Happy Fall!
CORA has been filled with the hustle and bustle of the beginning of a new school year for weeks now and things are not settling down. This time last year we began our Strategic Planning process and now with our goals in place, we are forming cross-disciplinary work teams to implement the action steps needed to reach those goals and elevate CORA, just in time for our 50th Anniversary in 2021. Stay tuned as we report on our progress in the areas of expanded services, branding, organizational culture, data collection and reporting, and diversification of our revenue sources - all efforts we intend to improve upon as an agency, to better meet the changing needs of our community. Thanks for all you do to support CORA as we embark upon another very exciting school year focused on stabilizing and enhancing our current services and thoughtfully investigating how we can continue to creatively expand our services to meet unmet needs.
I am pleased to announce that CORA has been awarded a
21st Century Community Learning Center Grant.
21st CCLC supports the creation of centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools and helps students meet state and local standards in core academic subjects. Learn more here. It also offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children. This funding will be utilized at Thurgood Marshall, where CORA will be able to expand our current program and will enable CORA to take on two new schools, Cooke and Stearne Elementary Schools. The Community Services Division staff is very excited about this new opportunity and looks forward to serving more of Philadelphia's children and families!
On November 16, 2017 at
CORA's Champions for Children Celebration
, the agency will honor longtime board member Herbert Bass for his unwavering commitment to bringing much-needed resources to CORA to further Sr. Charity's mission. CORA will also recognize Dr. Arthur Evans for his meaningful work around mental health and recovery as Philadelphia's former Commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS).
I sincerely hope you will consider joining me at this wonderful event, and bring a friend. I'd greatly appreciate your help in making others aware of the impact CORA is having on the youth of Philadelphia. Thanks very much to those who have already supported Champions! If you have not already, please consider adding your name to our list of generous sponsors.
~ AnnMarie Schultz, President and CEO
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