Our current work includes
(a) Lending Helping Hands at Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School. As part of the Philadelphia School District’s Read By 4th program aimed at enabling kids read at grade level by the 4th grade, our volunteers spend time reading to children in grades kindergarten- through second grade. Our second activity, Café Bethune is a catered luncheon for students who are chosen by
the school as “Student of the Month.” Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is our third initiative at Bethune Elementary. Among other things, we hosted an Hour of Code for all 780 students aimed at introducing Computer Programming to the students. In addition, under the STEM umbrella we sponsored the Great American Paper Airplane Race. Winners were awarded iPad minis at the Pyramid STEM Showcase, a community event intended to introduce the STEM field to families of a low-income community. (b) Entrepreneurship (Living-Wage Job Creation). We are partnering with diverse stakeholders, including the Philadelphia Commerce Department and the Germantown-Erie Merchant Association to assist small entrepreneurs and their companies create local jobs. Germantown and Erie is home to approximately one hundred entrepreneurs and businesses. The intersection is the third busiest transit stop on the Broad Street line with over 7,000 boarding per day. In an effort to provide living wage jobs for residents of the community we are working with the Philadelphia Commerce Department and the entrepreneurs to create a thriving commercial corridor. Our marketing campaign to promote the corridor includes sponsoring the website www.shopgermantownanderie.com which was listed on the City Council of Philadelphia’s website as a part of their “Commercial Corridor Spotlight.”
