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Hopeworks News: January 2008
Miles: Life in Production and As An Intern At ARI
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 My name is Miles Roman and I have been working at Hopeworks for the past year and a half. I started at Hopeworks as a trainee and worked my way onto the production team. Now, I work on different clients sites. This includes maintenance, deciding where to put the details, and following specific orders from the clients. At first I was skeptical about working on websites because I knew that my skills needed improvement. However, I have stayed with it and worked hard to improve my skills, and now I’m enjoying what I do.
Click here to read the rest the article.
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Group Relations Conference
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Friday, January 18, through Sunday, January 20, the staff of  Hopeworks attended a group relations conference at the University of San Diego titled Leadership For Change: Evoking Collective Wisdom and Energy in Groups and Organizations - Awakening the Soul, Connecting with the Spirit. The aim of the conference was to provide opportunities for participants to develop a spirit of inquiry into the complexities of organizational life that interweaves intuition, intention, and attention to the inspiration that emerges in the midst of “unknowing” with critical, strategic thinking, integrity, and responsible action. The Monday following the conference the staff worked with two facilitators to relate the learnings of the conference to the daily operations and tasks at Hopeworks. The conference was a great experience for everyone on the staff. Everyone is eager to incorporate their new learnings at Hopeworks! |
Hopeworks In LA
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What did the Hopeworks staff do after the group relations conference in California? Go to the beach? Surf? Hit Rodeo Drive for major shopping? Soak up some sun? None of the above. Sean, Tarren, Steve and Patrick headed to Los Angeles to visit Homeboy Industries and then to Long Beach to connect with the YMCA’s Youth Institute. Both of these youth development programs provided the staff members with valuable insight and new and innovative ideas for working with our youth.
 Homeboy Industries employs gang member recently released from prison and provides them with opportunities to work in their six businesses, learning new skills and establishing a reputable work history. Beyond that, they offer case management, a life skills curriculum, employment counselors, legal services, mental health counselors and tattoo removal services. While there, our staff experienced a tremendous energy that comes from those pursuing new lives. Click here to continue reading this article!
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Introducing To You...Hope Mead!
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Hope Mead has been volunteering in the literacy depart ment at Hopeworks since September 2007. As a volunteer she assists trainees with math and reading activities that prepare them for college classes. Hope, originally from Ithaca, New York, is now living in North Camden and participating in a volunteer program called Mission Year. She has enjoyed working with the youth and staff at Hopeworks and building relationships with them. Hope’s quote to live by is “Love God, love people, nothing else matters.”
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Welcome Luis Infante To Hopeworks!
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 Luis Infante, nsj, joined the Hopeworks staff in early January. Luis was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, where he received his B.A. in English & Spanish. Prior to coming to the United States, Luis taught English and Spanish in a high school and worked as a teaching assistant in literature. Luis has volunteered as a counselor and pastoral minister in Colombia and in Virginia. Luis entered the Jesuit Novitiate in August 2006. During his time as a Jesuit novice he has worked in El Paso, TX as a volunteer at Annunciation House (emergency shelter for undocumented immigrants), making pastoral visits to jails and a mental hospital in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He has also volunteered at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx as a nurse aid, assisting with the care of terminal patients; in Syracuse, NY at Loretto Nursing Home in pastoral care and at Onondaga Jail as an inmate advocate. As a Jesuit novice (a Jesuit in training), Luis is at Hopeworks for one of his assignments. Welcome Luis!
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e-Mentoring
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We consistently rely upon our youth to strengthen and guide our youth development opportunities here at Hopeworks ‘N Camden. Recently, seven of our high school GEB team trainees discussed their experiences with e-Mentoring. e-Mentoring is mentoring via weekly e-mails. We’ve had an e-Mentoring program for  many years now and are in the process of adding to what is already a strong aspect of our program. To do this, we asked the youth to tell us about their best experiences and from their feedback, we formulated a statement about e-Mentoring which the youth then reviewed, edited and approved. To continue reading about e-Mentoring, click here. |
Interview With Angel
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 On January 11th, 2008, Carol Thompson interviewed Angel Rodriguez, an alumni of Hopeworks who has been attending St. Joseph’s University since September. Carol asked him questions about his transition from a community college to a major university. Here is a portion of that interview:
Carol: What has been the hardest thing academically?
Angel: Hardest thing academically: I would have to say studying. Since like in high school I was like 30 minutes of studying and I did great. I couldn't have that same attitude at SJ; it’s like 4 hours, and sometimes I still didn't do well on the tests, so I found that challenging—you have to study a lot.
Click here to read the rest of the interview! |
Literacy New Year, A New Direction
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January kicked off our Math – Think B.I.G. Challenge. This gives youth the opportunity to sharpen their math  reasoning and critical thinking skills. Each day youth are required to complete various activities and sample problems that cover a wide variety of mathematical concepts. Using the Yearly Progress Pro computer-based curriculum, youth are challenged to stretch their young minds to complete specific tasks.
What brings on this change? The vision of the literacy department is to increase the language and mathematics levels of youth. Since September, the literacy department has initiated programs and activities that highlighted the English and language arts domain. As a result, youth made academic progress in the aforementioned areas. With the implementation of the “Think-Big’ Challenge, the goal is to see gains in mathematics at the end of the next quarter.
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Exciting Community Mapping Project Begins: Tracking Community Concerns Via Google Maps
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and Hopeworks have created  an online quality of life mapping website. The purpose of this website is for anyone in the City Of Camden to report quality of life concerns directly to the city using Goggle mapping technology.The project was created so that once concerns are mapped, they can be tracked by type, response time and location. Submitted concerns are color coded to represent submitted, responded, disputed and over due concerns. In this way, citizens will be able to have timely information about how their concerns are being responded to and also how they can collaborate in the process of creating a better Camden! Check out the site at www.camdendccb.org.
Camden Map: Street maps For Sale!
Members of the Hopeworks GEB Team have been working on a road map of Camden. The map is 24x36. This map  will be a great tool for travelers and residents of Camden to find their way around town as it will not only feature an up to date street map, but also many of the most prominent organizations and businesses in Camden. Members of the sales team will be contacting local organizations and businesses about buying advertisements to support the production and printing of the map. The maps will be distributed throughout Camden beginning in May.
Hopeworks Goes Courtside
Thanks to the generosity of Anne and Richard Campbell, trainees Angel Santana, Mario Arriola, Miles Roman, Beatrice Ortiz and Danny Reyes, along with staff members Sabrina Gomez and Sean Dougherty, helped the Sixers earn a big victory against the Miami Heat last month. Everyone had a great time at the game. Thanks again to Anna and Richard for their generous gift.
Welcome Aniya Harmony Peters
Former trainee Jordan Peters and his fiancee welcomed a baby girl this past winter. Her name is Aniya Harmony Peters. Congratulations Jordan!
Comcast Video Link
Father Jeff was recently on Comcast Newsmakers. See his interview here:
http://hopeworks.org/film/comcast.wmv
Hopeworks Honored By HHRC
Haddonfield Human Relations Committee honored Hopeworks for fulfilling the spirit of Dr. King in their lives. Hopeworks and five other organizations were honored on Monday, January 21 at the Friends Meeting House. George Hutchinson, Hopeworks board president, gave a five minute talk about how he became involved with Hopeworks and how Hopeworks is working to lift up the youth in Camden. Great job George!
Thank You To All Of The Foundations And Corporations That Support Hopeworks Through Grants And To Our Many Generous Benefactors!
Upcoming Events:
2/4: Happy Birthday Beatrice!
2/17: Happy Birthday Angel!
2/22: Happy Birthday Sabrina!
2/25: Happy Birthday Nefer!
View Our Latest Clients
Woodland Avenue
Keep an eye out for these upcoming sites:
Big Brothers Big Sisters NJ
Camden Diocese
Camden Youth Drug Court
Continuum of Life
Goodwill NJ
Grace of God Lutheran
Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate
Newburgh Ministries
NJRC
Triad Associates
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