Friday, November 5, 2010

General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids Grants (Deadline: December 15)

The General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids Grant Program is a partnership of the General Mills Foundation, the American Dietetic Association Foundation, and the President's Council on Physical Fitness. The goal of the program is to encourage U.S. communities to improve the eating and physical activity patterns of young people, ages 2-18. In 2011, the program will award 50 grants of $10,000 each to nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies throughout the country that offer innovative programs to help youth adopt a balanced diet and physically active lifestyle. (All funded programs must have at least one nutrition objective and at least one physical activity objective.) Local organizations that work with children, including park districts, health departments, government agencies, Native American tribes, municipal organizations, schools, YMCAs, Boys & Girls clubs, etc., are encouraged to apply. Online applications must be submitted by December 15, 2010. www.generalmills.com/en/responsibility/community_engagement/grants/champions_for_healthy_kids.aspx

Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge

(Deadline: March 15, 2011 - Activities Take 3-12 Weeks to Complete)

As citizens and future stewards of our planet, today's students are in a unique position to become active agents of environmental change. Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge - Encourages students from grades K-12 to team up with their classmates to create replicable solutions to environmental issues in their schools (grades K to five), community (grades six to eight) and world (grades nine to 12). The goal of the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is to do more than jus­t give kids a chance to formulate an experiment and carry it out. Contestants explore an environmental problem that affects their community. As part of the challenge, students must also put together guidelines for how other communities could repeat the project, and they share those guidelines as part of th­e contest. Prizes include scholarships, savings bonds, teacher awards, school grants, adventure trips, green prize packs, and more!
 

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Whale Tail Grants Up to $50,000


WHALE TAIL® Grants

Introduction: The WHALE TAIL®   Grants Program distributes funds from sales of the WHALE TAIL®   License Plate. The grants support programs that teach California’s children and the general public to value and take action to improve the health of the state’s marine and coastal resources. Adopt-A-Beach programs, as well as other beach maintenance and coastal habitat restoration projects that have an educational component, are also eligible for these grants. This grants program focuses on reaching communities that are currently poorly served in terms of marine and coastal education.

Available Funding: A total of $226,000 will be distributed. Applicants may request any amount up to $50,000, and 25-50% of the funding will be allocated in small grants under $10,000.

Categories of Grants: The WHALE TAIL®   Grants Program funds projects that fall into any one of the following three categories: 1) Adopt-A-Beach programs; 2) Youth programs; 3) Programs for the general public.

Eligibility: Applicants must be either a non-profit organization or a governmental entity. For beach operation and maintenance projects, the applicant must be a non-profit organization or local governmental agency. For proposals in the Adopt-A-Beach category, both current and new Adopt-A-Beach managers are eligible to apply.

Deadline is November 1, 2010

 

Some clever proposals that were funded last year:

http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/plate/wtgrant-recipients.pdf

 

More information at: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/plate/plgrant.html

 

 

Friday, September 17, 2010

FW: Presidio Trust Job Announcement - Fort Scott Project Coordinator - Please spread the word

Dear Friends,

 

I am very pleased to announce that the Presidio Trust is hiring a Project Coordinator to help with the Fort Scott project.  As you know, we are continuing to explore the redevelopment of Fort Scott as a place dedicated to national service and leadership.  The new hire will be an integral part of our small team, assisting with all aspects of the project - from constituency development and planning to logistics and communications.  

                            

Information about the position and application process can be found under "Project Coordinator" at: http://www.presidio.gov/trust/jobs/

 

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thanks for helping to spread the word!

 

Take care,  

 

Joshua Steinberger

 

Project Manager – Fort Scott Reuse

Presidio Trust

415.561.5367

 

 

Grants for Youth! Kids Care grants due Sept 27th online

KIDS CARE WEEK GRANTS!

 

APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY

Only one application per youth or youth group.

Youth must be 18 years of age or younger on September 27th, 2010 to qualify.

Youth receiving a generationOn Kids Care Week mini-grant must partner with a registered 501(c)3 (school, non-profit, community group) to develop a project that addresses community needs. Awards will be made payable to partnering 501(c)3 organizations.

Individual youth, classrooms, clubs and groups can apply for the mini-grants.  Take these simple steps to go the extra mile:

  1. Check out the Kids Care Week Fact Sheets on the honorees to learn more about their social issues and how you can help today. To access fact sheets visit www.kidscare.org and use limited time log-in: Makeyourmark and password: kidscare.
  2. Think about your passion, your community and the world and develop a service project that tackles one of the honoree's social issues.
  3. Apply for a mini-grant to fund your project at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KidsCareWeekGrants

 

Grant applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on September 27, 2010.  Applications will be reviewed upon receipt.  Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.  Grant recipients will be notified by October 1, 2010.  Please email questions regarding the grant to info@generationon.org or call us toll free at 1-866-269-0510.

 

 

 

generationOn is a global youth service movement igniting the power of all kids to make their mark on the world.  During Kids Care Week 2010, October 17th to the 23rd, we are asking young people to "make your mark on the world: go the extra mile."

 

To inspire youth to make their mark on the world, we are connecting Kids Care Week 2010 projects to The Extra Mile – Points of Light Volunteer Pathway. This national monument in Washington, DC is dedicated to the spirit of service and honors heroes of our Nation's service movement from founders of major service organizations to civil rights leaders.

Thanks to our partnership with Hasbro Children's Fund, in celebration of Kids Care Week 2010, generationOn will award mini-grants in the amount of $250, to support service projects that are related to the social issues the Extra Mile Honorees addressed.  Issues include:

Aging &the Elderly                  Animals                               Civil Rights                         Disabilities

Disaster Relief                          Economy                             Education                            Environment

Health & Health Care             Homelessness                  Human Rights                    Hunger

Immigration                               Peace                                    Poverty                                Unemployment

Youth

 

About generationOn

Newly created within the Points of Light Institute, generationOn brings the nation's leading youth service organizations and programs under one umbrella including New York-based Children for Children, The League, Learning to Give and Points of Light's KidsCare Clubs, HandsOn Schools and HandsOn Network's youth-driven programs. With service learning and volunteer action at its co re, generationOn mobilizes the energy, ingenuity and compassion of young people, starting at an early age, to discover their power and potential to solve real world problems through service.

 

About Kids Care Week

Kids Care Week, presented by generationOn and celebrated the third week of October, recognizes the power of kids to help others in their community and the world. During the week, young people focus their compassion on a specific social issue through a service project. Kids Care Week culminates on Make a Difference Day, a national day of doing good sponsored by USA Weekend and held in partnership with HandsOn Network. 

 

 

Rebecca Kraus

Manager of Youth Leadership and Family Engagement

Children for Children | generationOn

 

 

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Grants and Awards

The following grant and award opportunities are provided by Youth Service America for more information, visit YSA.org/grants

 

Cities of Service Youth Service Institute Grants (Deadline: September 10)
Young people are critical assets for community change and helping mayors achieve their vision of a stronger community through service. Youth Service America (YSA) invites Cities of Service to engage youth volunteers through Global Youth Service Day and/or Semester of Service. To support Cities of Service in engaging youth, YSA is offering up to 30 Cities of Service $1,000 grants to cover registration, travel, and lodging for one staff member to attend its annual Youth Service Institute on October 13-15 in Detroit. In addition to this opportunity, applications from groups affiliated with a City of Service will receive preference for YSA's other grant programs throughout the year. (YSA will distribute over $1 million in grants for Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day 2011.) The application deadline is Friday, September 10. Learn more about Youth Service America, and access the short, 3-question online application at: www.YSA.org/institute/citiesofservice

State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants (Deadline: October 15)
State Farm is proud to team up with Youth Service America to offer grants of up to $1,000 for youth-led service-learning initiatives is all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick. Eligible programs will engage youth in service-learning, an effective teaching and learning strategy that promotes student learning, academic achievement, workplace readiness, and healthy communities.  State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants encourage semester-long projects (following YSA's Semester of Service framework) that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 17, 2011) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 15-17, 2011). Eligible candidates include teachers, service-learning coordinators and students in a public school, or staff and youth in a community-based organization working with a public school. Applications must be submitted by midnight, October 15, 2010. Learn more and access the application at www.YSA.org/goodneighbor

UnitedHealth HEROES (Deadline: October 22)
UnitedHealth HEROES is a service-learning, health literacy initiative designed to encourage young people, partnering with schools and nonprofits, to create and implement local hands-on programs to fight childhood obesity. Educators, nonprofit leaders, and students are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $1,000 to engage youth in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Youth participants raise awareness around their work by culminating their service projects on Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), April 15-17, 2011, an international day of service that occurs in all 50 states and in more than 100 countries.

Applications must be submitted online before midnight October 22, 2010. Grant recipients will be notified in December and January. To obtain an application, visit www.YSA.org/HEROES.

Applicants can find additional information about the grant, service-learning, and childhood obesity at www.YSA.org/HEROES, including "First Responders: Youth Addressing Childhood Obesity Through Service-Learning," a step-by-step manual that helps youths, parents, teachers, and other volunteers deploy YSA service-learning models to fight childhood obesity in their communities.

 

Nestle Drumstick Heroes Contest (Deadline: September 15)
Nestle will highlight exceptional youth in communities across the country with the Drumstick Heroes contest.  Fifty children between the ages of 6 and 17 are eligible to win a summer celebration package, complete with enough Nestle Drumstick Sundae Cones for a party of 50 friends. To nominate an outstanding child or teen, submit the completed entry form, along with a short story (150 to 300 words) describing why the individual deserves to be honored as a Drumstick Hero. All entries must be received by September 15, 2010.  For details on this opportunity, please visit www.drumstick.com/promotions/heroes.aspx


Youth Change Maker Award (Deadline: September 17)
Operation REACH's Gulfsouth Youth Action Fund, a youth philanthropy initiative that engages youth as leaders and empowers them with the resources to make strategic investments in their peers and their communities, is seeking nominations for the 2010 Youth Change Maker Awards. These prestigious awards honor outstanding young people, ages 7 through 25, who have shown exemplary leadership in recovery, education, entrepreneurship and community service initiatives in the Gulfsouth region. Self-nominations are accepted. Finalists will be recognized and winners announced during the Youth Change Maker Awards Dinner on October 16, 2010 in New Orleans. Each Youth Change Maker Award recipient will be honored with a $500 donation to a non-profit organization or project of his or her choice. The deadline for nominations is September 17, 2010 at 5:00pm. Forms can be downloaded at www.operationreach.org.

Staples Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition (Deadline: Ongoing Through September)
The Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition will search until September for eight outstanding youth changemakers; leaders of social ventures aged 12 to 24 who make a difference in the world. Youths can either nominate themselves or be nominated by someone inspired by their actions. At the end of the competition, the winners or representatives from winning teams will fly to Washington, D.C. for the November 13th TEDxYSE conference -a TED style conference run by Youth Venture on social entrepreneurship. There, they'll present their stories and achievements as well as receive $500 prize money. One of the eight teams will win the Staples grand prize for $5,000. Winners will be chosen on a rolling basis through September, so don't wait. www.genv.net/staples-yse

Red Robin Foundation U-ACT Program (Deadline: October 1)
U-ACT, which stands for Unbridled Acts, or random acts of kindness, is a character-building initiative specifically for middle and junior high schools with grades 6-8, which aims to inspire and energize students about the value of being kind to others.  Throughout the school year, participating schools are asked to share Red Robin's "Unbridled" culture with their students by participating in a program that promotes kindness.  At the end of the year, schools are asked to submit a program binder outlining their efforts during the school year for a chance to earn a grant between $1,200 and $15,000.  The goal of the Red Robin Foundation U-ACT Champion Program is to help foster and create a sense of neighborliness inside and outside of the school. For program guidelines and information, please visit www.redrobin.com/rrfoundation/uactprogram.aspx.

 

KaBOOM! Play Day Grants (Deadline: Ongoing Through October)
Roll up your sleeves and play! Host a KaBOOM! Play Day, presented by Mott's, in your neighborhood and be part of a national celebration to save play in the lives of children. A Play Day is your chance to gather at your community's favorite park or playground for fun games and service projects that celebrate and improve your play space. If you include an improvement project at your Play Day you could win a $10,000 grant to further improve your play space. The KaBOOM! Play Day website helps you plan for your big day. You can watch YouTube videos with planning tips, print the set of game and activity cards, and post in the Scrapbook. Plan your Play Day to take place on any day during the week of September 18-26. Learn more at: http://kaboom.org/playday
 
 

Youth Garden Grants (Deadline: November 1)
Home Depot and the National Gardening Association (NGA) are partnering again to offer the Youth Garden Grants, given to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs.  Priorities will be given to programs that emphasize one or more of these elements: educational focus or curricular/program integration, nutrition or plant-to-food connections, environmental awareness/education, entrepreneurship, social aspects of gardening such as leadership development, team building, community support, or service-learning. Schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities, and intergenerational groups throughout the United States are eligible.  Applicants must plan to garden with at least 15 children between the ages of 3 and 18 years. Previous Youth Garden Grant winners who wish to reapply may do so, but must wait one year (e.g., if you won in 2010, you can apply again in 2012) and have significantly expanded their garden programs. This year, 100 grants are available, with five programs receiving gift cards valued at $1000 (a $500 gift card to Home Depot and a $500 gift card to the Gardening with Kids catalog, and educational materials from the National Gardening Association.  Ninety-five programs will receive a $500 gift card to Home Depot and educational materials from NGA.  For more information, please visit www.kidsgardening.org/ygg.asp.



Project Ignition Grants Now Available (Deadline: November 15)
Applications for $2,000 grants are now available online for high school students and adults interested in addressing teen driver safety through service-learning initiatives. State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council are proud to continue their collaboration on Project Ignition in this seventh year. Students and staff from any public high school in the U.S. and in the Canadian Provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick can apply.  Applications are due November 15, 2010, and twenty-five high schools will receive $2,000 grants in December, 2010 to support implementation of their programs between January and April, 2011.  To apply, please visit www.sfprojectignition.com



Office Depot Foundation Grants (Deadline: November 15)
The Foundation's funding focus includes: Making a Difference in Children's Lives - to support activities that serve, teach and inspire children, youth and families; Building Communities - to support civic organizations and activities that serve the needs of our community; and Disaster Relief - to support disaster relief efforts of recognized national, regional and local agencies, and to provide disaster relief to Office Depot associates who have experienced catastrophic loss. An online eligibility survey and grant application can be found on the Grant Making Guidelines page. Applications are retrieved on a monthly basis and are reviewed by a committee. Please allow at least 12 weeks after you submit your completed application before you receive a response. Grant amounts will be a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $3,000 (very limited). The majority of grants issued are in the vicinity of $1,000 and are supported by in-kind donations when inventory allows. The Office Depot Foundation will accept applications for the current funding cycle through November 15, 2010. Learn more at: www.officedepotfoundation.com/funding.asp



WaysToHelp.org Grants (Deadline: Ongoing)
WaysToHelp.org invites teens in the United States to apply for grants to fund their community service ideas across any one of 16 issue areas.  You can apply for a grant, by visiting www.waystohelp.org and for any issue area, selecting "See Ways To Help" followed by "Apply for a Grant".  Applications are short - just 5,000 words or less - and should summarize: how the project will involve others, who it will help, what effect it's expected to have, when it will start and how the funds will be used.  Grant requests are reviewed and responded to on a monthly basis. www.waystohelp.org

Join the Great Califorina ShakeOut

Consider organizing your students and school's participation in the Great California ShakeOut. This event highlights ways that school communities can prepare for earthquakes. The event represents an excellent opportunity for students to participate in service-learning by studying Califorina geology, the preparedness of their families, school and neighborhoods & then helping to organize preparedness and response capacity.

The drill (October 21, 10:21 a.m.) will reach 5 million participants, thanks in large part to schools, districts, and county offices aligning their earthquake drill schedules together. Nearly 250 districts and over 500 schools (including over 220 private schools) have registered so far, with over 3.8 million students and staff participating! This raises awareness of all Californians as the drill gets extensive local, state, and national media attention due to its size and scope.

You can find ShakeOut school resources and more information at http://shakeout.org/schools , including a letter of support from State Superintendent Jack O'Connell.

Celebrate Coastweeks - September 25 through October 17, 2010

Sponsored by the California Coastal Commission, each fall, people across the country participate in COASTWEEKS, a celebration of our coastal and water resources. In 2010 the California celebration takes place from September 25 to October 17, kicked off by the 26th Anniversary of California Coastal Cleanup Day!

 

This year the California Coastal Commission has compiled a calendar of over 270 coastal and water-related events taking place in 26 counties.  Please visit the calendar at www.coastforyou.org and find just the right activity for you, your friends, and your family to celebrate our coast and inland waterways!  For a list of events organized by county. click here.

Join the 9/11 Day of Service

The August, 2010 National Service Briefing from Youth Service America details a variety of project ideas and approaches for developing service-learning projects related to the events of September 11, 2001.
 
Download 9 lessons for 9/11:  Engaging Youth in September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance from Youth Serivce America here: http://tools.ysa.org/downloads/ysa/9for911.pdf

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Environmental Grants, Awards & Contests

Trash to Treasure Competition
(resource for PLT’s PreK-8 activities “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” “Renewable or Not,” “Make Your Own Paper,” “A Look at Aluminum,” and PLT’s Municipal Solid Waste secondary module)
PBS's Design Squad invites kids ages 5-19 to turn their trash into treasure by recycling, reusing, and re-engineering everyday materials into an out-of-the box invention.  The deadline for submission is September 5, 2010.  Three winners will be chosen to see their ideas become a reality. Visit the PBS Kids website for more details and information.

How Green is My Town?
(resource for PLT’s GreenSchools! program)
"How Green is My Town?" is a grassroots effort to empower citizens and local decision makers to address the issues of climate change, sustainability, and environmental health at the local level. The website functions as a national clearinghouse of programs, ideas, and policies for exploring solutions. Learn how you can be part of that change by reviewing a list of actions any school or town can take.

Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation Grants
Deadline: September 20, 2010
K-12 teachers are invited to apply for grants up to $1,500 to implement environmental curricula, such as PLT, that integrate hands-on ecology exercises into the classroom.  To facilitate learning and student empowerment, environmental curricula should be holistic and strive to synthesize multiple levels of learning (facts, concepts, and principles), including experiential integrated learning and problem solving.  Visit the Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation website for more information and proposal submission details.   

Earth Science Week Contests
Deadline: October 15, 2010
The American Geological Institute (AGI) is sponsoring three national contests in conjunction with Earth Science Week 2010, celebrating the theme of "Exploring Energy," October 10-16, 2010. Visit www.earthsciweek.org/contests for additional information.
Photography Contest, "We Depend on Energy" - Entrants should submit images that capture the way energy is used in their communities.
Visual Arts Contest, "Energy on Earth" - Students in grades K-5 should submit two-dimensional original pieces of art illustrating, in creative and engaging ways, where energy comes from and how it is used.
Essay Contest, "How Energy Powers the Planet" - Students in grades 6-9 should submit one-page essays focusing on how Earth system processes develop energy resources, how human use of energy affects the Earth system, and how people can be responsible stewards of Earth's energy resources.

PollinatorLIVE: GreenWorks! Grants and Ecoregional Pollinator Guides
Deadline: December 1, 2010
To support the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, PLT is providing GreenWorks! grants of up to $500 in conjunction with PollinatorLIVE, a free distance learning adventure featuring live interactive webcasts, web seminars, and satellite field trips for classrooms about pollinators, gardening, and conservation. Students and community members can invite pollinators to their neighborhood by planting a pollinator friendly habitat in a garden, farm, school, park or just about anywhere!  Ecoregional Pollinator Guides, tailored to specific areas of the U.S., provide information about selecting native plants for pollinators.  Visit www.pollinator.org to find out in which ecoregion you reside and download your free guide, and visit www.greenworks.org to apply for a grant!

More Grants and Awards

UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning Grants (Deadline: October 22, 2010)

Youth Service America and UnitedHealth Group are encouraging youth to create and implement programs around childhood obesity in their local communities.
 
UnitedHealth HEROES is a service-learning, health literacy initiative designed to encourage young people, partnering with schools and nonprofits, to create and implement local hands-on programs to fight childhood obesity. Educators, nonprofit leaders, and students are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $1,000 to engage youth in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
 
Now in its third year, the UnitedHealth HEROES grants have funded 361 programs, engaged more than 20,000 youth, and contributed more than 436,000 volunteer hours. Youth participants raise awareness around their work by culminating their service projects on Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), April 15-17, 2011, an international day of service that occurs in all 50 states and in more than 100 countries.
 
Applications must be submitted online before midnight October 22, 2010. Grant recipients will be notified in December and January. To obtain an application, visit www.YSA.org/HEROES.

Applicants can find additional information about the grant, service-learning, and childhood obesity at www.YSA.org/HEROES, including "First Responders: Youth Addressing Childhood Obesity Through Service-Learning," a step-by-step manual that helps youths, parents, teachers, and other volunteers deploy YSA service-learning models to fight childhood obesity in their communities.

 

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Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy Grants (Deadline: September 10)
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy is accepting applications for its annual national grant competition. The grantmaking program is designed to help develop or expand projects that support the development of literacy skills for adult primary care givers and their children. The organization must operate an instructional literacy program that has been in existence for at least two years and includes one or more of the following components: literacy for adults, parent education, pre-literacy or literacy instruction for children pre-K to grade three, and/or intergenerational literacy activities. www.barbarabushfoundation.com/site/c.jhLSK2PALmF/b.4344681/k.8F91/National_Grants.htm


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Flextronics Foundation Grants (Deadline: Ongoing - Quarterly)
The Flextronics Foundation provides aid to relieve human suffering caused by a natural or civil disaster or an emergency hardship, such as floods, fires, riots, storms, earthquakes or similar large-scale adversities. The Foundation also sponsors educational programs and other charitable activities where Flextronics employees volunteer their time, especially those organizations and programs that benefit students with socioeconomic issues, learning disabilities or handicaps. Applications are evaluated on a quarterly basis at the end of March, June, September, and December of each year. www.flextronics.com/about/flexfoundation

 

State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants $1,000

State Farm and Youth Service America are asking young people to be “good neighbors” by partnering with their schools and community organizations to create and implement local programs addressing critical issues.

The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant funds youth-led service-learning programs, a teaching and learning strategy designed to increase academic achievement and workplace readiness by connecting service to community with school-based curricula. Students partner with other youth, their teachers, nonprofit leaders, local government, and the media, to identify and address significant issues on a local, national, and global scale.

YSA will offer 125 grants of up to $1,000 to well-planned service projects that make curricular connections and provide opportunities for youth leadership. Each granted project will culminate on Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), an international event occurring in all 50 states and in more than 100 countries, April 15-17, 2011. State Farm is the GYSD presenting sponsor for the United States.

Grant applications will be available early August 2010.  Click here for more info

Looking for State Farm Youth Advisory Board Members, ages 17-20, Due Sept 10th

State Farm Insurance Company - Youth Advisory Board Member Recruitment

http://www.statefarmyab.com/about.php

 

Applications due by September 10, 2010

Thirty students, ages 17-20, from across the United States and Canada comprise the State Farm® Youth Advisory Board. They are charged with helping State Farm design and implement a $5 million-a-year signature service-learning initiative to address issues important to State Farm and communities across the United States and Canada (see State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant program below).

The board is made up of a diverse group of students. They were selected from more than 600 applications and were chosen based on their strengths as reflected in their application and through telephone interviews with finalists. Each member will commit about 15 hours a month to the board and participate in four face-to-face meetings during their year of service.

One board member and one associate board member will represent each of State Farm's 13 zones across the United States and Canada. The Youth Advisory Board also includes a Corporate representative and three at-large members nominated by State Farm’s national service-learning partners – Youth Service America (YSA), the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), and the National Service-Learning Partnership (NSLP).

Students chosen presented a clear understanding of service-learning and its value to communities. They were highly motivated, exemplary team players, school and community leaders, passionate, compassionate, innovative, committed and enthusiastic.

Members of this distinguished youth board play a critical leadership role in creating and overseeing the initiative that will address five community issues chosen by the board. The 2009-2010 State Farm Youth Advisory Board chose financial education, access to higher education/closing the achievement gap, natural and societal disaster preparedness, teen driver safety and environmental responsibility to address through a competitive grant process. The board issued their Requests for Proposals on August 1, 2009 and will announce grant winners in February, 2010.

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Grant Announcements

STEMester of Service Grants (Deadline: July 15)
Youth Service America is accepting applications for the second year of STEMester of Service.  Funded by Learn and Serve America, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, STEMester of Service incorporates YSA's semester-long service-learning framework to engage educators and students in addressing critical environmental needs and connecting them to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curricula. YSA is seeking middle schools with large populations of disadvantaged youth; STEM schools must be located in one of the 19 states with highest dropout rates (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wyoming). The $5,000 grant (that includes travel and training at YSA's Youth Service Institute in Detroit in October) supports teachers as they engage local partners and guide students in addressing local needs through planning and implementing sustainable service projects that launch on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 17, 2011) and culminate on Global Youth Service Day (April 15-17, 2011). www.ysa.org/grants/stem

 

Disney Friends for Change Grants (Deadline: July 15)
Disney's Friends for Change grants encourage kids everywhere to take steps together with their friends to help the planet. YSA will award 75 $500 grants to youth-led service initiatives around the world that demonstrate youth leadership and the commitment to making a positive impact on the environment. Eligible applicants will be asked to implement their projects between September and November and to connect their projects to International Coastal Cleanup Day, National Public Lands Day (both September 25), or other environmentally-focused days of service.. Disney Friends for Change Grants are open to schools, organizations, and individuals planning service projects. Applications submitted by younger children aged 5-14 are especially welcome. The goal of the grant is to inspire children to join their friends and families, schools, and communities to address critical environmental needs as "friends for change" at the local, national, and/or global levels. Grant applications are due Thursday, July 15, 2010. Learn more at: www.ysa.org/grants/announcements/friendsforchange2010


2011 Global Youth Service Day Lead Agency Grants (Deadline: July 15)

Lead Agencies are local, regional, or statewide organizations across the United States, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, or New Brunswick that increase the scale, visibility, and impact of Global Youth Service Day by leading GYSD in their city, region, or state. Lead Agencies convene a planning coalition of at least 10 partner organizations that collectively engage at least 600 youth volunteers in service on GYSD, engage local media and elected officials, and plan a high profile signature project or celebration of service. Lead Agencies receive a $2,000 GYSD planning grant sponsored by State Farm Companies Foundation, travel support to attend the Youth Service Institute, and ongoing training and technical assistance from Youth Service America to ensure a successful Global Youth Service Day.  Past Lead Agencies have leveraged their position as a GYSD Lead Agency to strengthen their programs, form new partnerships, expand their volunteer base, garner media attention, gain support from local public officials, and secure additional funding. Learn more and access the application at: www.GYSD.org/content/2011GYSDleadagency

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Anatomy of Prejudice Workshop at Museum of Tolerance

Jane Elliott, internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer, and recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education, exposes prejudice and bigotry for what it is, an irrational class system based upon purely arbitrary factors. And if you think this does not apply to you. . . you are in for a rude awakening.

In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. over thirty years ago, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise. This, now famous, exercise labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of being a minority. Everyone who is exposed to Jane Elliott's work, be it through a lecture, workshop, or video, is dramatically affected by it.

The Museum of Tolerance in partnership with the Diversity and Social Justice Committee of the California Council for Social Studies is hosting a workshop with Ms. Elliot on June 24th.  Participants will explore problems of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and enthnocentrism and the responsibility we share to eradicate them.

To register online, go to http://www.museumoftolerance.com/teachingforsocialjustice

 

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Job announcemnet

NORTH OAKLAND COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL

1000 42nd Street, Oakland, CA 94608

fax 510-655-1222

www.noccs.org

_______________________________________________________________

7/8th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies Core Teacher

About the Position

North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS) seeks an experienced, dynamic, progressive, and equity-minded 7th/8th grade core subject matter teacher (language arts/social studies) to join our powerful school community.

 

In 2010-2011 we will complete our expansion with a complete K-8 program and a total enrollment of approximately 210 students.

 

Next year, our 7th/8thgrade program will consist of two cores with 20 - 26 students in each class. Each core teacher will also be responsible for leading an advisory class as well as participating with the 6 – 8th grade team in continuing to develop and implement an innovative service-learning program that takes place each Wednesday at NOCCS.

 

We are looking for an excellent teacher and leader, who has a deep appreciation for students and the particular needs of 11-14 year olds. We are especially interested in educators who are invigorated by a growing school environment and are comfortable with innovation. The new member of our team must be a skilled organizer and collaborator. S/he must be able to work with other professionals in a team environment. In addition, we are seeking an educator who is enthusiastic about interacting with engaged families, and who wants to take an active role in shaping the school's growth, policies and educational practices.

 

The ideal candidate will have knowledge of and experience with a diverse range of pre-adolescent and adolescent learners. They will be highly skilled in the use of workshop and/or inquiry-based methods and teaching strategies, the California content standards, a diversity of assessments to inform differentiated instruction, culturally relevant strategies for working with a highly diverse student body, the Teaching for Understanding Framework and/or other rich project-based learning modalities including art integration. S/he will possess a strong ability to design and implement rich, engaging, and relevant teaching units. The candidate must share our school's beliefs in and passion for the power of progressive education, high expectations for all learners, and the importance of equity-based educational practices.

 

About NOCCS

The North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS) is a public school dedicated to helping children to become thoughtful, informed, and inquisitive citizens. NOCCS is a vibrant, diverse learning community driven by respect for each child's unique intelligence and history. Our school's dynamic and challenging educational approach deepens the intellectual and social capacities of each child that we serve.

 

NOCCS is driven by ten core principles that anchor and guide our community and its work, and provide a vision to which we aspire as a learning community. These principles include: (1) respect for children and their learning; (2) high expectations; (3) a caring community of learners; (4) valuing diversity; (5) connections to the world; (6) a commitment to equity; (7) families' contributions; (8) respect for teachers and teaching; (9) creativity; and (10) teaching for understanding.

 

Since opening its doors in September of 2000, NOCCS has grown from a tiny one classroom school serving 20 students to a vibrant community of learners that, at full capacity in 2010 – 2011 will have a full enrollment of approximately 210 students. The NOCCS student body is a diverse group of learners that includes 16% African American, 48% White, 30% Multi-Ethnic/Decline to State, 2% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. Over 25% of our student qualify for free or reduced priced lunch. Over the next several years, we anticipate continued diversification of our student body due to a combination of our expansion to a K-8 educational institution, increased outreach efforts, equity-based policy efforts, and our new geographic location within a highly diverse neighborhood area.

 

NOCCS stands out as one of Oakland and the Bay Area's most successful progressive education urban charter school models. Since its inception in 2000, NOCCS has ranked as one of the area's top schools. For each of the past four years of our chartering period, the school has achieved an Academic Performance Index (API) ranking of over 800, with a recent significant jump of 30 points to our current level of 880. Our most recent API ranking places NOCCS as the 11th highest achieving school out of Oakland's 70 public elementary schools, and 4th highest out of Oakland's 23 public middle schools. Our charter was unanimously approved for a third five year term in February of 2010.

 

About our Educational Philosophy and Program

From the very beginning, NOCCS has embraced and been built upon a progressive and equitable educational philosophy and program. Directed by and aligned to our powerful guiding principles, a NOCCS education seeks to develop in students the ability to think critically, express creatively, and to act thoughtfully in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

Students at NOCCS are consistently challenged – from a very young age – to critically consider, analyze, and synthesize multiple viewpoints and sources of data; consciously understand and implement a variety of strategies when attempting to solve problems; effectively work both autonomously as well as collaboratively, to develop, revise, expand and express their understanding of concepts and their demonstration of skills; and to authentically empathize and to work in a kind, caring manner to understand and resolve conflicts in a way that strengthens and builds our community of learners.

 

The NOCCS curriculum, with an emphasis on Teaching for Understanding, is designed to enable students to meet and/or exceed grade level standards through the exploration of in-depth, powerful, disciplinary-based skills, ideas, and strategies. As such, our pedagogy incorporates a number of best practices for effectively and equitably building mastery of skills and content as well as critical thinking and reasoning. These teaching strategies range from direct, explicit skills instruction to workshop and project-based formats that include and emphasize differentiated and individualized support for each learner and the use of reflection to build on-going understanding. Our well-articulated learning units include a number of inquiry, projects, and constructivist-based projects and modalities with a focus on higher level thinking skills that support the students in developing the skills of application, analysis, evaluation, and creation as well as the habits of collaboration, reflection and revision. The arts, environment, service-learning, peacemaking, and technology are integrated into our instructional units and strategies in order to enable students to both collect, learn, conceptualize, and internalize information as well as effectively, creatively, and meaningfully demonstrate their new knowledge, strategies, and skills – often ways that are connected to the "real world" and/or help others in our community to learn and grow as well.

 

Our educational program structure, school day, and culture are explicitly designed to support this ambitious and authentic vision of student achievement. Kindergarten through fifth grade students are placed in multi-age classrooms for the majority of their academic subjects, as teachers loop with student cohorts over a two year period, thus enabling teachers to develop deep relationships with each student and his/her family that support both developmentally attentive academic learning and social-emotional growth, as well as built-in leadership and community-building opportunities among and between students. Students in 6 – 8th grade participate in a variety of structures including team-taught cored block-scheduled classes, advisory programming, and service-learning cohorts that enable them to develop deep and supportive relationships with both peers and their teachers over a three-year period. The school day is flexibly designed to enable teachers and students to work on both single lesson workshops, as well as multi-day/longer term projects that allow teachers many opportunities to individualize and/or differentiate support and instruction to meet the needs of a variety of learners. Electives are scheduled in order to both expand the educational opportunities available to students, as well as to support effective team planning, reflection, and collaboration among teaching staff.

 

About Teaching at NOCCS

The NOCCS staff is an amazing professional learning community. Our current faculty members hold credentials from the area's leading teacher training and graduate programs and range in experience from 1 to 35 years, with an average of 9 years. Approximately 55% of our teaching staff hold master's degrees in education. Our director, Carolyn Gramstorff, is a highly respected educator now in her fifteenth year in education, ninth year of administration, and third year at NOCCS. She holds masters degrees in education from both Harvard University and the University of California – Berkeley, as well as a California Multiple Subject Teaching and Administrative Credential. In addition, the school employs an exciting and talented support staff including afterschool/enrichment, teaching assistants, and office support staff with diverse experiences and backgrounds.

 

NOCCS uses a highly rigorous process to identify and hire its teaching staff. All teacher candidates undergo a highly selective paper screen, followed by a several of three rounds of interviewing, including a phone interview, a demonstration lesson, an hour long interview with the hiring committee that is typically comprised of teachers from each grade level and the director, and an interview with a student panel.

 

Once hired, our entire staff participates in extensive professional development throughout their tenure at NOCCS. We begin each school year with a full week of professional development. Throughout the school year, staff members participate in a minimum of 160 hours of site-based professional development. In addition, many staff members participate in addition professional development over the summer and throughout the academic year. Many of our teachers have participated in Harvard University's Project Zero Classroom Institute, including several staff members who have worked as Teaching Fellows within the program.

 

Like our educational model, our professional development programming is focused on leveraging the individual strengths, knowledge, skills, and leadership of our staff members to enrich the collective work of the learning community. As such, we work to build the leadership capacity of each teacher so that our staff members can take on leadership and coaching roles with one another to move our educational priorities forward. Our professional development programming also utilizes a number of best practices for strong professional learning communities, such as the use of protocols to guide the development and peer-review of curriculum, examining student work, coaching models, and the use of teacher inquiry.

All staff are closely observed and evaluated each year. Our director undergoes a rigorous 360-degree evaluation process that includes input from staff, parents/families, students, the board, and a self-evaluation. Teachers are observed several times throughout the year. These observations as well as other student achievement data are used to provide staff members with a thorough annual review and serve as a basis for the annual extension of offers and consideration for leadership positions for the following academic year.

 

About Our Families

One of the most noticeable aspects people see when entering our school is a wall filled with group portraits of nearly every family at NOCCS. We do this for much more than the stunning aesthetic value that it brings to the building – we do this because we firmly believe and want to demonstrate our history of and continuing commitment to involving the entire family in the education of our students and the life of our school community.

 

NOCCS was founded by a group of parents and educators committed to the promise of public education. This commitment is evident throughout NOCCS' history, and continues to thrive as a guiding principle and practice of our school today.

 

NOCCS is also known throughout the area as a model of parent/family and community involvement. Our parents and families typically log over 7,000 volunteer hours per year. The volunteer services that our families provide are wide ranging, including teaching handwriting, organizing the gardening program, serving on our board of Trustees, teaching visual arts classes, directing fundraising efforts, and more. This level of involvement fosters a culture of shared responsibility and accountability for the school and the education of every child at NOCCS.

About Our Governance and Infrastructure

 

NOCCS is governed by its Board of Trustees. Five members of this board are elected by stakeholders within the school community. The board also includes two staff members – the director and a teacher as well as other appointed members, often from outside of the school community.

 

In the past decade, NOCCS has moved from a one classroom rental space on College Avenue, to a second rental facility located at local Catholic Church on Alcatraz Avenue to its current, permanent home in a 20,500 square foot facility located at 1000 42nd Street, adjacent to Linden Park in Oakland.

 

Our move to a secure, permanent home ensures NOCCS' long term stability, as well as an opportunity to further develop our role as an institution and important steward in our local, Linden Park neighborhood community. This year, NOCCS has taken a number of important steps towards this aspiration. First, with the support of a generous foundation grant, NOCCS has initiated an ambitious service-learning program focused on implementing a number of classroom projects that benefit our local neighborhood community. Our complete service learning and 6 – 8th grade Community Action Learning Program is further detailed in our charter renewal. Second, as the City of Oakland has reduced maintenance of many of its public parks, NOCCS has stepped forward to provide stewardship of Linden Park through the city's adopt-a-park program. Through these and other outreach efforts, we hope to form and strengthen important bonds and partnerships throughout our local community.

 

See our website for more detailed information regarding our school: www.noccs.org

 

Position Requirements:

  • California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential OR California Single Subject Teaching Credentials in two subject areas (language arts & social studies – or any combination of these areas) and CLAD or AB1059, demonstrating compliance with the NCLB highly qualified teacher status as defined by the California Department of Education.
  • A minimum of two years of lead teaching experience in 6 – 8th grade classroom.
  • Demonstrated success in designing rigorous and engaging units of study for students aged 11-14 and/or upper elementary grade levels.
  • Knowledge of different 6th – 8th grade curricula and ability to design curriculum to address multiple cultural groups.
  • Demonstrated success working with youth from diverse cultural, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and the ability to interface with their parents in productive ways.
  • Ability to manage a learning-centered classroom that includes age-appropriate, culturally responsive classroom management practices.
  • Knowledge of the California State Content Standards.
  • Ability to design and/or use a variety of assessment tools and techniques to guide instruction.
  • Demonstrated success in differentiating instruction in public school classroom settings.
  • Ability to collaborate and participate in critical relationships with other teachers to develop educational strategies jointly, both within and across grade levels.
  • Interest and skill in working as part of team to developand implement a state of the art advisory, service-learning, and elective program for 6th – 8th grade students
  • Interest in working in a school community with a high degree of parent/family participation.
  • Commitment and ability to attend committee meetings, lead school-wide initiatives, utilize parents as volunteers in the classroom, and attend evening meetings approximately once each month.
  • Teaching demonstrations required of all applicants.

Desired:

  • Teaching experience in a charter or new school setting
  • Ability to contribute to a growing school environment
  • National Board Certification
  • Knowledge and experience with alternative assessment practices
  • Bilingual Education experience (Spanish).

 

Salaries and benefits are competitive and commensurate with experience. We are strongly committed to hiring a diverse and multicultural staff andstrongly encourage candidates of color to apply.

 

Interested candidates, who meet the above requirements, please email the following application materials to director@noccs.org or mail them to:

 

Hiring Committee

North Oakland Community Charter School

1000 42nd St.

Oakland, CA 94608

 

Absolutely no phone calls please.

1. Resumé

2. Cover letter, including a description of your grade level preference and experience

3. Photocopy of California multiple subject teaching credential(s)

4. Brief response to the following questions (maximum one page for each item):

Describe your philosophy or approach to classroom management. How do you develop your learning environment to meet the varied social, emotional, and academic needs of a diverse class of students?

Describe your philosophy or approach to teaching a language arts/social studies core class. How do you develop content knowledge while also balancing/helping students to develop important academic skills, work habits, and the ability to work in teams?

Describe key needs of students in the 11-14 year old age range and how students in this age range can thrive at a K-8 school. How could you use your own unique skills and talents to approach meeting these needs through an advisory class, elective, and/or service-learning project?

Describe yourself in relation to how you work on a team. What roles do you tend to play in a team environment? What skills and resources do you bring to a team/colleagues in a collaborative environment?

Monday, June 7, 2010

Grants and Awards... due June & July

AMA Foundation Healthy Living Grant Program (Deadline: July 15 )

The Healthy Living Grant Program, an initiative of the AMA Foundation, supports grassroots public health projects that encourage healthy lifestyles in communities across the nation. Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded in the following three categories: Nutrition/Physical Fitness; Alcohol, Substance Abuse, and Smoking Prevention; and Violence Prevention. Funded projects should target underserved and/or at-risk youth between the ages of 2-21. Organizations that have been in existence for at least one year and that have an annual operating budget of $500,000 or less are eligible to apply. Application guidelines and forms are available at: www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/ama-foundation/our-programs/public-health/healthy-living-grants.shtml

 

WhyHunger: Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards (Deadline: July 15)

The Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Awards program, administered by WhyHunger, provides grants to community-based organizations judged outstanding for their innovative approaches to fighting hunger and poverty in the United States by empowering people and building self-reliance. The awards honor those organizations that help people improve their own lives and the communities in which they live. Eligible organizations must offer program activities that go beyond emergency food, shelter, and other types of assistance to address the root causes of poverty. (Organizations providing only basic services will not be considered.) In this grant cycle, ten organizations will receive awards of up to $7,000. www.whyhunger.org/programs/grassroots-action-network/272.html

 

The Collaboration Prize (Deadline: June 16)

The Collaboration Prize, created by the Lodestar Foundation, is a national award program designed to identify and showcase models of collaboration among nonprofit organizations. Recognizing the impact that can be achieved from working together, the prize shines a spotlight on collaborations that cooperate to demonstrate innovative and effective responses to challenges or opportunities. To be eligible, a collaboration must involve two or more U.S. nonprofit organizations and must have been in operation for at least 18 months. Each of eight finalists will receive $12,500 and the winner will receive an additional $150,000. The online application process will open June 1, 2010 and close on July 16, 2010. http://thecollaborationprize.org/

 

For Previously Featured Grants & Awards, visit:

www.servicewire.org/nsb/Grants-and-Awards

About Me

The CalServe Network posts news and updates of interest to the service-learning field in California. News and updates are drawn from the CalServe List Serve and the National K-12 Service-Learning List Serve and various other sources.