External and Internal Community Relations

Community Relations

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL COMMUNITY RELATIONS

The College serves a vast and integral role in helping Philadelphia grow and succeed. As the only open-admissions institution in the city, we make higher education accessible for those facing barriers, and our broadest goal is twofold: increase the number of Philadelphians with degrees, and enable citizens to use their knowledge to obtain careers that end the cycle of poverty.

We cannot achieve this mission alone; partnerships with organizations, city government and business leaders are vital to our progress, as are efforts to interconnect our services, programs, faculty and staff so that we are all aligned toward student success. As we demonstrate and communicate our commitment to students and the community, we all move forward. Ahead, find some of the ways the College has worked this year to fulfill this strategic pillar.

 
Fireside Chats: a forum for Discussion and ideas

Fireside Chats:
a forum for Discussion and ideas

Hosted by Dr. Generals, these events bring faculty, staff and students together to celebrate specific topics, such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Latinx Heritage Month.

Participants discuss current news, art, literature, history, music and other contributions within the context of the month’s theme.

 
Donations to Hospitals Making a Difference

Donations to Hospitals Making a Difference

The Respiratory Care Technology, Biomedical Equipment Technology (BMET) and Nursing programs all donated either ventilators or personal protective gear, both of which were in short supply and used to treat patients with coronavirus.

The Respiratory Care Technology program loaned four ventilators and one BiPAP, a less invasive type of ventilator to help patients breathe, to the Temple University Hospital System. The BMET program, which prepares students to learn how to test and repair medical equipment used in hospitals, also donated its ventilator to the system

In addition, the Nursing program donated 75 personal protective equipment packets, including a hospital mask, gown and gloves, each to Temple University Hospital -- Jeanes Campus and Fox Chase Cancer Center. Nursing faculty also used the protective gear to show students how to properly use and remove the garments.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Illuminating an International Crisis:
Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Educating others through a survivors’ panel, discussions with law professionals, resource tables and a documentary, this fourth annual event on Oct. 10 provided facts and statistics surrounding this worldwide problem.

Nicole Vadino, associate professor of Sociology who helped to organize the day’s events, along with faculty and staff Faye Allard, Ph.D.; Edite Birnbaum; Rosetta Robinson; Ari Bank; Deirdre Garrity-Benjamin; and William Love, J.D., stated, “Today we want to talk about breaking the chains and bringing awareness because people think it’s everywhere else, not in this country, but it’s happening [everywhere]."

During the Break the Chains event held on the Mint steps to raise awareness in our community, supporters raised signs and held a 26-second moment of silence. Individuals are trafficked every 26 seconds.

 

B.PHL Innovation Fest

 

Highlighting Our City:
B.PHL Innovation Fest

The College partnered in October 2019 with this inaugural festival, designed to create connections between residents and innovative organizations, inspire new ideas and future leaders, and celebrate all that Philadelphia offers.

 

We held five events on Oct. 15 in conjunction with Innovation Fest:

 
  • A Cybersecurity summit featuring professionals in the field, who discussed ways to protect yourself and employers from hackers. The event was presented by the College’s Department of Computer Technologies, the Cybersecurity Club, and the Division of Business and Technology.
  • Nursing students explained how they used their education in hands-only CPR and other training to save lives in the communities they serve. The session featured Nursing faculty Lisa Johnson, Ph.D., and Laureen Tavolaro-Ryley.
  • Single Stop helped attendees learn how to navigate higher education and discussed how first-generation students can remove barriers to enrollment and academic success.
  • Dominic Salerno, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biology and William Wunner, Ph.D., director of Outreach Education and Technology Training at The Wistar Institute, discussed our joint Biomedical Technician Training program and how it prepares students for jobs in a variety of academic research settings and at biomedical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
  • A pop-up reception, Philly Sounds on the Greenhouse Grounds, was hosted at Grady’s Community Garden. The evening soiree featured cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live performances by artists from the College’s label, Spring Garden Records. Guests were asked to bring a nonperishable item for the College’s food pantry. More than 175 people attended and were able to download music and promote talent from the College.
 

Fresh Food to Fight Hunger

Fresh Food to Fight Hunger

A greenhouse at the College, tended to by student and staff volunteers, is providing fresh vegetables to students and their families in need of assistance. The College is addressing life challenges and barriers that prevent students from focusing on their education.

The mission of Grady’s Community Garden is to combat food insecurity within the urban environment by providing access to fresh produce, and education in sustainability and self-sufficiency.

A cooking demonstration, the planting of vegetable seeds by students and staff, and a vegetable giveaway marked the garden’s first-year anniversary on Oct. 24, 2019.

The College’s food pantry locations have also provided students with nonperishable goods and other essential items throughout the year.

 

Registering and Educating Students with #CCP Votes

Registering and Educating Students with #CCP Votes

The Institute and partners marked Voter Registration Day on Sept. 24, 2019, with an event to increase registration among students and discuss the benefits of voting. New voting machines were on hand for students to operate and ask questions.
Efforts resulted in registering 100 new voters and substantial press coverage for the College.

 

Investing in Your Community and Yourself Through Volunteering

Investing in Your Community and Yourself Through Volunteering

As the City’s college, part of our mission is instilling the lifelong benefit of giving back and practicing good citizenship. Students have several opportunities to volunteer for initiatives at the College or in the community, as do faculty and staff.

The College participated in the annual MLK Day of Service on Jan. 20, 2020, at Girard College, which hosts the nation’s largest MLK Day event. The more than 140 projects, workshops and trainings at the campus draw thousands of volunteers.

Our Institute for Community Engagement and Civic Leadership offers several volunteering possibilities on-site and around Philadelphia. This year, highlights included First Book Donation Drive, the MLK Day of Service, and Junior Achievement Steps to Success Day, which brought 300 third graders to the College for an early introduction to higher education. Efforts were organized around five categories: environmental engagement, civic engagement, donation drives, homelessness and hunger, and youth and education.

Enough Is Enough:
Privilege vs. Injustice IN 2020

Dr. Generals and the College community came together in June 2020 to take action and engage in substantive discussions after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among others.

 

 

The teach-in sessions featured panelists from the College and the community, and focused on different topics, such as police reform, violence against the transgender community, and next steps.

Expression Sessions followed the teach-ins, where participants had the opportunity to talk with College counselors, in small groups, about their fear, anger and how to process the recent traumatic events.

 
 

#EnoughisEnough

Learn more at www.ccp.edu/enough