Penn Reading Initiative (PRI) is a volunteer-based program dedicated to increasing literacy of struggling elementary students at underfunded schools in West Philadelphia. While several organizations at Penn work with youth in West Philly, PRI is unique in its mission and curriculum. PRI utilizes a curriculum called the Reading Road, which was developed […]
Volunteering
Penn Students Lend a Hand in Education at Incarceration Facilities
A wealth of empirical evidence points to an extreme disparity in educational attainment between the general population and incarcerated individuals. While 18 percent of the general population lacks a high school diploma, over 40 percent of incarcerated individuals do not have one (Why Prison Education? ). This is not an […]
Selfish Altruism: Counting the Cost of Short-Term Medical Missions Trips
I took my first short-term medical mission trip the summer after my junior year of high school. Our team of twenty American teenagers embarked on the 24-hour flight to Uganda bearing one brain surgeon, two nurses, and suitcases full of stickers and children’s books. Working alongside Ugandan doctors and nurses, […]
Life and Death on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
4/8/15 – Pine Ridge, South Dakota When I stepped out of the tiny airport in Rapid City, I felt culture shock; I’ve never seen so much nothing. Now in the car, the yellow grasses fly by in a blur as rock formations roll on like waves. This place is unlike […]
Top 5 things I learned in the Streets of Philly
For the past month and a half, I’ve stepped outside of the Penn bubble and gone downtown with a group from the Newman Center. Our intention was to talk to the homeless offering them some coffee, giveaways, and empathy. Through this experience, I listened to their stories, both sad and hopeful, […]
Behind-the-Scenes of Penn Benjamins
Each Thursday night, two Penn students make their way over to Van Pelt Weigle Information Commons rooms 128 and 129. Inside, they place water boilers, piles of cups, and assortments of snacks onto the table—their standard arrangement for the following hours. While it may appear as if they’re setting up for another […]
Local Organization Provides Books for Prisoners
“Thank you for the books and magazine. I understand how busy you must get with requests and other responsibilities so I greatly appreciate your time and effort. I am in a special housing unit known as a disciplinary house or “the box.” We do not have access to programs, school, […]
Refugees: A Community of “Others”
This past summer, I worked at a day center for refugees in Rome, Italy, called the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center. The center welcomes more than 200 refugees every Monday to Saturday in the neighborhood of Monti. These centers exist as places for refugees to spend their time while waiting for their visa […]
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