keeps me focused. This experience is meaningful to me because I know I am an important part of amazing movement. I am honored to give back to my city.
Next year, I plan to return for a second City Year. I want to continue to give back to my city and the youth who shape the future of our community.
Rachel, 19, corps member, Eagles Youth Partnership team at Jones Middle School
I serve on the Eagles Youth Partnership team at John Paul Jones Middle School in the Port Richmond area of Philadelphia. Every day my team and I come to Jones with passion and a can-do attitude ready to serve. Each day, every member of my team follows a section of middle school students through their classes offering in-class support and guidance. We also target students that are below basic reading and math levels for one on one tutoring. Aside from academic support, we also run numerous after-school enrichment programs and participate in large and small scale service projects.
I know that I am making a difference because the children I work with are happy every single day I step into their classrooms. Simply knowing that I have the ability to improve the attitude, confidence and grades of a child keeps me focused. This experience is meaningful to me because I know I am an important part of amazing movement. I am honored to give back to my city.
Next year, I plan to return for a second City Year. I want to continue to give back to my city and the youth who shape the future of our community.
Rachel, 19, corps member, Eagles Youth Partnership team at Jones Middle School
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Why I returned to City Year
My name is Dave and I'ma 2007 grad of TCNJ. After spending my freshman and sophomore years going to class, having fun with friends and working the occasional shift at the Tutoring Center, I decided I was interested in becoming more active on campus, trying to leave my own mark upon the school.
I began to get involved in a bunch of political organizations and campaigns. Eventually, I was involved in bringing fair trade coffee to the library café and eventually the student center, hosting a lecture by Howard Zinn and working on an environmental campaign to improve the school’s recycling. However, I knew that the extracurricular work I did at TCNJ wouldn’t be enough to satisfy my appetite for change.
Luckily, I stumbled across City Year, which gave me the opportunity to continue working not just for myself, but for others as well. Last year I served with a team of fellow idealists at Kensington High School in Philadelphia. I spent my days tutoring and mentoring students, running after-school programs, engaging parents and teachers, setting up college fairs and fashion shows, and everything else my team and I could do to improve the academics and climate of a struggling urban high school.
I decided to come back to serve a second year largely because of both my successes and regrets from last year. My team and I ran an evening college fair that a third of the entire student body attended—after our principal told us the school wouldn’t have had the resources to host one without us. More personally, I worked directly with a number of students whose lives I was able to impact through tutoring and mentoring. For some, I was able to help them get into colleges like Penn State and Temple after spending the year working on their writing skills. Despite these successes, I knew I could do more. I needed to return to City Year for a second year of service.
The experience has been nothing short of life-changing. A few years ago, I certainly couldn’t have imagined that I’d be living in Philadelphia and making an impact in some of the city’s toughest—also, most inspiring—schools and communities. As much as I’ve expanded upon my professional and leadership skills, the impact I’ve been able to make is what I’ll always take away from these two years. If you’re interested in spending a year working to improve the lives of students in this country, I strongly recommend that you think about a year of service with City Year.
Dave, 23, service leader, DVHS Volunteer Management Team
I began to get involved in a bunch of political organizations and campaigns. Eventually, I was involved in bringing fair trade coffee to the library café and eventually the student center, hosting a lecture by Howard Zinn and working on an environmental campaign to improve the school’s recycling. However, I knew that the extracurricular work I did at TCNJ wouldn’t be enough to satisfy my appetite for change.
Luckily, I stumbled across City Year, which gave me the opportunity to continue working not just for myself, but for others as well. Last year I served with a team of fellow idealists at Kensington High School in Philadelphia. I spent my days tutoring and mentoring students, running after-school programs, engaging parents and teachers, setting up college fairs and fashion shows, and everything else my team and I could do to improve the academics and climate of a struggling urban high school.
I decided to come back to serve a second year largely because of both my successes and regrets from last year. My team and I ran an evening college fair that a third of the entire student body attended—after our principal told us the school wouldn’t have had the resources to host one without us. More personally, I worked directly with a number of students whose lives I was able to impact through tutoring and mentoring. For some, I was able to help them get into colleges like Penn State and Temple after spending the year working on their writing skills. Despite these successes, I knew I could do more. I needed to return to City Year for a second year of service.
The experience has been nothing short of life-changing. A few years ago, I certainly couldn’t have imagined that I’d be living in Philadelphia and making an impact in some of the city’s toughest—also, most inspiring—schools and communities. As much as I’ve expanded upon my professional and leadership skills, the impact I’ve been able to make is what I’ll always take away from these two years. If you’re interested in spending a year working to improve the lives of students in this country, I strongly recommend that you think about a year of service with City Year.
Dave, 23, service leader, DVHS Volunteer Management Team
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Mummers
Mummers tradition dates back to 400 BC and the Roman Festival of Saturnalias where Latin laborers marched in masks throughout the day of satire and gift exchange. This included Celtic variations of “trick-or-treat” and Druidic noise-making to drive away demons for the new year. Reports of rowdy groups “parading” on New Years day in Philadelphia date back before the revolution. Prizes were offered by merchants in the late 1800’s. January 1, 1901 was the first “official” parade offered about $1,725 in prize money from the city.
The Mummers parade is a celebration of the New Year but is serious business in Philadelphia. Clubs work on the costumes and practice all year for their one day in the sun (…wind, rain or snow). There are many lively discussions over the scoring by the judges and adherence to the complicated set of rules the marchers must follow when being judged. String Bands are judged on their musical presentation as well as the costumes. Seeing and hearing a String Band performing live in the parade is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Comic clubs tradition from ancient Greek god Momus who was the personification of mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, raillery and stinging criticism. Momus was expelled from heaven for his/her criticisms and ridicule of the gods. The comic clubs continue to raise controversy over these themes they use in the parade that make fun of current issues and news stories such as issues involving religion, ethnicity, and feminism. Many Mummers parade controversies over polices, such as the exclusion of women and the use of black-face, lasted many years.
From www.mummers.com
Also, visit www.mummersmuseum.com
The Mummers parade is a celebration of the New Year but is serious business in Philadelphia. Clubs work on the costumes and practice all year for their one day in the sun (…wind, rain or snow). There are many lively discussions over the scoring by the judges and adherence to the complicated set of rules the marchers must follow when being judged. String Bands are judged on their musical presentation as well as the costumes. Seeing and hearing a String Band performing live in the parade is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Comic clubs tradition from ancient Greek god Momus who was the personification of mockery, blame, ridicule, scorn, raillery and stinging criticism. Momus was expelled from heaven for his/her criticisms and ridicule of the gods. The comic clubs continue to raise controversy over these themes they use in the parade that make fun of current issues and news stories such as issues involving religion, ethnicity, and feminism. Many Mummers parade controversies over polices, such as the exclusion of women and the use of black-face, lasted many years.
From www.mummers.com
Also, visit www.mummersmuseum.com
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