YouthBuild Hosts Delegation from South Africa Conference
On Wednesday, December 13, YouthBuild Philadelphia and YouthBuild USA proudly hosted a site visit for a delegation of public officials and youth workers from South Africa. The visit was in part to determine new strategies (with particular attention to construction and housing) for South Africa's National Youth Service Programme, which focuses on youth development and community service.

The delegation was composed of the following people:

Mr. Busani Ngcaweni, Senior Policy Analyst
The Presidency, Republic of South Africa

Ms. Toivo Muofhe, Policy Analyst
The Presidency, Republic of South Africa

Mr. William Jiyana
Monitoring and Evaluation Programme
National Department of Housing

Ms. Seitisho Ramutla, Deputy Director
Human Settlement and Policy Integration Special Focus Groups
National Department of Housing

Ms. Margaret Tshoane, Director
National Youth Commission

YouthBuild USA Representatives:

Mr. Peter Twitchell, Senior Director of Program Development
YouthBuild USA/YouthBuild International

Mr. Clayton Peters, Associate Director for International Projects
YouthBuild USA/YouthBuild International

The delegation toured the school, visited a construction class and a house rehabilitation site, and engaged with students during a focus group session. Press coverage included both the Inquirer and the Tribune.

The National Youth Service Programme is intended to re-engage South African citizens with their country and their communities by providing meaningful training through service. The primary target groups include: unemployed and unskilled youth, rural youth, women, youth with disabilities, youth in conflict with the law, and youth accessing social grants (those that are medically fit to work) (target ages range from 18 to 35).

Sectors targeted include (emphasis on labor intensive activities): water and sanitation, health and social development, housing and community infrastructure, the environment and nature conservation, and education.

In the words of Dr. E G Pahad, Minister in the Presidency:

"South Africa NYS can and must play a crucial role in the fight against poverty and in the promotion of full citizenship and social inclusion. The NYS can and must contribute to capacity building, develop marketable skills, providing access to workplace networks, and boost confidence and self-esteem, and thereby play an important role in youths’ development and in achieving South Africa’s national development objectives."

YouthBuild Joins Katrina Efforts
From Nov. 27 to Dec. 6, 2006, eighteen YouthBuild students left their own difficult circumstances to spend two weeks rebuilding housing in Gulfport, Miss., a city that suffered catastrophic damage from Hurricane Katrina. The students volunteered through the YouthBuild AmeriCorps Katrina Rebuilding Project.

Students that participated in the project include: Mustafa Baker, Raheem Branch, Richard Brown, Edward Carr, Antoine Devero, Christopher Dowd, Donne Harris, Derrick Holmes, Shardell Martin, Donald Mitchell, Candice Paul, Yusef Pettus, Christian Reed, Sylvester Waller, Jonita Weeks, Stephen Wiggins, Ashley Williams and Sean Williams.

Also participating were: full-time AmeriCorps members Christie Eastburn, Moira Moody and Kimberly Walker; and, YouthBuild staff members Daniel Mickelson, Darrell Fleming and Brenda Alfaro.

In total, the YouthBuild AmeriCorps Katrina Rebuilding Project will engage nearly 400 YouthBuild AmeriCorps graduates and students from around the country to build up to 300 units of housing in the Gulfport area. A special AmeriCorps program of 26 YouthBuild graduates has been formed to participate in the project for one year; they will be joined by rotating crews of current AmeriCorps members – like the team from YouthBuild Philadelphia – approximately every month.

YouthBuild Students Shine at Make Change Conference
On Saturday, November 10, three YouthBuild students won honors at the annual, youth-centered Make Change Conference in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Empowerment Group and the Enterprise Center. The conference encourages young people to begin to think about starting socially responsible businesses.

The winning YouthBuild students - who won first and second prizes for their business plan presentations - are Yaleel Benson, Derrick Holmes and Shardell Martin. Congratulations, students!

Make A Difference Day
On the morning of October 27, 2006, YouthBuild Philadelphia celebrated national Make A Difference Day by cleaning up Nicetown Park (in partnership with Nicetown CDC), and fencing unused lots in the Allegheny West area (in partnership with Allegheny West Foundation).

For the park project, students and staff joined with volunteers from the Philadelphia Recreation Department, Nicetown CDC, and Philadelphia Green to pickup trash, reseed, repair a bricked area, rake weeds and leaves, and remove graffiti from playground equipment.

For the fence project, students and staff erected fences in front of nine unused lots in the Allegheny West area.

Make A Difference Day 2006 was part of YouthBuild's growing legacy - adopting areas of the city in an effort to transform young people's lives - and the communities they serve.

Financial Literacy News - August 2006
The following excerpt was posted in the CFA (Charted Financial Analyst) Society of Philadelphia Newsletter in August of 2006:

During the month of July, CFAPs Community Outreach Volunteers began teaching a financial literacy course to students at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School. Net worth, paychecks and budgeting, and checking and savings accounts were among the topics covered over send hours of instruction...

Certain students who complete the course will be selected to enroll in a special individual savings account program. By successfully meeting the criteria...students will receive additional funding from public and private sources to pay college tuition, purchase a new home, or start a new business.

Rebuilding a Community - Mole Street - June 22, 2006
On June 22, 2006, YouthBuild Philadelphia and Universal Community Homes celebrated the completion of four affordable houses in South Philly. YouthBuild was contracted to rehabilitate the properties by Universal, a community development corporation serving the South Central Philadelphia area.

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony marked a year of hard work and learning by YouthBuild students, who rehabilitated houses and stabilized lots in the neighborhood as part of YouthBuild's extensive hands-on training and community service curriculum. The school took the houses through every phase of reconstruction including demolition, foundation, framing, drywall, painting and finishing work.

Speakers and Ribbon Cutters for the day included State Representative Harold James, 4th District Councilman Michael Nutter, Universal CFO Shahied Dawan, Universal COO Victoria Wilson, YouthBuild Executive Director Simran Sidhu, YouthBuild Construction and Business Development Director Don Pinkney, YouthBuild students Craig Green and Izaiah Daniels, and 58-year Mole Street resident Rita Butler.

Celebrating National Youth Service Day
More than 200 YouthBuild Philadelphia students (160+), staff (40+) and community members converged to clean and stabilize abandoned lots on South Mole Street in Philadelphia on Friday, April 21 in celebration of National Youth Service Day. YouthBuild chose the Mole Street location (between Ellsworth and Federal Streets) because the school is currently in the last stage of rehabilitating four houses on the block for low-income families. The completed houses will be dedicated to the community in a special ceremony in June.

The group engaged in trash pickup, weeding and general beautification for seven lots, generating hundreds of bags of debris and garbage and several large piles of bricks and rusted objects. Some of the lots were cleared of excess growth and weeds to look more attractive, long-term.

Due to the progress that was made on National Youth Service Day, the students can continue further stabilization on the lots during class service trips for the rest of the school year. A development corporation will eventually designate some of the lots as future housing sites.

The students’ efforts to help rehabilitate a community were reported on FOX 29, ABC 6 and KYW Radio. Their efforts also inspired community members to come out and inquire about how they could continue the progress being made in the neighborhood. Project organizer Katie Siegmund said that the day was a success because it, "inspired community members into action."