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ECS Beacon Graduates Display the Best in Youth Development, Leadership

This graduation season is bittersweet at the ECS Beacon, as the afterschool and summer youth development program says farewell to some very special high school seniors.

Under the ECS Beacon youth development model, children at the ECS Beacon transition from participating in the education, games and other activities offered at the center after age 12 to leading them instead. As the program enters its sixth year, the first students to start in the after school program and complete their careers as mentors will soon be moving on.

Twin brothers Cheary and Cheara, the youngest of 10 siblings, credit their opportunity to mentor younger children at the ECS for helping them stay on the right track themselves. Now they have become the first in their families to graduate from high school.

Cheara and Cheary are inseparable twins at ECS Beacon but in the fall, they will be out on their own at different colleges.

When we first came here, we were looking up to the older kids,” said Cheary. “Now the younger kids look up to us. It makes you hold yourself up to a higher standard.”

The twins’ parents fled Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, and were reluctant to see their sons become engaged in the larger community for fear that they would succumb to the peer pressures of the streets. At the ECS Beacon, they have been able to enjoy the best of both worlds, forging friendships that span the myriad ethnic groups of the Feltonville section of Philadelphia in the safe environment of the Beacon.

“This neighborhood can be a wonderful place to be. There are all different kinds of people, amazing diversity, and everybody connects. Everybody knows us as ‘the twins’ even if they can’t always tell us apart,” Cheara said. “You can get on the wrong track here too though. One of my friends was killed over the summer. He was in the wrong place, doing the wrong things.”

“There have been girls who left the program, then got pregnant and dropped out of school. A lot of my male friends are on the corner selling drugs. I see all this talent being wasted on dumb stuff,” Cheary said. “Without the Beacon, I’d probably be out there on the streets myself, doing negative things.”

In the fall, the inseparable brothers will temporarily part ways with their neighborhood and each other. Cheary plans to pursue a degree in hospitality management at Central Pennsylvania College so that he can one day own his own restaurant (possibly even filling the void of Cambodian cuisine in Philadelphia). Cheara will study criminal justice at Penn State so that he can one day protect his community and his country as a member of the FBI.

Kyran overcame his fear of public speaking to deliver a speech about the Beacon program to an audience that included the mayor.

The ECS Beacon has an amazing advocate in Kyran, 18, who last year year overcame his fear of public speaking to deliver a speech on the value of the city's Beacon programs to an audience that included then-mayor John Street.

“Before I came to the Beacon, I was rather shy so I wasn’t into much. I was always home. At the Beacon Center, I started meeting people, helping kids with their homework, doing interactive activities, and I really came out of my shell,” Kyran said. “Without the Beacon Center, I might be out in the street doing things I shouldn’t. I know better than that, but peer pressure still might have gotten to me."

Kyran has so many goals in life that the hardest thing is deciding what to pursue first. Already, he runs his own business, employing fellow students to provide affordable housekeeping services in his Feltonville neighborhood. He plans to enter Temple University to pursue his best subject in high school, science, while also exploring the fields of graphic design and restaurant management.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to attend a school where learning was going on, but I could come to the Beacon every day looking for something new to do to help me get through high school and the daily things that go on in life," said Kyran. “The kids need this. I’ve seen a lot of kids come through here who were rowdy and out of control, and today they are respectful, responsible, and on the right track.”

ECS Urban Bridges Marks Another Year of Adult Education Success

The pews in St. Gabriel’s church were filled to capacity on April 24 to honor the students, tutors and teachers in the annual closing ceremony of the Adult Literacy Program of ECS Urban Bridges.

“We had gone to other schools, but this school was the first to give us such a warm welcome,” said adult literacy student Brenda. “We cannot thank you enough.”

Volunteer tutor Stan Matuszewski (center) helped ECS Urban Bridges students Julius and Minnie achieve their educational goals this year. All helped deliver the keynote speech at this year's closing ceremony.

The ceremony celebrated the successful completion of classes and tutoring programs during the 2007 – 2008 academic year. The classes include English as a Second Language instruction, Adult Basic Education, and GED classes. The tutoring program engages approximately 36 college undergraduates at Villanova and St. Joseph’s Universities and two community volunteers as tutors, under a grant from the PA State Department of Education.

A number of students and tutors delivered inspirational keynote speeches, in which they encouraged fellow students to continue their studies and to achieve their dreams. A gala potluck was served in the church's undercroft following the ceremony, during which teachers and tutors were able to meet the husbands, wives, and children of their students – and pose for numerous photos.

Not only were the participants celebrating a year of excellent attendance, but also their success in both test scores and goals achieved. For the third year in a row, the majority of learners in Adult Basic Education and English as a Second Language exceeded ECS targeted outcomes on test scores, as well as achieving a number of work skill goals.

In addition to the many students who wrote resumes and cover letters with the help of their tutors, the accomplishments of other learners included one who passed the US Citizenship test, another received a job promotion and funding from his employer to take the GED; another passed an employment exam and will begin work in the near future; ten others registered for the GED or were promoted to a pre-Adult Diploma Program, which will continue in the fall of 2008.



ECS Bishop White Circle Gala Highlights   Support of Agency Mission

The ECS Bishop's Circle recognizes those individuals and families that support the agency financially at the highest level. On May 7, Elizabeth R. Moran welcomed her fellow Circle members to her Paoli farm for a gala in celebration of ECS.

Elizabeth Moran leads the ECS Bishop's Circle in prayer.

"It's wonderful to be surrounded by a group of people who share my interest in supporting the work of ECS," Moran said before leading the group in a prayer about the value of diversity.

Together, the gifts of the Bishop's Circle's 24 members make up 20% of total contributions to the ECS annual fund. However, the ECS annual fund needs gifts at all levels to accomplish its mission. With six weeks left until the end of the fiscal year, ECS must raise nearly $200,000 to meet the 2008 annual fund goal.

Although economic confidence in the financial markets has edged up in recent weeks, the view from the perspective of ECS clients remains one of rising prices and stagnant wages, suggesting that ECS will need to work even harder to meet their needs in the months to come.

Barbara and Fred Sutherland at the ECS Bishop's Circle gala. The Sutherlands recently hosted an open house to introduce others to the work of ECS.

Fourth Annual ECS Evensong Celebrates Outreach Partnerships

The Rt. Rev. Frank Griswold delivered an inspiring homily highlighting the connection between faith and service.

Over 100 people from across the Diocese came together for the fourth annual ECS Evensong, held at Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr on May 3. The voices of the Redeemer choir were matched in beauty only by the dappled sunlight that poured into the church just as the service began.


ECS Evensong celebrates the outreach partnership between ECS and parishes and individuals who make the agency’s work possible. The Rt. Rev. Frank Griswold, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA, drew on his experience as a member of the ECS Board of Trustees in the 1970s in a homily that touched on the value of ECS as a partner for outreach.

The whole Irwin family, Dona, Robert, Charles and Roger, helped out as ushers for the Evensong service.


Preceding the service, small groups came together in workshops exploring many facets of outreach. The Rev. Dr. Stuart Hoke, Missioner to St. Paul's Chapel, shared his experience providing pastoral care during the relief efforts after the World Trade Center attack.

Author Cordelia Frances Biddle and The Rev. Claire Nevin-Field conducted a hands-on workshop in which participants wrote their own “spiritual biographies.”

Ted Brown and Barbara Kozemchak from St. Thomas', Whitemarsh discussed how to develop and implement a parish outreach plan, while The Rev. Wally Fletcher explored the challenges and opportunities of small parishes.

Volunteers: Sherrie Campli, ECS Manager of Volunteer Services Kristin Webb, Art Campli and the Rev. Dr. Koshy Mathews, Rector of St. Peter's, Phoenixville joined in a reception following the ECS Evensong service.


ECS thanks Bishop Griswold, the workshop presenters, the organizing committee and, of course, everyone at Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, for making this year’s event a success.
It’s not too early to save the date for next year’s ECS Evensong, which will be held on May 2, 2009.

ECS Development Director Pursues New Opportunity but Leaves a Legacy

Claudia Stowers has resigned her position as Director of Development at ECS to take a position with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Claudia Stowers

During her four years with ECS, Stowers worked to integrate fund raising, communications, parish relations, and volunteer services efforts and launched a comprehensive re-branding of ECS to better focus and communicate the agency's mission of helping individuals and families overcome the impact of poverty. Under her leadership, the ECS annual fund grew nearly 40% from 2004-2007, to a total of over $1.1 million that sustains many ECS programs.

"Claudia has been a patient teacher and knowledgeable advisor to me," ECS Executive Director the Rev. John Midwood said. "I am grateful for her kindness to me, her hard work, and her commitment to ECS and those we serve."

Stowers and her development team also launched new initiatives to strengthen partnerships between ECS and parishes and individuals from across the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. On May 4, the agency held its fourth annual ECS Evensong, an event that celebrates outreach partnerships between Episcopalians and ECS. More than 300 women from across the diocese are now engaged in the work of Good Friends, a group that inspires women to come together in service to others.

All at ECS wish Claudia Stowers the blessings of success and fulfillment in her new position.

 
     
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