$10M richer, CCP to spread the goodwill

Ira Harkavy, the founder and head of the newly renamed Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships, has ten million new reasons to be happy.

Earlier this month, CCP received a $10 million donation from its new namesakes, Edward Netter, a 1953 College alumnus, and his wife, Barbara.

Already a national model for community-service-based learning, CCP will now be able to provide more aid to its local projects and help others replicate its programs nationally and across the globe: With the donation in hand, CCP will now help fund workshops and training at over 75 other American universities and in over 46 European nations.

Created in 1992, CCP has grown dramatically over the last decade, offering over 150 academically based community-service courses in which Penn faculty and students both attempt to solve problems of low-income West Philadelphians such as a lack of nutrition, education and health care.

Service-learning programs like the ABCS courses are one of the fastest-growing teaching initiatives across the country; 22 other universities have programs similar to Penn's initiatives.

The ABCS courses have proven to be a huge success for both West Philadelphia residents and Penn students, with over 1,500 students participating since the program's inception.

Participants like College junior Caitlin Wood say the courses offer a rare opportunity to engage the community and try to solve problems that don't have a clear-cut answer.

Wood took an Urban Studies ABCS course last summer and has since become consistently involved in the Urban Nutrition Initiative, helping to build and maintain over 20 gardens in the city while educating local youth on the importance of nutrition, among other activities.

"What I like the most about it is really getting involved with something . and then having classwork connect with that and really being able to do research," she said.

Andy Shoyer, a Netter Center board member, says his favorite part about his position "is seeing the impact of the programs of the Center."

Local youth who participate in CCP's programs echoed Shoyer's sentiment.

" I learned about being a people person, talking out loud, learning how to control my anger," said Nasser Gilliam, a senior at University City High School who works with Wood in the UNI garden at his school.

He added that he has improved his public-speaking skills representing his school at conferences and speaking to groups at his garden, and that he plans to attend college next year.

The donation will allow CCP to build on this success, as officials will finally have the funds to hire a permanent evaluator to gauge its success and locate areas for improvement.

The money "will help bring the Center to the next level," Harkavy said.

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