Students Run Philly Style - Ieshia Nelson

Iehiaq Nelson, Amanda Collette and Andy Kucer

spoke to us

about a program for kids in Philadelphia and Camden called:

Students Run Philly Style is a Unique Program That Uses a Simple Approach to Fostering Resilience in Philadelphia and Camden Youth: A PAIR OF SNEAKERS AND A CARING ADULT

Students Run Philly Style transforms students’ lives through running and mentorship. They pair volunteer Running Leaders with teams of students to inspire them to push themselves further than they ever imagined.

Their goal: the completion of a full or a half marathon.The courage and effort required, the unfailing support of a caring mentor and the thrill of its ultimate achievement results in a student who knows anything is possible.

From March to November, students and mentors train together for major area races such as the Blue Cross Broad Street Run and the Philadelphia Marathon.  Our students and mentors gain so much more through this process than just increased cardiovascular fitness.  During the many training runs  that take place each year, the opportunities for in-depth conversations are abound.  Mentors learn about the trials and tribulations in young people’s lives and assist them with finding solutions and standing strong in the face of adversity.  Conversely, students  get advice on college and career planning as well as goal setting among other things while having the undivided attention of a caring adult. Our resilience-based program model focuses on developing the skills students need to be successful when challenges arise — both in and out of the classroom and well into their adult lives.

Students Run Philly Style serves 1,200 youth annually across neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Camden. Our program model uses data and evidence -based practices to better impact the youth in the program. A recent 2-year impact study of our program showed the following:

-41% of students increased their GPA

-99.5% of students were promoted to the next grade

-50% decreased their incidents of violent behavior

-80% increased or maintained high levels of self confidence

-91% of 12th grade students graduated high school

-90% of those graduates were accepted into a 4-year college

-Long-term results indicate a decrease in Body Mass Index

Event Support

Any Students Run Philly Style event would be incomplete without the help of our volunteers!

Event volunteers help our students in a number of ways.  The majority of our events are races or training runs. Volunteers can work at water stations, at start/finish lines or by biking a course. In addition to having fun, you’ll witness firsthand the energy and excitement of our students and feel good knowing you contributed to their success. Volunteer as a group or as an individual.

Commitment

• One day commitments, usually a weekend morning between March and November
• Respond to email requests for volunteer opportunities as you are able
• Volunteer once a year or 10 times a year!

Fishing Trip

We have done many things. This is our first fishing trip....

June 6 a day that will live in infamy, for the 65 club.

It was really rough, lots of guys were sea sick, but they want to go again.

Aquaponics - Keith Murphy

Keith Murphy Spoke to us about Aquaponics.

We learned that it is not a new concept, but with today's materials, it can be done just about anywhere and small to very large spaces.

We were all 'glued to our seats' with this presentation of technology to solve problems of supplying food throughout the world.

We also learned about other possibilities for implementing Aquaponics, and the details of using local materials to facilitate local implementations including new building architectures that integrate Aquaponics into their design.

Camden County Freeholder Susan Angulo

Today we had one of our Camden County Freeholders,

Susan Angulo speak to us. She told us a little about her family, how she got into politics an what she oversees in her job. She even gave us the reason for her title as freeholder and not commissioner. In the early day of the county, the only people who could get elected to the office, had to own land and have a free and clear title to the land.

She has some 'firsts' to her credit. She is the first Korean-American woman elected to a municipal, county or statewide office in the State of New Jersey and the first ever Asian Freeholder in New Jersey’s 21 counties. 

She told us that each freeholder has specific areas to oversee in the county. One of her's is the roads of our county. She also explained that while there are municipal, county and state roads in Camden County, she can only effect changes on the county roads.

She is liaison to the following departments, divisions, and agencies: 

• Department of Public Works 
• Camden County Planning Board 
• Tri-County Water Quality Board 
• Shade Tree Commission 
• Camden County Mayor’s Assoc. 
• Cooper’s Ferry Development Assoc

Ladies Spring Lunch

Our annual Spring Luncheon for our ladies was again held at Tavistock Country Club.

We started with Cocktails and visiting.

After a wonderful lunch, served by the friendly and efficient staff, we were treated to a fantastic performance by vocalist Kevin Pierce. He had us singing and dancing to popular tunes. We wish there had been more time for his performance.

Following Kevin's performance, we had remarks from our town officials and then the awarding of trophies for golf, pinochle, bridge, and bowling.

Mark Twain Returns - Rick Bonnette

Thursday, May 4th, we were given a rare treat as a prominent man from our country's history returned to offer our country his help. Mr Twain announced his candidacy for president and gave us a taste of the contents of his platform.

Mr. Twain was at times pensive:

And at times humorous:

But always on track with comments relevant:

His candidacy was met with extreme excitement and we thanked him for sharing his insights and time to initiate his bid for the presidency with our group.

Audubon Society & December Bird Count - Chuck Kanupke

Chuck spoke to use about some of the activities done by the Audubon Society.

The fist part of his talk covered what the society is doing with golf courses to improve the environment for us, the birds and all animals exposed to the chemicals used to keep the courses green.

 

These efforts help make golf courses sanctuaries for birds and other animals.

The Christmas Bird Count has been done for over a century:

Prior to the turn of the 20th century, hunters engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas "Side Hunt." They would choose sides and go afield with their guns—whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.

Conservation was in its beginning stages in that era, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition—a "Christmas Bird Census" that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them.

So began the Christmas Bird Count. Thanks to the inspiration of Chapman and the enthusiasm of 27 dedicated birders, 25 Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America.

Each November, birders interesting in participating in the CBC can sign up and join in through the Audubon website. From December 14 through January 5 each year tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, or rain, and take part in the effort. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action.

The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.