ASAP

Section I: Organization Information

Agency Mission: ASAP's mission is to keep Philadelphia youth (K-12) safe and active in the dangerous afternoon hours in an effort to decrease the incidences of violence involving unsupervised youth.

Name/Title of Contact: Maria Walker, Executive Director

Address: 1520 Locust Street, Suite 1104, Philadelphia, PA 19102

Phone Number: 215-545-2727, ext 15

Website: http://www.phillyasap.org/

Email: mwalker@phillyasap.org

Total number of agency staff members: 7

Agency Budget: $850,000

Section II: Community Need

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 youth in Philadelphia spend between 20-25 hours a week alone after school. Police statistics indicate the most dangerous time for school-aged youth is between the hours of 3-6pm. These unsupervised youth are more likely to use alcohol, tobacco and drugs and are susceptible to being victims of crime or becoming involved in risky behaviors after school. ASAP’s programs address important issues facing youth today: health (including anti-violence, childhood obesity); and education (including truancy, the drop out rate and opportunities for higher education).

Describe how your agency addresses this need, and how the new capacity created by this fellow will help alleviate the problem.

ASAP creates safe and enriching opportunities for Philadelphia’s youth through several citywide initiatives, including The Philadelphia Youth Chess Challenge, the Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League, Philly Plays Scrabble, Philly Dance, and Yoga Youth. ASAP’s clubs engage more than 6,000 Philadelphia students annually throughout the school year and into the summer and take place in schools, community and recreation centers, churches, libraries and homeless shelters in Philadelphia. ASAP purposely reaches out to establish clubs in communities hardest hit by crime and violence to provide safe alternatives for Philadelphia’s youth.

Many of ASAP’s clubs are volunteered-led and/or result from long-term partnerships with organizations and community initiatives within specific areas. These partnerships fall into three categories: (1) Adopt-a-School Programs; (2) Student Led Initiatives; and (3) Neighborhood Grant Projects. The Philly Fellow will maintain and, if possible, expand the number of after school clubs produced by these types of community partnerships. The Philly Fellow’s Community Outreach Coordinator position is key to developing and maintaining strong, positive ties in the community. This ultimately benefits Philadelphia's at-risk youth by providing opportunities to create new enrichment clubs with positive mentors in underserved areas of the city.

Describe the level of community involvement in the fellow’s project.

The Fellow will be very involved at the community level, working on a regular basis with Philadelphia School District personnel (teachers, principals, etc.), local college and university professors (University of the Sciences, Temple, Villanova and Philadelphia Universities), site administrators (community, recreation centers, shelters and libraries), corporate contacts (Wachovia Bank, Deloitte, Leadership Inc.) and other key partners (Society Hill Synagogue, Germantown Jewish Centre, etc.) and creating new partnerships with organizations across the city.

Section III: Job Description

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

• Oversee the recruitment, selection and placement of all club leaders and volunteers for community partnership clubs;
• Arrange orientation and training for club leaders and volunteers;
• Process all necessary paperwork (clearance forms, memoranda of understanding, etc.) for volunteers and club leaders;
• Maintain a database of measurable demographic statistics for neighborhood grant projects (e.g. age, gender, ethnic make-up of clubs, etc.);
• Attend community and school-based fairs and assist at ASAP special events;
• Attend community and project evaluation meetings and present results, progress, etc.;
• Recruit additional organizations to support/participate in ASAP’s community projects; • Identify opportunities to build partnerships with organizations through which ASAP can develop strategic programmatic relationships;
• Capture stories of successes and challenges from the field for newsletter or website publication;
• Communicate and work with area media personnel to promote and highlight ASAP’s accomplishments and events in the press;
• Maintain press contacts, articles and press kit materials;
• Create flyers and outreach materials;
• Create strategies for recruitment of club leaders and sites;
• Assist with grant research and writing as needed; and,
• Update website and facebook page with timely information.•

Please outline in list form the skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in the position.

• 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;
• Be available for occasional week night and/or weekend events and meetings;
• Be organized, professional and punctual;
• Be willing to make site visits at schools, community and recreation centers, and faith-based organizations across the City of Philadelphia;
• Possess excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Have good computer skills;
• Be able to prioritize work and problem solve;
• Enjoy working as part of a small, energetic team;
• Have a good sense of humor; and,
• Believe in the mission of ASAP.

Please describe your agency's plan to orient and train the fellow.

The fellow will meet with all 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. In addition, the 09-10 fellow will be asked to train the new fellow during the first two weeks of the fellowship. During the summer prior to the beginning of the fellowship, the executive director will be in touch with the fellow through emails and phone calls to provide background information on ASAP and the Community Outreach position. Once onboard, the fellow will observe trainings and accompany ASAP staff on site visits to returning sites/clubs and meet with different community partners to discuss programming for the upcoming scholastic year. The fellow will have ongoing opportunities for professional development both on the job, through interaction with the executive director and the president, and through free workshops and seminars made possible through United Way, Independence Foundation and other organizations. The fellow will also benefit from input and interaction with ASAP staff, one of which is a former Philly Fellow.

Section IV: Project Plan

Please describe the proposed project goal(s) you expect the fellow to achieve. These should relate to your community need and reflect the long-term impact of the fellow’s project.

As community outreach coordinator, the fellow will coordinate several community partnerships and several neighborhood grant projects. The fellow will recruit, train and place approximately 70 volunteers to lead weekly activities – at least one semester in length -- at sites identified by community partners. ASAP executive staff will monitor trainings and meetings run by the fellow to ensure quality. The fellow will also be required to process clearance forms for all volunteers and maintain up-to-date files on all volunteers.

Community project clubs organized by the fellow should engage approximately 350 of Philadelphia’s youth. The fellow will be required to maintain measurable statistics (club attendance, club demographics, etc.) pertaining to community project clubs to include in regular progress reports.

The fellow will assist with research and grant writing to benefit the expansion of ASAP enrichment programs.

Part of community outreach is the dissemination of ASAP programs and priorities, which is accomplished primarily through our website and press. The proper maintenance of website and facebook content and press contacts accomplishes this goal.

ASAP serves more than 6,000 Philadelphia youth in grades K-12. These kids primarily come from low-income families with few resources to provide appropriate after school activities. The fellow’s work will directly benefit this population. By successfully reaching the goals outlined, ASAP hopes to increase the number of after school activities in an effort to decrease the incidence of violence involving unsupervised youths.

Long term, the Philadelphia community will benefit by ensuring that at-risk youth have a place to be and a fun activity to engage in, which will help keep them safe, healthy and challenged during the after school hours. This will hopefully result in a greater overall academic achievement and an increase in school attendance.

Section V: The Nitty Gritty

Will fellow be working at the same address listed above?

Yes

Please describe the fellow's work environment.

Fellow will have a shared office.
Fellow will have their own desk.
Fellow will have their own computer.

Please list the name and title of the fellow's immediate supervisor.

Maria Walker, Executive Director

Please approximate the percentage of time fellow will work:

Independently: 45%
As a team member in a group setting: 35%
As a team leader in a group setting: 20%

Travel:

Will the fellow be expected to travel as part of the position?

Yes

If so, how often and where?

The Community Outreach Coordinator will attend meetings in the community as well as visit after school clubs in schools, community centers, churches, recreation centers and libraries operating in all sections of Philadelphia.

Will the fellow need the following to carry out the position?

A driver’s license: No
Their own car: No

Section VI: Supervision/Resources

Please briefly describe plans for supervision of fellow:

The fellow will work both individually and as part of a small team and will meet regularly with the executive director to discuss direction, challenges, accomplishments and strategy. Additional direction will come from the president and co-workers. The fellow will be included at all staff meetings and other staff functions. A word about the executive director’s management style: the director will guide the fellow to learn and master the duties in the job description, and additionally, after observing the fellow’s work style, will assign duties based on the fellow’s interests and strengths to assist in the fellow’s well-rounded professional development.

What methods, information, or data will you use to evaluate the fellow’s success in their position and your agency’s success in meeting your community need?

ASAP will evaluate the fellow based on his/her ability to reach the specific goals and accomplishments outlined in preliminary meetings with community partners and neighborhood project grant proposals. ASAP will also evaluate the fellow based on his/her ability to establish new partners within the communities. Evaluation will take place through face-to-face meetings with the executive director and emails with the pertinent data.

Encore: Application wasn’t long enough for you? 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 partnerships and ideas, as well as have fun while learning valuable work skills that will contribute to the fellow’s professional development. Over the course of the year, the fellow will experience all aspects of running a small non-profit organization. In addition, the fellow will have an opportunity to work closely with ASAP’s President, Marciene Mattleman, a former Temple University education professor, KYW News Radio Education Reporter and recipient of the 2007 Philadelphia Award for her lifelong commitment to improving educational resources for the city’s youth.