Welcome to the second issue of our newsletter. We were able to reach more than 1,200 people with the first issue, and we want to make sure we are providing information that is relevant and useful to our readers. We are committed to sharing information, data, maps and stories that highlight key issues facing this community. We look forward to your advice and feedback, and I encourage you to e-mail me at the address below with your comments.

Thanks,
Pat McGuigan, Executive Director
pmcguigan@provplan.org

YouthBuild featured in The Providence Phoenix 
“If 10 months in a program like YouthBuild can put youth on the road to good-quality jobs, that’s a good investment,” noted Frank Shea, executive director of the nonprofit Olneyville Housing Corporation, in a Providence Phoenix article featuring YouthBuild Providence.

The story, which ran in the Dec. 16-22 issue, highlights many of the individual and collective achievements of YouthBuild Providence, a program of The Providence Plan designed to give high school dropouts the skills and academics needed for a career in the construction field. But the author of The Providence Phoenix story also noted that despite bipartisan congressional support for the national YouthBuild program, federal dollars have been shrinking. YouthBuild staff members have to “live by their wits and be incredibly creative in putting together public and private support,” explained Patrick McGuigan, executive director of The Providence Plan, in the Phoenix article. [more on Article...]

Mapping web site identifies “distressed properties” in city’s neighborhoods
Working with the City of Providence and community partners, The Providence Plan recently launched a web site highlighting underutilized and abandoned property. This site is designed to help city officials, community partners, policymakers, planners and developers transform vacant and abandoned properties into revenue-generating assets. It also serves as a tool for citizens and community groups to follow trends in their neighborhoods and provide local insight.

The site is part of the Providence Urban Land Reform Initiative – a joint project of The Providence Plan, the Providence Department of Planning and Development, and a host of community organizations. To develop the interactive database and maps (which depict the distressed properties both in isolation and within the context of the surrounding neighborhood), ProvPlan identified early-warning signs of physical and financial abandonment, such as code violations and tax delinquency, and then collected this information from existing but separate databases. ProvPlan also conducted a survey of problem properties. The result is a fully searchable consolidated database covering all properties in the city.

A temporary password (user: enews; password: property) will let you access the site for 30 days. Visit http://maps.provplan.org/ulr/.
[more on Mapping...]

Ready to Learn Providence brings Mind in the Making to RI
When does learning begin and how is it nurtured? What role does social and emotional development play? Are we born with an innate drive to solve problems?

These are just a few of the fascinating questions addressed in Mind in the Making: The Science of Early Learning, a comprehensive and multi-faceted program developed by the Families and Work Institute (FWI). This March, Mind in the Making will make its debut in Rhode Island, thanks to Ready to Learn Providence (a program of The Providence Plan) and a grant from the United Way.

After years of identifying, filming and translating the most rigorous and compelling research on early learning, FWI is just now beginning to pilot the program at selected sites across the country. In March, Ready to Learn Providence (R2LP) will offer the intensive six-day training session to 30 participants who agree to facilitate at least two training sessions for early-care providers and educators in the next few years. [more on Mind...]

74 new graduates of HeadsUp! Reading enjoy a night in their honor
Surrounded by spouses, children, parents and neighbors, 74 new graduates of HeadsUp! Reading received certificates, books, gifts and thunderous applause at a ceremony held Dec.15 at Casey Family Services on Eddy Street.

Ready to Learn Providence has been offering HeadsUp! Reading for more than two years now, with nearly 300 of Providence’s family-care and center-based providers having completed the 45-hour course. Offered in both English and Spanish, HeadsUp! Reading focuses on the development of early literacy skills in preschool settings. [more on HeadsUp!...]

Training programs for community and faith-based organizations to get under way in February
New Roots Providence, a project funded with a $950,000 Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration grant and managed by The Providence Plan, will kick off its training programs in February. The first three-hour training session is titled “Clarifying an Organization’s Mission, Vision and Purpose.” This kick-off session will set the stage for organizational efficiency and success. Those attending will learn how to establish or reposition their existing mission, vision and purpose as the foundation for successful program design and planning, fundraising, marketing and human resource management. This session also features an introduction to program design.

This first program will be offered on Wednesday, February 15, and on Saturday, February 18, from 9 a.m. to noon. New Roots training programs are free and open to all community and faith-based organizations doing work in Providence. [more on Training...]


New Roots survey reveals training needs
Surveys administered at a series of meetings held in December will help New Roots Providence and its partners identify common training needs among community and faith-based organizations. The completed surveys represented 59 organizations throughout the city.

New Roots staff will use the results of this short survey – titled the Training and Technical Assistance Questionnaire – to guide the development of its technical assistance and capacity-building training. Survey respondents indicated that fundraising and organizational development were among their highest priorities for training. [more on Survey...]

Article, cont.
In partnership with Habitat for Humanity, Greater Providence Inc., the ninth class of YouthBuild Providence is currently building an affordable house for a low-income family in the city’s Silver Lake neighborhood.

“Each time I visit YouthBuild I am impressed by the remarkable level of energy, determination and dedication of the students and staff members,” Mayor David N. Cicilline told the Phoenix reporter.

Read the article here. [top]

Mapping, cont.
Proponents of the Providence Urban Land Reform Initiative believe that the combination of an engaged public, a reliable information stream, and a concise set of action steps will create an environment where distressed properties trigger an earlier response and where housing and economic opportunities are more readily identifiable.

“For example,” says Jim Lucht, who heads the project for The Providence Plan, “a community organization might see an abandoned lot that could be used as a community garden. Or an agency may be able to offer aid to someone who is starting to get into trouble with property taxes.”

As the designer of this information system, ProvPlan is taking the lead in maintaining and enhancing it. Responsibilities include preparation of city and proprietary datasets, posting utilization/abandonment input from community partners, providing trainings, and responding to user suggestions. Funding for the project has been provided by The Rhode Island Foundation, The Brookings Institution, RI Department of Health, and the Fannie Mae Rhode Island Partnership Office. [top]

Mind, cont.
“The ultimate purpose of this program is to bring the latest information on child development and learning to those who work with our youngest children,” explains Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of the Families and Work Institute. Galinsky, a national policy leader and an advocate for family and work issues, appears regularly on programs such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, 20/20 and Oprah.

A representative from FWI will lead the initial program at R2LP, which is being offered in two three-day sessions. After completion of that program, participants will be paired up to serve as facilitators for a total of nine training sessions – all funded with the United Way grant. Some of the participants in the first session will be members of the R2LP staff, but many will come from other organizations and educational centers involved with school readiness and early learning.

In addition to the videos and workbooks developed for the training program, FWI is filming and editing a three-part television program – also titled Mind in the Making and covering much of the same material – that is expected to air just before school starts late this summer. The television program, like the training program, will look at how children learn, the skills they need for a successful start in school, the link between emotional and cognitive development, and instructional approaches that have achieved results.

National research for Mind in the Making was compiled from nearly two dozen scholars and early childhood authorities like T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics, emeritus, Harvard University. But while the content is based on the most sophisticated science available, the videos, workbooks and television programs present the material in an accessible and highly compelling format.

“Mind in the Making is going to trigger a national conversation on early learning and emotional development,” notes Joyce Butler, director of Ready to Learn Providence. “I’m delighted that we are playing an integral role in disseminating the information and furthering this discussion here in Providence.”

The Families and Work Institute is a nonprofit center for research that provides data to inform decision-making on the changing workforce, family and community. Founded in 1989, FWI’s research typically tackles emerging issues before they crest and often changes the language of debates.

For more information on Mind in the Making, call Stephanie Enos, R2LP’s coordinator of professional development, at (401) 490-9960. [top]

 

HeadsUp!, cont.
Graduates at the December ceremony included R2LP’s 29 AmeriCorps members, many of whom are working in the city’s libraries and early-care centers promoting early literacy. Thirty-eight of the graduates have applied for college credit from the University of Rhode Island, which requires a 15-page report in addition to participation in the program.

Early-care providers who complete the training program receive a $100 stipend, materials for their settings, and a collection of children’s books.

This month, two Spanish-speaking sessions and one English-speaking session will get under way. The program, which combines nationally produced videos with locally trained facilitators, runs for 15 weeks.

For more information, call Tania Quezada, R2LP’s coordinator of community learning, at (401) 490-9960. [top]

Training, cont.
In March, Simone P. Joyaux, ACFRE, of Joyaux Associates, will provide training on fundraising. Joyaux’ credentials include: Rhode Island 2003 Outstanding Philanthropist; 1987 Outstanding Fundraising Executive; author of Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last; and founder of Women’s Fund of Rhode Island. You can choose a training session on Wednesday, March 8, or Saturday, March 11.

For more information, or to register for one of these sessions, please call Chiv Heng (training coordinator for New Roots Providence) at (401) 455-8880, ext. 218, or e-mail Chiv at cheng@provplan.org. The deadline for registration for the February training is February 8. As space is limited, early registration is recommended.

The Providence Plan, working closely with several partners, secured this federal grant in October. Its purpose is to help community and faith-based organizations improve their ability to provide social services to those in need. ProvPlan is managing the project and serving as an intermediary between local organizations and the federal government. [top]

Survey, cont.
The following are highlights from the New Roots survey. More detailed results can be obtained by contacting Nzinga Misgana at (401) 455-8880 or e-mailing nmisgana@provplan.org.

Organization Profile

56% classified themselves as a Community Based Organization
30% as a Faith Based Organization
11% considered themselves to be both a Community and Faith Based Organization
46% in operation less than 10 yrs, 26% less than 5 yrs
52% have five or less full time staff
74% have annual budgets under $300,000; 44% under $100,000

Services

46% provide services for fewer than 1000 people
16% provide services for more than 1000 people
41% provide services for ex-offenders
34% provide services for children of prisoners
37% provide services for people transitioning from welfare to work
77% provide services for youth
12% provide services in all four focus areas

Capacity Building Needs
Survey participants were asked to select ten training topics covering a broad range of skills. The responses show the biggest needs fall under these categories:

Fundraising (92%)
Organizational Development (90%)
Boards and Governance (79%)
Data and Information (79%)
Staff and Volunteers (72%)
Organizing and Advocacy (72%)
Communication (66%)

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