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Archive for events

Julia Roque hugging her son

The American Dream in Sussex County

Posted by Stuart Comstock-Gay 
· Wednesday, September 25th, 2019 
· No Comments

Delaware’s Latino population is growing and it’s growing fast. And that’s a good thing.

On Oct. 7, the DCF will be releasing a new report entitled Perspectives on the Latino Population in Sussex County, Delaware.

What we find is encouraging and inspiring. Now exceeding 20,000 people, Sussex County’s vibrant and diverse Latino community is bringing new passion to the belief in the American Dream.

The Roques are building the American Dream.“I raised smart and determined kids who don’t give up,” said Julia Roque, who immigrated from Puerto Rico in the 1970s. “They make me happy.”

Her children are now pursuing careers in communications, the military and nursing. Julia and her family are just one example.

The Sussex County Latino community contributes more than $50 million in tax revenue to Delaware annually. There are more than 800 Latino-owned businesses in the county. Nearly 25% of Sussex County Latinos aged 25 or older have earned college credits – 75% of them are women. They are learning English at breakneck speed, buying homes, holding down jobs, going to school and church, leading local sports leagues, and building community.

This is what America was built on. While many of us are grappling with whether the American Dream is still possible, the Latino community in Sussex County is living it. I’ve long expressed my continued belief in idea of the American Dream. This report gives me even more confidence that it has not vanished.

The report will be posted soon. In the meantime, you can sign up here for the Oct. 7 community conversation in Georgetown, where the report will be discussed.

This report, which was written by Drs. Jennifer Fuqua and April Veness at the University of Delaware, would not be possible without the support of a grant from CFLeads; the partnership and inspiration of Dr. Christine Cannon and the Arsht-Cannon Fund; the community leadership of La Esperanza and La Colectiva; and members of the Sussex County community.

about the American Dream … book circles and a talk

Posted by Stuart Comstock-Gay 
· Tuesday, September 18th, 2018 
· No Comments

I want to believe in the American Dream. I want to embrace the idea that with hard work and diligence, and a little help from others, we can all succeed and thrive. I want to stand behind the idea that wherever you are from, you can come here and you will have a chance to live a good life. I want us all to embrace that idea, and that reality.

And in parts – in places – it remains true. Unfortunately, in too many places and communities it’s just not the case. Robert Putnam’s book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis is the best description of the fraying of that dream that I’ve ever read. I grew up not far from where Putnam grew up, in an Ohio that was an industrial power. Even twenty years after he grew up in the 1950s, the industrial heart of Ohio was still real. The jobs were real, the communities

Robert D. Putnam

were strong, the opportunities existed.

But where his classmates and mine could get good jobs in factori

es, those jobs no longer exist. Where his classmates and mine were embraced by a community and provided opportunities to learn and grow, to participate in activities and build their futures, it’s just that much harder now.

Many things led to this change. His book – Our Kids – talks about them, and tells the stories of families in America today, and what they are doing to strive for opportunity. In his books he tells about families in Port Clinton, Ohio; Bend, Oregon; Atlanta, Georgia; Orange County, California; and Philadelphia. He talks about families, parenting, schools, jobs, race, and religion.

It’s an important book, and worth reading. And we are giving away copies of the book. Thanks to the Delaware Humanities Council, we have 500 copies of the book to give to folks who want to host their own book groups. It’s one of the most important books I’ve read in recent years, and I urge you to check it out. Sign up – and get up to 10 copies for your book group. You can find out how here.

And then, once you’ve read it and discussed the book, come hear Dr. Putnam talk about the book and what he’s been thinking about since he wrote it. On November 14, we are hosting his presentation at the Baby Grand in Wilmington. Click here to get a ticket.

At the DCF, we believe that opportunity for all enhances the common good. Join us in a book group. Join us at the event. Let’s double-down on the American dream.

Arsht-Cannon logo

Arsht-Cannon Awards $667k+ in Grants to Improve Lives of Hispanics in Delaware

Posted by Allison Levine 
· Monday, November 13th, 2017 
· No Comments

 

Hispanic families in Delaware are benefiting from increased access to education and health care with the support of $677,841 in grants from the Arsht-Cannon Fund (ACF), an endowed fund at the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF). 

Some of the 2017-18 grants were awarded in June and the remainder are being issued this week. Over the past 13 years, the ACF has invested nearly $9 million in Delaware nonprofits focused on education, health care and youth, with a particular focus on improving the lives of Hispanic Delawareans As our Hispanic communities benefit, the quality of life for all Delawareans improves.

1-Immigrant family integration:

Lutheran Church of Our Savior’s English as a Second Language Program – $50,000 (2 years): Helping approximately 150 adults and their children learn to read, write and speak English.

Polytech Adult Education’s Family Literacy Program – $50,000 (2 years): Breaking the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by providing educational opportunities to low-income and immigrant adults and their children.

Latin American Community Center (LACC) English as a Second Language (ESL) and Nurturing Parenting programs – $30,000: Continuing its ESL program and providing a new parenting-skills program.

Friends of Bear Public Library and Friends of Route 9 Library and Innovation Center – $3,500: Offering Plaza Comunitaria program at both libraries that includes basic-, elementary- and intermediate-level school courses in Spanish for immigrants age 15 and over.

Delaware Readiness Teams – $10,000: Translating and disseminating information about early kindergarten registration for Spanish-speaking Latino parents; gathering data to provide help to parents preparing preschoolers for kindergarten.

Friends of Wilmington Parks – $1,800: Buying books in Spanish for preschool and kindergarten nature programs.

Friends of Milton Library and Friends of Garfield Park Library – $5,500: In partnership with the Delaware Hispanic Commission, holding the annual celebration of Latino culture and community at the Milton Library in Sussex County and, for the first time this year, at the new Route 9 Library and Innovation Center in New Castle County.

Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council, Inc.’s ESL & Low Income Tax Clinic – $25,000: Helping Latino immigrant families statewide resolve tax issues.

2-Kindergarten through College Programs that improve life trajectories:

Reading Assist, Inc.’s Reading Corps Reading Intervention Program – $25,000: Recruiting, training and supervising bilingual reading tutors for first- through third-grade students in the Colonial School District.

Sussex Tech Adult Education’s Healthy Snacks for 21st CCLC – $8,500: Providing snacks and food for their after-school programs and field trips.

UrbanPromise Wilmington’s Street Leaders Program – $25,000: Increasing the number of Wilmington’s Hispanic youth leading and participating in their afterschool and summer programs, which focus on developing teens personally and academically in a nurturing environment.

Summer Learning Collaborative, Inc. – $36,000: Expanding this successful summer camp program, focused on reducing the summer learning gap for middle school-aged children in low income families, to Sussex County during the summer of 2017.

La Esperanza Community Center’s Youth Immigration Advocacy Program – $20,000: Planning and piloting a Youth Advocacy Program to support the development, academic success, and rights of Latino youth in its surrounding Georgetown community.

PeaceWork, Ltd. – $10,000: Expanding programs to provide arts, yoga and gardening activities to at-risk youth living at the New Castle County Youth Detention Center.

Leading Youth through Empowerment (LYTE) – $12,000: Planning to expand capacity to recruit, enroll, and engage Latino 8th through 12th grade students in their college access afterschool and summer program.

TeenSHARP Inc.’s College Access Ambassador Program – $20,000: Expanding and recruiting additional Latino high school students into its program, which expands college access for students of color.

TeenSHARP Inc.’s Delaware Goes to College Academies – $34,000: Providing academic advising and coaching for college admission for up to 600 Delaware qualified youth during the 2017-18 school year.

Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington’s Hispanic Graduate Support Program – $20,000 (2 years): Enabling Nativity Preparatory School of Wilmington to provide continuing guidance to their middle school graduates (and their Spanish-speaking parents), through high school and college.

3-Increased Access to Quality Bilingual Mental/Behavioral Healthcare:

National Alliance on Mental Illness Delaware’s Hispanic Services Initiative – $75,000 (2 years): Expanding outreach to the Hispanic community to increase knowledge of mental illness and reduce barriers to access of care in Kent and Sussex County.

Family Counseling Center of St. Paul’s – $30,000: Educating Latino families in Wilmington on access to mental health care, expanding capacity for screenings to better direct clients, and training new clinicians.

Ronald McDonald House of Delaware’s Housing Program for Delaware’s Hispanic Families – $10,000: Expanding support services for Latino families staying at the Ronald McDonald House while their child is receiving care at a local hospital.

Latino Mental Health Workforce Program – $16,500: Providing partial tuition assistance for three bilingual graduate students, who have committed to work as mental health professionals in Delaware after graduation.

Sussex County Health Coalition – $50,000:  Facilitating an environmental health assessment focused on behavioral health and expanding school-based mental/behavioral programs to Latino students.

4-Advocacy for Education Achievement and Health Equity

Rodel Foundation’s Social Emotional Learning Landscape Study – $20,000: Providing critical information on Delaware’s SEL efforts, student needs, evidence-based practices, evaluation measures, and advice to scale up successful efforts and align with needs.

Rodel Foundation’s English Learners in Delaware – $20,000: In partnership with the Delaware Hispanic Commission’s Education Committee, conducting data collection and analysis to address educational disparities in a series of 5 fact sheets and secure state funding for English learners.

Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now (Delaware NOW) – $60,000: Engaging students, parents, communities, teachers, and organizations to urgently advocate for educational policies for student success – higher graduation rates, test scores, and college enrollments for Latino students.

UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza) – $5,000: In partnership with the Rodel Foundation, developing advocacy and awareness plans for English learners in Delaware.

The Arsht-Cannon Fund was created in 2004 from the estate of the Honorable Roxana Cannon Arsht and S. Samuel Arsht. Roxana Cannon Arsht was the first woman to be appointed to serve as a Delaware judge, while her husband S. Samuel Arsht was well-respected for overhauling Delaware’s General Corporation Law. Their daughter, Adrienne Arsht, said, “My parents’ desires to invest in the needs of the times- supporting the best interests of a civil society- are actualized by supporting this newest wave of immigrants.”

“We’re honored to partner with a growing number of Hispanic-serving non-profits that provide life-changing opportunities for integration, learning and health,” said ACF Executive Director Dr. Christine Cannon. “Our Hispanic families face unique challenges that require understanding, culturally-sensitive approaches, and expert program bilingual staff and volunteers who care deeply.”

“We’re proud of the impact of the Arsht-Cannon Fund,” said DCF President and CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay. “The focus on Hispanic families fosters a community where everyone can feel welcome and succeed. Supporting a diverse and healthy community is at the core of the DCF’s mission.”

Two knockout speakers; three blogs to read …the CEP conference

Posted by Stuart Comstock-Gay 
· Monday, April 10th, 2017 
· No Comments

Professional conferences are mixed bags, often filled with bad presentations, braggadocio, tall tales and wasted time.  I just returned from the 2017 Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) conference and quite to the contrary, that bag was filled with insights, thoughtfulness, enthusiasm and passion.  Two speakers stood out for me; and I was reminded about three blogs that are worth your time.

There are many famous Delawareans about whom we can all be proud.  But surely at the top of the list needs to be Milton native and Cape Henlopen High School graduate Bryan Stephenson.  Bryan spoke to the conference in the opening plenary, and wow…simply wow.  He has spent his entire professional career dedicated to equity and seeing the humanity in everybody, through his work addressing injustices in the criminal justice system at the Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama. His talk was about the indignities of inequality…but so so so much more…really about the American dream.  My takeaway quote…”the opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.”  Check out this incredible TedTalk from 2012.

Raj Chetty from Stanford made a powerful data filled talk about the equality of opportunity in the U.S., and things we can do to get better to the American dream of economic advancement.  For instance, he showed powerful evidence about how the gap shrinks dramatically by a simple move to a better neighborhood.  And by attendance at a college that is focused on low income kids.  Check him out (and some of his amazing charts) here.

And now for the blogs. 

I have loved Vu Le‘s blog — nonprofitwballs — since I first saw it a little over a year ago.  This was my first chance to hear him in person.  From his perch at the Rainier Corps in Seattle he skewers the absurdity of nonprofit life, from scrounging pens and paper to exhaustion to the myth of sustainability (“imagine if we said to a school…so this project of yours…the 4th grade? What’s your sustainability plan?” Ouch.), onerous demands and clueless funders, to endemic discrimination, all with a clear warmth and passion for the critical work we all do. If you don’t subscribe yet, do it.  Do so now. You won’t regret it.

Foundations are constantly striving to do better.  If you read my blog regularly, you’ve seen me discuss the commitment by so many funders to getting better.  Phil Buchanan, President of CEP, is deeply committed to this, but for my purposes here, I want emphasize that he also writes about this in an interesting ad clear way.  Check out a recent piece…Losing our religion: Against sector agnosticism.

For a more philosophical approach to our work, you can hardly do better than look at Grant Oliphant‘s blog. Grant is president of the Heinz Endowments…and formerly President of the Pittsburgh Foundation. I am rarely disappointed by his writings, which push us to strive for our best selves, to be responsible citizens of the world. Whether writing about the arts, personal ethics and courage, bridging divides, the news media…He’s a philosopher in a foundation president’s hat, and that is a good thing.

That’s simply a taste of the robust engagement at the conference. While I slipped out for a Red Sox game (Sweet Caroline that was a cold night!!!) I was otherwise completely engaged.  That is surely saying something.

 

Delaware Designer Showhouse

Fund for Women to Benefit from Designer Showhouse Oct. 6-9

Posted by Allison Levine 
· Monday, September 19th, 2016 
· No Comments

FFW_tallAn extraordinary contemporary home in Centreville is expected to draw thousands of visitors this autumn as the setting for the Delaware Designer Showhouse. The Fund for Women, a component fund of the Delaware Community Foundation, will benefit from proceeds of ticket sales Oct. 6-9.

The inspirational Showhouse will feature the creativity and talents of nearly 20 local interior designers and landscapers, with proceeds benefitting its principal sponsor, the Junior League of Wilmington, as well as four other nonprofit partners. The Showhouse will be open Thursdays through Sundays beginning Sept. 22 and ending Oct. 16. The proceeds will benefit a different charity each weekend.

The 4,400-square-foot custom home was built in 1974 on 3.5 woodland acres with two flow-through ponds. When its current owners planned a facelift to prepare it for sale, a Designer Showhouse to benefit local organizations seemed like a natural fit. Renovations to the home include a welcoming courtyard entrance with a new pergola, a stunning new kitchen, and entertaining and dining spaces, all with an eye towards bringing the woodland setting indoors. The homeowner’s unique contemporary art collection features many local artists, including Ed Loper, Vicki Vinton, Graham Dougherty, Ken Mabry, Jon Mort and Caroline Chen.

In addition to the Junior League, proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the following organizations each weekend:

September 22-25 :   Delaware Nature Society

September 29 – October 2:   Delaware Contemporary

October 6-9:   Fund for Women

October 13-16:   Oxford Art Alliance

Tickets are $25 in advance and are for sale online at DelawareShowhouse.com.  If you purchase a ticket online, it may be used on any of the dates above. Tickets purchased at the door will be $30.

Showhouse details and ticket information are available at DelawareShowhouse.com or email info@DelawareShowhouse.com or on facebook.com/DelawareShowhouse.  Parking will be available at a nearby parking lot and a shuttle will transport visitors to the private location.

 

Fund for Women to Host Sussex County Wine Pairing Event

Posted by Allison Levine 
· Friday, September 16th, 2016 
· No Comments

The Fund for Women, a component fund of the Delaware Community Foundation, will host a wine and food pairing event on Sept. 22, 5:30-7:30, at the Cordrey Center in Millsboro.

Guests will visit stations where wine will be paired with cheeses and chocolates from around the world. The event also will include a raffle.

Registration is $30 in advance or $35 at the door. To register, visit weblink.donorperfect.com/2016choc or contact Kelly Sheridan, ksheridan@delcf.org or 302.856.4393 by Sept.20.

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