Section I: Organization Information     

Name/Title of Contact:  Maria J. Walker, Executive Director

Address:  230 S. Broad Street, Ste 400, Phila., PA 19102
 
Phone Number: 215-545-3070

Email Address:  mwalker@phillyasap.org
 
Web Address:  www.phillyasap.org

Total Number of Staff Members: 6 plus 3 part-time (volunteer)
 
Total Agency Budget: $543,739.00

Agency Mission: ASAP rallies the Greater Philadelphia region in a broad campaign to
increase supervised sustainable after school programs for kids.  We recruit volunteers to
organize new after school clubs and assist existing programs as driven by the volunteer’s
interests and the needs of the community.  In order to increase awareness and
accessibility, we organize and make available information on after school recreation
programs.

Fellow’s Job Title:  Youth Program Coordinator


Section II: The Nitty Gritty

1.   Will fellow be working at the same address listed above? If not, please list the address for the fellow’s worksite.

Yes, same address

2.  Will fellow have his or her:   

A. ___Own Office?              __X__Shared Office?            ____No Office?  

B. _X_Own Desk?               ____Shared Desk?              ____No Desk?

C. _X__Own Computer?       ____Shared Computer?      ____No Computer?


3. Please state name and title of fellow’s immediate supervisor.
 Maria Walker, Executive Director

4. Please approximate the percentage of time fellow will work:

_30%__Independently      _40%__As a team member in a group setting   

__30%_As a team leader in a group setting

5. Travel
a. Will fellow be expected to travel as part of his/her position?

b. If so, will travel be: __X__Within Philadelphia?  __x__Outside Philadelphia? (occasionally)

c. How often will they need to travel? occasionally

d. Will fellow need: ____a car?   ____a transpass?  ___X_occasional tokens?

e. Will the agency provide or reimburse for these expenses? We have Philly Car Share.


Section III:  Community Need
Please submit a one paragraph response for each question.

1.  Please state in measurable and quantifiable terms the specific community need that the Philly Fellow will address, including the number of people in the community directly affected by the problem

An estimated 45,000 kids in Philadelphia spend between 20-25 hours a week alone after
school.  Unsupervised kids are more likely to use alcohol, tobacco and drugs.  Kids commit, and are victims of, crime in after school hours. Even in cases where after school
opportunities are available, families are often unaware of the children’s whereabouts.

2.        Describe how your agency addresses this need, and how the new capacity created by this fellow will help alleviate the problem.
ASAP’s Philadelphia Youth Chess Challenge has established 225 chess clubs over the past 5 years with approximately 3,500 students playing weekly. Research shows that kids who play chess improve academic achievement, attendance, strategic thinking and critical thinking.  Colleges and universities also are offering scholarships to students who play chess.  ASAP’s goals for the Chess Coordinator is to maintain existing clubs and establish new clubs, while presenting Philly’s chess-playing youth with information on higher education.

3.        Describe the level of community involvement in the fellow’s project.
The Fellow will be working on a daily basis with Philadelphia school district personnel, non school district club volunteers and maintain regular contact with strategic partners
(Department of Recreation, faith based task force, YouthNet centers) and area media/press
personnel.


Section IV:  Job Description

Please outline in list form the fellow’s duties and responsibilities.

The Chess Coordinator is ASAP’s main administrative/point person for the Philadelphia
Youth Chess Challenge and the end of year tournament at the Eagles’ Stadium.  S/he will:

•        Work closely with ASAP’s Director of Chess Activities;
•        Act as point of contact for all current and potential chess club leaders and sites;  
•        Oversee the recruitment, selection, placement, training and management of the chess club leaders;
•        Arrange orientation and training for club leaders through on-call chess trainers;
•        Update a “How to Lead a Chess Club” manual;
•        Disseminate information on higher education to all Chess Challenge kids;
•        Recruit organizations to support/participate in ASAP’s higher education initiative;
•        Capture stories of successes and challenges from the field;
•        Identify opportunities to build partnerships with organizations through which ASAP can develop chess club sites and build strategic programmatic relationships;
•        Communicate and work with area media personnel to promote and highlight ASAP’s accomplishments and events in the press;
•        Create flyers and outreach materials;
•        Create strategy for recruitment of club leaders and sites.

2. Please outline in list form the skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in this
position. The qualified candidate will:

•        Have a B.A./B.S;
•        Have a strong interest in youth development and the Philadelphia public schools;
•        Be able to manage several tasks simultaneously;
•        Have an interest in chess (though not necessarily the ability to play chess);
•        Possess excellent oral and written communication skills;
•        Have good computer skills;
•        Enjoy and initiate problem solving;
•        Enjoy working as part of a small, energetic team;
•        Believe in the mission of ASAP.


3. Please outline your agency’s plan to orient and train the fellow.

The fellow will be trained by the person currently in the position and will meet with all of the
members of the ASAP staff to learn about the organization as a whole and what the varying needs and responsibilities are associated with the respective positions.  The fellow will also be given a “Chess Coordinator Handbook” that extensively outlines the tasks and procedures of the position. The fellow will work closely with the Director of Chess Activities, with whom s/he will share responsibility for the success of the Chess Challenge.


Section V:  Supervision/Resources

1.        Please briefly describe plans for supervision of fellow.

The fellow will work both individually and as part of a small team and will meet weekly with
his/her supervisor to discuss challenges, accomplishments, and strategy.  The fellow will be included at all staff meetings and other staff functions.  

2. What methods, information, or data will you use to evaluate the fellow’s success in their
position?
We will look at the chess specific goals and accomplishments and base the evaluation on
written materials compiled, as well as overall connections and successes within the
community.


Section VI: Project Plan

Please outline goals and results you expect the fellow to achieve and the measures you will use to evaluate performance. These goals must address the community need stated above.

1.  Please describe the proposed project goal you expect the fellow to achieve.

The fellow will be expected to maintain the existing chess clubs, and endeavor to increase and diversify the communities served through the development of new chess clubs.

In addition, the Chess Coordinator will be responsible for increasing the number of female chess players through ASAP’s Philly Girls Play Chess, an initiative that seeks to boost young female’s interest in chess and sustain active female-players’ commitment to the game.

The Chess Coordinator will increase opportunities to expose Chess Challenge kids to
information on higher education, including college recruiters, scholarships, college
preparatory courses, etc.

2. Please list significant milestones for this project and dates by which they will be
accomplished:

Ensure sustainability of the current number of chess clubs and work to further increase that number over the next school year.  The target for the 2008-2009 school year is to maintain a minimum of 200 clubs citywide, with the goal of expanding by 15 clubs a year.


Section VII. Encore (optional)

Please include any additional information you feel would be useful in evaluating your
application.

This position is one in which the fellow will have an opportunity to work both independently
as well as part of a small, energetic team, all working to create and maintain a better
environment for area school children.  The fellow will be afforded the chance to propose and develop new initiatives and ideas, as well as have fun.