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A key aspect of the coming Rev. Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center is the Esports Event and Technology Center. This dual-purpose space can host Esports events and be converted into a 60-station state-of-the-art computer lab. One of the programs planning to take advantage of this space is beginning to take shape, and it starts with the Bethune Elementary and Kenderton Elementary schools. Entitled the “BriDDge Career Pathways Program: Bridging the Digital Divide,” this program will provide meaningful career pathways for North Philadelphia youth.
But what does Esports have to do with career building? By providing an engaging introduction to careers like event planning, information technology, broadcasting and beyond. With hundreds of careers available in business, STEM, media, communications, education and more, students in the BriDDge program will be introduced to them all while continuing to enjoy one of their favorite hobbies, finding a deeper appreciate and love for Esports they didn’t know existed. They may come for the games, but they’ll leave with a career. This program is guided by social cognitive theory, which has been applied to the education field to understand knowledge acquisition and behavior. It’s through this that students will learn through the dynamic interaction of cognitive, social and environmental factors which collectively motivate, reinforce, and sustain behavior. BriDDge will focus intently on developing cognitive traits related to goal setting and intentional self-regulation through Esports and other STEM activities. Also, the team-oriented environment will foster strong relationships with peers/coaches which will be leveraged to help youth align personal and environmental assets both inside and outside the program. Collectively, these experiences will promote a sense of self-efficacy, self-worth, and social competence which will enhance college and/or college readiness, and health.  While the Community Impact Center is not scheduled to open until 2024, Called to Serve will launch up to seven community-based sites to host Esports teams as the initial step in the BriDDge program, starting with the Bethune Elementary and Kenderton Elementary schools with plans for near-future expansion for schools in the Tioga-Nicetown neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Stay tuned and keep an eye out for more developments that will be happening soon!
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William Penn Foundation Grants Zion Baptist Church’s partner, Called To Serve CDC, $1 Million to support the Redevelopment of its Annex into a Community Impact Center In total, the $11 million project has secured nearly $8 Million in Grants, Donations and Tax Credits  (September 13 2022) North Philadelphia, PA – The Reverend Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center (SCIC), which will occupy the renovated Zion Baptist Church Annex, is getting closer to their $11 million funding goal. They recently received a $1 million grant from the William Penn Foundation, joining benefactors including H. Chase Lenfest, North10 Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP), City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce, the McLean Contributionship, the Gordon Family Foundation, and many community members.
Prior to 2014, the Zion Baptist Church Annex, located at the corner of Broad and Venango Streets offered invaluable resources and programs to residents of the North Philadelphia community. Thanks to a recent push for the re-envisioning of the space by community leaders, Called to Serve CDC and Sullivan CDC, this historic structure is being revitalized. The Center will occupy the same site as Zion’s Education Annex, founded by Rev. Sullivan, directly across Broad Street from Zion Baptist Church. The heart of the building, originally constructed as a place of worship, will be the space that once served as the sanctuary, repurposed as a radically welcoming and flexible common area and venue for events—from meetings to weddings. The many programs committed to the Sullivan Community Impact Center (SCIC) include the BriDDge Career Pathways Program for youth based on the booming interest in Esports, a community arts center, a co-op café/bookstore, the Temple Lenfest North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative, numerous community programs offered by the Center for Urban Bioethics of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine and Temple University Health System, a commercial kitchen and much more. “We are pleased to join the list of other local funders supporting Called to Serve and the creation of its community impact center,” explained Hillary Murray, Interim Director for Creative Communities at the William Penn Foundation. “A high-quality, accessible neighborhood resource like the Sullivan Community Impact Center will provide neighbors from North Philadelphia and beyond with health services, educational opportunities, and other programming that will help create positive changes for generations to come.” The project has raised $3.1 million in commitments and cash as well as targeting $4.6 million in new markets and historic tax credits. An additional $3.3million is needed in order to meet the $11 million goal. Contributions from the public are welcome and can be made using this link. “I represent an example of what is possible when people are provided with opportunities,” said Rev. Michael Major, Sr., co-project leader, founder and board president of Called To Serve CDC. Major, who grew up on the block immediately behind Zion, was one of the youth who benefitted from the Zion Annex programs. Now in his 26th year as a senior technology business analyst for a local Wall Street firm, Major credits the support and encouragement he received as a youth for where he is today. The SCIC will bring together a constellation of diverse programs dedicated to improving health and wellbeing for a community that has been left behind. In honoring Sullivan’s legacy, this center will offer health services, education, technology, cooperative community ownership, arts and culture, as well as a large gathering place for events and engagement. Mosaic Development Partners, a Black-owned impact real estate development firm, is overseeing the project and Schultz & Williams, as well as Watchdog Real Estate Project Management are supporting the effort. The SCIC will continue the legacy of Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, noted civil rights leader and pastor of Zion Baptist Church for 38 years. From Zion, Rev. Sullivan launched both local and global campaigns on behalf of human rights and economic justice. He was called ‘The Lion of Zion’ for his unyielding and powerful voice in the march for freedom and justice. He empowered his congregation to get involved and invested in their own community programming and wealth building opportunities. He also created what would be known today as the modern-day crowd fund (10/36 program), where he encouraged members to give $10 per month for 36 months to invest in community-driven cooperative economics. Called To Serve is launching a similar program (20/24 program) to encourage local community investment for the Center. The SCIC is scheduled to open in late 2024. When completed, the renovated building will meet the requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. According to the USGBC website, LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. ### Called to Serve (CTS) is an emerging socioeconomic community development organization dedicated to the complete renewal, restoration and revitalization of underserved neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With a primary focus on the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood of North Philadelphia, we envision a wholesome Philadelphia urban ecosystem with intact neighborhoods, thriving businesses with access to capital, and reformed schools that produce academically competent students. For more information, please visit https://www.calledtoservecdc.org. About the William Penn Foundation The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that increase educational opportunities for children from low-income families, ensure a sustainable environment, provide inclusive and equitable public spaces and arts and culture experiences, and advance philanthropy in the Philadelphia region. Learn more at www.williampennfoundation.org. The Leon H. Sullivan CDC is committed to improving the quality of life for all individuals and families in the Nicetown/Tioga area by addressing the spiritual, economic and social needs of the immediate community as well as participants from surrounding neighborhoods. For more information, please visit http://leonhsullivancdc.org.in/ Zion Baptist Church, founded in 1882 is the oldest African American congregation north of Market Street in Philadelphia. The church has an impressive history and longstanding reputation for religious, social and community outreach programs that have had a local, national and international impact. Learn more about Zion at www.zionbaptphilly.org  Floyd Leath, Jabir Sims, Robert White, Darrell Alexander, Kyle Bedley, Ross Castleberry (shown above) show up for work every day. Even during the pandemic, the six men would remind Corridor Manager Amelia Price, “we want to work.” A recent post by Denis Murphy, Senior Director of Corridor Improvements for the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, titled “New Preliminary Report Highlights Impact of PHL Taking Care of Business Clean Corridors Program,” reflects their collective impact.
 Our Workforce Development partnership with the Temple Lenfest North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative (LNPWI) and the Center for Urban Bioethics (Lewis Katz Medical School at Temple) is in its second year. Combined with our participation in the Philadelphia Taking Care of Business (PHL TCB) program, CTS is presently employing six men five of whom are returning citizens as Cleaning Ambassadors.
 The Covid19 pandemic has shone a bright light on the digital inequity that existed for years in underserved communities. Even before the outbreak, Called To Serve has sought to address this issue in the Nicetown-Tioga community. Events such as the Hour of Code at Bethune and Kenderton elementary schools represent examples.
 Zion Baptist Church, along with Wharton-Wesley United Methodist Church and the Philadelphia Masjid, all received grants ranging from $275,000 – $298,000 from the William Penn Foundation, to support pre-development activities to transform the congregations’ underutilized religious properties into community hubs. Called To Serve and the Leon Sullivan CDC, Zion’s partners in the project, are leading the effort to reestablish the Zion Annex as the community hub that it was, following its purchase by the church in 1969.
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