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Christopher DiCapua’s passions get to manifest in a few really powerful ways within his Passyunk Square community. The professor of Spanish at the Community College of Phialdelphia started getting involved with his neighborhood almost four years ago with the Columbus Square Park Advisory Council. “I started out as the programming chair and helped bring programming to the center,” he explained, helping the rec leader jumpstart the then-new space. “I taught Spanish classes there as a volunteer early on.” Even though he’s been involved with the Passyunk Square Civic Association since 2011 as a board liaison to the three parks in the civic’s catchment (Gold Star Park at Sixth and Wharton streets and Capitolo at Ninth and Federal streets, too), bridging cultural gaps has always been his forte.
The parks and playground liason role, he said, became bigger than creating and celebrating programming.
“I expanded the role to immigrant outreach coordinator and in that role I’ve done a couple initiatives – one of them is a low-cost ESL class at Columbus Square. I’m the point person for everyone who wants to enroll,” he said.
They charge a very nominal cost, mostly just to get learners invested, but “we don’t really care about the money,” he said. “Another thing I do is I help coordinate a program called the South Philly Language Exchange Program and the idea is to bring Spanish speakers and English speakers together for language reasons but the big thing is community involvement.”
He helps coordinate the translation of monthly PSCA newsletters into Spanish with immigrant communities in mind.
“The idea here is to make our immigrant neighbors here feel welcome and that they’re a part of this community and they’re wanted and they’re accepted,” he explained.
He and his colleagues have been working on a Philadelphia Activities Grant that will help them get their newsletters translated into Chinese, as well.
At CCP, DiCapua’s the international studies program supervisor and, for his efforts, he recently won a Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award. “At this point in my life I’m able to do this because I have the time and the energy to do it and I’m gonna keep doing it until I can’t anymore,” he said, adding “I love working with the community and my passion has always been other cultures and I’ve found a way to help and combine my passions.”
And lately, he feels like he’s starting to see immigrant families healthier and happier than ever before.
“Now you’re starting to see that they’re becoming woven into the fabric of our society and they were so isolated and separate before – and when I see that it warms my heart,” he said. “I see these immigrant families with a smile on their face, and I can see a marked shift in their condition. I love to see that – it’s so nice.”
Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
2014 Difference Makers
/ L. Jay Agnes / Christine M. Beady / Jessica Calter / Mikki Capo /
/ Barbara Capozzi / Giovanna Cavaliere /
/ Christopher DiCapua / Marlo and Jason Dilks / Marie DiStefano / Beth Dougherty /
/ Cornell Drummond / Maureen Fratantoni / Etrulia (Trudy) Gay / Jess Gould /
/ David and Lisa Grainge / Richie Lazer / Tim Lidiak /
/ Shane Martin / Laura McColgan / Akhenaton Mikell / Russell Shoemaker / Lionel Simmons / Tom Wyatt/
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