ACLAMO stands for Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County, or the Latin American Community Action of Montgomery County. ACLAMO is also derived from the Spanish verb “aclamar,” which means “to proclaim, to shout forth.” We want our community to know that they, too, can achieve the American Dream of success. ACLAMO Family Centers provides educational programs, social services and health access to Latino and other low income residents by empowering them to succeed and become productive members of society.
The fund’s primary mission is to alleviate the vicious cycle of chronic poverty in the nation of Sierra Leone through the generation of educational and economic opportunities for the native Sierra Leoneans. Our efforts are conducted with the intent to impact these communities in a significantly progressive and sustainable way. We believe that the areas we have identified, education and economics, will be the most essential areas to village and national development. Although there are many aspects where these two areas overlap, we focus on each separately and approach the problems with unique initiatives.
The Sierra Leone Children’s Fund’s strategies Sierra Leone are:
Short-term
Primary School Renovation
School Clinic Initiative
Teachers Training Program
School Team Sports
Long-term
Women’s Micro-finance Program
Village Businesses: Bakery, Community Center, Mechanic/tire Shop, and Restaurant
Lutheran Children and Family Service of Eastern Pennsylvania commits itself to serve vulnerable children and families in community through culturally competent ministries of care, nurturing, shelter, advocacy, and counseling, including but not limited to foster care, adoption, family preservation, education, resettlement, housing and job development. Students can get involved with our refugee resettlement program, BOOST after school program, and our West Philadelphia Senior Community Center.
The Lutheran Children and Family Service Refugee Resettlement Program is a local affiliate of the National Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which assists refugees and asylees through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of State. When a refugee family arrives to the area, Lutheran Children and Family Service is responsible for gathering available resources, finding housing and employment, and providing general cultural orientation. Our refugee resettlement services are designed to create a smooth transition to life in the local community and to promote economic self-sufficiency. Volunteers are needed to mentor refugee families, escort refugees to appointments, provide homework help for refugee youth, set up refugee homes, assist with ESL classes, tutor unaccompanied refugee minors, collect donations, and provide childcare at workshops.
BOOST (Best Out of School Time) is a program through Lutheran Children and Family Service that provides before and after school programs to over 900 youth at 11 schools in Southwest, West, North, and Northeast Philadelphia. Volunteers are needed to assist with homework and lead clubs and workshops for our students.
The West Philadelphia Senior Community Center (WPSCC) is a program through Lutheran Children and Family Service that offers dynamic and rewarding activities and events for older adults, ages 50 and above, who are residents of Philadelphia. WPSCC offers a computer lab with new computers and iPads for instruction and use, a fitness room with physical trainer and various exercise programs, as well as an array of daily classes and activities that enrich the mind, body and spirit. Volunteers are needed to teach classes in topics such as Spanish, quilting, woodworking, and scrapbooking.
If interested, please complete a volunteer applicationhere!
United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia (UNA-GP) is a chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA). For more than 6 decades UNA-USA has been at the forefront of the advocacy on behalf of the UN. UNA-GP works on educating and motivating Americans to support UN causes to improve education and understanding of the UN goals and initiatives. UNA-GP looks to promote a greater commitment to internationalism, multilateral agreements, respect for international law, and more positive participation in the U.N in the US. Part of their mission includes advocacy for the development of constructive U.S. leadership. UNA-GP hopes such efforts would help U.S. and other nations to shift hundreds of billions of dollars from spending on weapons to programs serving human needs.
Volunteer roles include:
“Ground work, participating in events, and community interaction. This may involve anything from advertising and promoting events to general operations of UNA-GP events and activities.”
“Advocacy: volunteers will help promote UN activities and make local, state and national politicians and bureaucrats more UN-friendly and more global in their outlook.”
“Joing the UNA-GP speaker’s bureau and hosting talks on specific topics. Volunteers will be trained and asked to speak within the Philadelphia area.”
“Community education for global citizenship. This will involve going into classrooms and talking to students to help them understand their impact in the world and the role of the UN.”
“Mentorship for school students. This involves assisting students who have schoolwork on a UN topic and need a sounding board.”
Recent projects include lobby campaigns for nuclear awareness, planning for the International Day of Justice in partnership with the mayors office, and involvement in micro-banking development programs. Volunteers have also worked on summer education programs with the Philadelphia School District on lesson plans concentrated on global issues. UNA-GP is currently working on an alternative Model UN that would focus on International NGOs such as Oxfam and Red Cross.
The Coalition of African Communities – Philadelphia (AFRICOM) is an umbrella non-profit organization that brings together various African, American and Caribbean community organizations and individuals, who subscribe to the mission to improve the welfare of its community members by:
Facilitating family access to health and social services, with special focus on women, children and the youth.
Promoting economic development.
Facilitating resolution of inter and intra-group conflicts.
Advocating on issues of concern to African communities &.
Educating the media and broader public on African cultures and experiences.
Recent projects hosted by AFRICOM include the Health Fair and a food bank distributed with the help of collaborator organizations.
Some of the programs envisioned by AFRICOM include:
African Conference
All day seminar on various issues
Invite all African organizations and stakeholders on African affairs
Invite knowledgeable panelists, nationally and from Africa
Organized in collaboration with the Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Affairs
Economic Development and Funding
Organizing a major fund raising event
Invitation of all African organizations and business and government officials
Grant-writing activities and proposals for AFRICOM and for the benefit of members
Develop African professional/business directory
Cuture and Media
Marketing and promotion of AFRICOM through media, radio, etc.
Promotion of African cultures
Advocating and publicity of issues of concern to African communities
Puentes de Salud is a non-profit community health and wellness organization that partners with the Mexican immigrant population in south Philadelphia to promote well being by providing health care in addition to a variety of other programs. Currently, Puentes de Salud is working in partnership with the Graduate School of Education (GSE) at The University of Pennsylvania to develop an after school tutoring & mentoring program that focuses on the education of undocumented, immigrant children in the elementary grades 1-3. We are seeking motivated and committed volunteers to join us in this effort as tutors and mentors. Group tutoring sessions will pair tutors with two to three students to help them with their homework, educational development, and social support. This opportunity will require a commitment of 2 hours per week, with a minimum of one semester of service requested. Tutoring sessions will be held at the United Communities building at 8th and Snyder in South Philly. We are hoping to have teams of 2 tutors paired with 4 students, with a mandatory meeting one afternoon per week and drop-in hours on the other days.