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With 125 combined years of promoting community growth, Sunrise of Philadelphia Inc., 1900 S. Eighth St., and United Communities Southeast Philadelphia, 2029 S. Eighth St., have amassed many admirers.
The organizations earned the esteem of the Pennsylvania Department of Education July 11, joining 59 other agencies as 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant winners. Their three-year endowments will help the local crusaders to address various public needs, with fostering an enriched future for area children heading their respective agendas.
“I was elated when hearing the news,” Loretta Crea, Sunrise’s founder and chief financial officer said Monday. “Continued support for youngsters will open even more doors and really benefit everyone.”
The resident of Second and Moore streets established Sunrise in 1999, relying on certified teachers to craft an after school mixture of guidance, homework help and tutoring for underachieving students. Along with bolstering their mastery of traditional academics, pupils have come from Edward Bok High School, 1901 S. Ninth St.; Eliza B. Kirkbride, 1501 S. Seventh St.; Francis Scott Key, 2230 S. Eighth St.; St. Nicholas of Tolentine, 913 Pierce St., which will become St. Anthony of Padua next year; and Southwark, 1835 S. Ninth St., schools to deepen their knowledge of arts and crafts, computers, culture and sports. A two-month camp for kindergartners through eighth-graders ensures a safe summer, and an assortment of career learning options and clubs keeps older pupils mindful of postsecondary opportunities.
“It is so vital to have chances to evolve, and we’ve been fortunate to witness tremendous strides,” Crea, whose site’s secondary work program has landed jobs for 143 teenagers, including enrollees at The Academy at Palumbo, 1100 Catharine St., and Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., said.
Having claimed the same grant early last decade, the Pennsport dweller applied in April for another endowment. Choosing 21 Philadelphia hopefuls among 61 awardees, the state allotted Sunrise $328,429 from a $19.8 million total. Considering South Philly’s burgeoning migrant population in constructing her proposal, Crea mentioned the influence of Asian ethnicities has left many arrivals feeling disconnected as they attempt to remain loyal to their heritage while knowing they must adapt to newness.
“It can be frightening for them to find direction,” the advocate, whose East Passyunk Crossing site recently completed a pilot credit recovery program for seniors at Bok; Horace Furness, 1900 S. Third St., and South Philadelphia, 2101 S. Broad St., high schools, said. “Therefore, we are going to intensify outreach to middle school students, who are already going through a ton biologically and emotionally.”
To decrease their timidity, Crea also is looking to open up classes for migrant parents and, to counter a dearth of scientific interest, will add the Franklin Institute as a partner.
“Not enough people are becoming doctors or engineers,” she said. “Many future figures could be right here in South Philadelphia.”
Francis Carney, executive director of United Communities, a Lower Moyamensing entity that has aimed to strengthen its surroundings through pre-school and after-school programs and job readiness and training classes, among numerous aids, since its merger with the 112-year-old Houston Community Center in 1969, joins Crea in having science on the brain. He submitted a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant application in January.
“The news certainly came as a plus,” he said. “We plan to work to enhance the science curriculum at Furness.”
Carney noted these grant recipients tend to focus on middle schools, but his organization, a member of the Federation of Neighborhood Centers, is electing to advance its three-year relationship with the Pennsport school. Looking to connect with 60 youngsters, United Communities is touting science, technology, engineering and math in fulfilling its first such grant.
“We already have scientific aspects, like radio and video clubs, so we will just need to increase the analysis of what processes actually occur,” Carney said.
Soon-to-be Furness seniors showed their penchant for the natural world Monday, hawking produce they had grown at a formerly vacant lot at Eighth and Mercy streets. The Urban Sustainability Leadership Academy members are running Teens 4 Good, the federation’s agricultural venture whose inspirational components have helped 93 percent of the proprietors to graduate.
“That’s far above the school district’s average,” Jesus Soto, United Communities director for the Furness Out-of-School-Time program, said.
Last year’s on-time graduation rate hit 61 percent, according to the district’s Office of Accountability. Mayor Michael Nutter has stated a desire for an 80-percent mark by 2014, so United Communities staffers are zeroing in on helping 12- to 18-year-olds, with the younger students coming through after-school interaction at Southwark, D. Newlin Fell, 900 W. Oregon Ave., and George Sharswood, 2300 S. Second St., schools. Though the age bracket covers sixth through 12th grades, the organization has decided to call on its $96,000 in funds to benefit Furness, which will welcome Daniel Peou, former principal at George W. Childs School, 1599 Wharton St., as its new leader.
“The intent of this grant is to fund the establishment and sustainability of community learning centers that provide additional educational services to students in high-poverty and low-performing schools,” Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis said in a statement on the department’s website, which noted the state wishes to “enhance academic opportunities for at-risk students.”
The use of “at-risk” led United Communities’ director of operations Karla Howard to analyze the term’s sweeping nature.
“All children are at-risk in such times,” she said of communities’ instability.
According to the Southeast Youth Collaborative, a William Penn Foundation initiative operating out of the Houston Center and targeting youngsters residing south of Market Street and east of Broad Street, 22 percent of youths speak a language other than English and 49 percent of families with children ages 12 to 17 live in poverty.
Because of those statistics, United Communities aims to devise a safe haven for children and parents, with continued advocacy including a parent council and discussions on preventing compulsive gambling and substance abuse.
“Our 21st Century grant will help Furness, but we’ll lump together resources to further our overall outreach,” Soto said. “Grants have a way of inspiring more creativity, and this one’s science emphasis should lead to new ideas.” SPR
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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