Fall 2015 Community Partners RELS 399

Community Partner Time Frame Sign-Up Assumption Center Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, 2:30- Office 4:45p Dismas House Create schedule based on participant’s Office availability (for one 2-hour time block) Marie Anne Center Monday –Thursday, 2:30 to 5:30p (for one 2- CBL Fair or 3-hour time block) St. Francis St. Therese Catholic Various times and activities Office Worker House St. Mary Health Care Center Weekdays and weekends, 10a-4p (for one CBL Fair 1.5-hour time block) Pernet Family Health – ESL Create schedule based on participants’ CBL Fair Tutoring (for Spanish-speaking availability (for one 1.5-hour time block) students) Pernet Family Health – Food Mondays, 9:30-11:30a, 1-3p; Tuesdays and CBL Fair Pantry Wednesdays, 11a-3p (for one 2-hour time block)

Assumption Center http://www.assumptionsisters.org/ 16 Vineyard Street, Worcester, MA 01603

Staff Contacts: Sr. Catherine Anne Soley, RA Sr. Mary Ann Azana, R.A. [email protected] 508-767-1356

Organization Description: The Assumption Center in Worcester is a ministry of the Religious of the Assumption. In partnership with the parish of St. Peter-St. Andrew in the city’s Main South area, the Center serves the various educational needs of the neighborhood through English as a Second Language classes for adult learners, after-school mentoring and literacy programs, the Kate O’Neill spiritual book library, Girls With DREAMS, GIFT Lecture Series and a Vietnamese summer camp. In addition, the Center also sponsors a Knitting Circle and a community garden which involve many volunteers from around the city. All the programs were founded by the Sisters and are carried out by the Sisters, AMAs and volunteers from Assumption College, Clark University and College of the Holy Cross as well as a good number of adults from the parish and the area.

The headquarters of the Sisters’ lay volunteer program, the Assumption Mission Associates (AMA), is housed at the Assumption Center. A project of the Religious of the Assumption since the 1950s, AMA has been particularly active in the U.S. since the 1980s. Since its move to Worcester in 2001, AMA-USA has sent approximately 100 young people to mission sites both overseas and in this country. Currently the AMAs serve with sisters in Worcester, MA and in Chaparral, NM in the USA and in the Philippines and England, internationally.

In addition to the AMA office, the Center provides housing for the AMAs themselves, who live together in the Cana community along with other young adults who are committed to intentional living. The Cana community shares meals and prayer regularly with the community of Assumption Sisters. The AMAs offer service at Assumption Center, the parish of St. Peter-St. Andrew’s, and other neighborhood organizations that serve the disadvantaged.

CBL Opportunities: MENTORING The Assumption Center runs an after-school mentoring program at St. Peter’s Church on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:30-4:45 p.m. Children, ages 6-15, are paired one on one with college mentors who help with homework, reading, arts and crafts, games and much more. Since 1996 the mentoring program has provided a safe, supportive and fun environment for children to spend their after-school hours.

THIRD DAY In the fall of 2013, a third day was added to the after school programming with an emphasis on building literacy. With the help of AMAs and other volunteers, the center opens to the students something of what they have found in the pages of books. The students are offered a variety of genres and subjects, given the support they need to move into longer periods of reading, and then have an opportunity to share their ideas. There is time for writing as well. Sometimes there is a read-aloud or have a guest reader. But the focus is always on providing the students with blocks of time to enjoy reading. The program meets on Tuesdays from 2:30p-4:45p at St Peter’s.

Pre-Service Requirements: CORI Form

Number of Volunteers Needed: 10 or more for Mentoring (5 per day); 3 or more for Third Day

Dismas House http://dismashouse.org/

Staff Contact: Dave McMahon [email protected] 30 Richards Street, Worcester (508) 579-9249

Organization Description: Dismas provides housing and services at three locations for homeless and ex-offenders. In our homes, Dismas House, Dismas Family Farm, and the Father John Brooks House, former prisoners are engaged in the hard work of rebuilding lives, and rekindling hope for themselves and their families. Families with kids, volunteer Board members, live-in international students, and church groups help create the family atmosphere by breaking bread with residents and spending the holidays with them. Our dedicated staff - many former prisoners themselves - provide key educational, recovery, and reentry tools to our residents.

Dismas launched Worcester Homeless Action Committee in 2002, an effort to provide leadership, support, and advocacy measures to help the homeless of greater Worcester.

CBL Opportunities: One CBL volunteer will be involved in updating the Coming Home Directory, as well as interacting with the clients of Dismas House. The Coming Home directory is a directory of services available to ex-offenders returning to, or currently living in the greater Worcester area. The directory is a resource that presents important information for ex-offenders about the services available in our community. This guide may also be useful for corrections practitioners, program staff, policymakers and the friends, families and volunteers that work with former offenders in the community.

The CBL Volunteer will also be required to attend at least one of the Dismas House community meals. This will be a chance for the volunteer to get to know the residents, as well as begin to build relationships with the Dismas House staff and the people Dismas House serves.

The volunteer will be expected to serve for one 2-hour block each week. The volunteer should reach out to Dave McMahon to set their volunteer schedule.

Pre-Service Requirements: None listed

Number of Volunteers Needed: 1

Marie Anne Center www.marieannecenter.org St. Bernard Church, 236 Lincoln Street, Worcester

Staff Contacts: Sister Michèle Jacques, Director 508-736-6986 [email protected]

Ms. Fleurimonde Jean-Pierre, Assistant Director 508-425-9254

Organization Description: Marie Anne Center (MAC), a ministry of the Sisters of Saint Anne, is located in the lower level of St. Bernard Church on Lincoln Street in Worcester, MA. The Center addresses educational and spiritual needs of families and provides basic education and living skills for people who would otherwise not have access to them.

Special attention is given to families living within its multi-ethnic neighborhood. Opened in April 2001, the Marie Anne Center offers a variety of activities, including after-school tutoring, a computer lab with Internet access, English as a Second Language classes, sewing classes, yoga classes, art and music classes, Teen Talk, and a police/clergy mentoring program.

The work of the Center is carried out primarily by the Sisters of St. Anne and associates, as well as others from the region, under the direction of Sister Michèle Jacques, a Sister of Saint Anne.

The Marie Anne Center hosts a variety of programs and classes for children/youth, teenagers, and adults in the Worcester area. In particular, the Center caters to the needs of families and individuals living in surrounding multi-ethnic neighborhoods.

CBL Opportunities: After-school Program On Mondays through Thursdays from 2:30 to 5:30 pm, students from the neighborhood receive individual tutoring by Marie Anne Center staff, high school and college students and other dedicated volunteers. Volunteers are needed once per week for a 2-3 hour time slot. Volunteers are invited to tutor, and/or teach/assist with art, music, and dance classes.

Pre-Service Requirements: CORI, Safe Environment Training

Volunteers Needed: 6-8 (2 per day)

St. Francis & Therese Catholic Worker House http://directory.ic.org/1683/Saint_Francis_Therese_Catholic_Worker_House

Staff Contacts: Scott & Claire Schaeffer-Duffy 52 Mason Street, Worcester, MA 01610 508-753-3588 or 508-753-3089 [email protected]

Organization Description: We are a lay Catholic community living in simplicity, holding our goods in common, attempting to offer hospitality to homeless men and women, and working for peace and justice, in the spirit of Christ, the early church, and the saints. We pray together somewhat irregularly and publish a newspaper called the “Catholic Radical,” six times a year.

We work to promote a consistent ethic of life that opposes war, the death penalty, euthanasia, and abortion. We sponsor many demonstrations and work for peace on various international campaigns in war zones and areas of conflict.

CBL Opportunities: Many tasks entail the details of hospitality. We clean on Mondays and throughout the week take turns cooking home-made vegetarian meals. From Thursday through Saturday we bake products for our small cottage industry, the Bread not Bombs Bakery. These are sold at various parishes throughout Worcester county. We also participate in a weekly peace vigil (Tuesdays) and various peace projects. We have communal nightly prayer Sunday-Thursday. Mass is held at the house every other week and we occasionally host round-table discussions.

Students are welcome to join us in any of the following: House meeting and cleaning: Mondays 8-11:00 am Peace Vigil: Tuesday 4-5 pm Baking: Friday 7-9 am or Sat 9am-12pm House Mass: every other Wed at 7:30 Selling Bread: Saturday or Sunday Masses. Schedule varies according to where we are selling

We also publish the Catholic Radical and welcome contributors and/or assistance with our editorial meetings held every two months.

Students should expect to volunteer, at a minimum, 1.5 hours per week.

Volunteers Needed: 2

St. Mary Health Care Center http://stmaryhc.com/ 39 Queen St. Worcester

Staff Contact: Sandra (Sandy) Geller, Activities Director [email protected] 508-753-4791

Organization Description:

St. Mary Health Care Center, a Catholic rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility, was established as a continuing expression of the vision of St. Marguerite d'Youville, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, the ""Grey Nuns."" In the spirit of Marguerite, whose legacy we share, we seek to "‘bring the miracle of LOVE to all’” through compassionate care.

In partnership with others committed to providing holistic and inclusive care for all, we develop innovative and creative means to enhance the physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of those we serve.

CBL opportunities: CBL students will have an opportunity to be matched with a St. Mary's resident, or to help run an activity such as art, music, games, etc. Students will visit St. Mary's once per week to have conversations, play games, or participate in an activity, based on both individuals' interests. The schedule is flexible (approximately 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, including weekends), based on students' availability. Most volunteers should expect to serve 1.5 hours per week minimum (including travel and settling in time). Pre-service Requirement: CORI form, Volunteer application, TB or PPD test, Flu shot, Orientation (1-hour during the following times: September 11th, 15th, and 18th between 10a and 3:30p).

Volunteers needed: 6-10

Pernet Family Health Service – ESL Tutoring http://www.pernetfamilyhealth.org 237 Millbury Street, Worcester, MA 01610

Staff Contact: Emily Linhares, Director of Family & Community Development [email protected] 508-755-1228 ext. 224

Organization Description: Pernet Family Health Service is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, DPH-certified home-health agency working with individuals and families to provide family-centered, health and social services that lead to long term strengthening and enhancement of family and community life.

CBL opportunities: ESL Tutoring – see the following section for more information; food pantry assistance

Pre-service Requirements: CORI form, Volunteer application, Confidentially form

Volunteers needed: 5-10

Program Worksheet: ESL Tutoring Program

General Info

The ESL (English as a Second Language) program is established to provide members of the Worcester community with the vocabulary and grammatical structures needed for everyday living.

Participants will work one on one or one on two with an ESL volunteer to develop language acquisition and cognitive language skills through the use of sound instructional, and writing techniques. The ESL program provides the English Language Learner (ELL) the opportunity to grasp the social and cultural aspects of the English language through the teaching of reading, writing, listening & speaking. Goals The goal of the ESL program is to help participants develop language skills necessary to be successful as a member of society. This can be done most effectively by meeting the following objectives:  Provide instruction to each student in the ESL program in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  Familiarize the ESL student with the varied cultures and customs of the United States while promoting their own ethnic pride through cultural diversity and sensitivity.  Work towards a proficiency in the English language.  To reach a level of proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and to help them in their everyday life. Activities  Organize volunteers to sign up and be trained in our ESL orientation for tutors.  Recruit participants for the program who are able to meet with the tutors and can get to Pernet on their own.  Pair/group up volunteers to participants based on their schedule  Have the volunteers meet with the participants on a regular basis to work on the participant’s proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and to help them in their everyday life. How many days per week (on average) will this activity occur? One a week or every other week depending on how scheduling works and the level of support the participant needs.

How many hours per day (on average) will this activity occur? 1 to 1 ½ When does this activity begin? Individual start days will depend on when the volunteer and participant can meet. Will start setting up tutoring times in September.

When does this activity end? End dates will depend on the volunteer, participant and the level of proficiency. Results and Measurement Explain the change you expect as a result of the above activity:  Stay with the tutoring  Improve in speaking  Improve in writing

What is the measurable change that you are expecting?*  There will be a minimum of 4 participants engaging in the program  50% of participants will come on a regular basis  60% of participates will show improvement in their verbal communication  40% of participants will show improvement in their written communication  70% of participants will feel more connected to their community and feel confident about accessing resources Instrument Specific tool to collect information  Attendance Sheets  Verbal Testing  Worksheets  Day-to-day communication with volunteer and community  Pre-Post surveys

Beneficiaries Estimate the number of people this will serve We expect to serve 7-15 people in the Worcester community, focusing on participants who live in the Green Island Neighborhood.

*Since this is a pilot program we are not sure how accurate our measurement goals are, they will be changed accordingly after an assessment of the program is complete.

Pernet Family Health Service – Food Pantry 237 Millbury Street, Worcester, MA 01610 http://www.pernetfamilyhealth.org

Staff Contacts:

Yildiz Laza, Emergency Assistance Coordinator/Case Manager [email protected]

Emily Linhares, Director of Family & Community Development (primary contact) [email protected] 508-755-1228 ext. 224

Organization Description: Pernet Family Health Service is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, DPH-certified home-health agency working with individuals and families to provide family-centered, health and social services that lead to long term strengthening and enhancement of family and community life.

Pernet runs an emergency food and infant supply pantry. Residents of Worcester’s 01610 zip code can receive food from the food pantry once a month by showing identification. To obtain baby and infant supplies such as formula, baby food, cereal and diapers, clients must show proof of child (such as a birth certificate or WIC card). Supplies are given out in quantities to last approximately three days. Clients are also encouraged to talk to trained staff and volunteers about long-term hunger solutions such as Food Stamps and WIC. The Emergency Assistance Program is possible through grants from Project Bread, the United Way of Central Massachusetts, Rachel’s Table and the generous contributions of local groups, individuals, churches and the Worcester County Food Bank. Pantry hours are: Mondays, 1:00 - 3:00 PM; Tuesdays and Wednesdays 11 AM - 3 PM.

CBL Opportunities: Students are invited to serve at Pernet’s food pantry. Students can either work during the pantry hours or volunteer to assist with grocery shopping (Mondays at 9:30a). Students should serve for one weekly 2-hour time block.

Volunteers Needed: 4-6 (no more than two at a time)