Need in Deed

“Form 990 is reviewed by the board of directors before mailing.”

“Policy is reviewed by the board of directors”

“Compensation is reviewed and approved by the board of directors”

“Compensation is reviewed and approved by the board of directors”

“Documents are available to the public upon request.”

“Mission need in deed (nid) uses the classroom to prepare young people for civic responsibility and service to others, helping them develop into capable, contributing members of society. To accomplish our mission, we train and support teachers as they integrate service-learning with their classroom practices. Through this project-based and experientially rich teaching and learning strategy, students apply academic, social, and emotional skills as they examine and address complex concerns in their schools and communities. Program accomplishments nid uses service-learning strategies to increase students' civic and academic engagement, develop literacy and critical thinking skills, and foster personal and social development. Teachers hold the key to accomplishing these goals, so we provide them with the necessary training and support to do so. In 2016-2017, need in deed worked with 140 3rd-8th grade teachers and 3,600 students in 60 traditional public and charter schools across philadelphia. With our support, they conducted a year-long process of identifying social issues they cared about, and they designed and implemented a meaningful service in response to their concerns. In addition to providing opportunities for increased civic and academic engagement, our process develops students' literacy and critical thinking skills, fosters personal and social development, and cultivates such positive behaviors as improved attendance and decreased tardiness and discipline issues. Important character traits and social and emotional skills like personal responsibility, collaboration, leadership, empathy, resilience, and self-control are nurtured. As teachers guide students through the yearlong service-learning process, nid provides the support and resources needed to build a classroom environment conducive to authentic learning and a robust service-learning project. This support continues as students identify issues that interest them, choose one issue as their focus, conduct research, meet with community partners to understand underlying causes and effects, and complete meaningful service in response to that concern. The 2016-17 year began with retreats for teacher network members in july and august. Our annual teacher recognition event, the soire, was in september, and student representatives from participating classes and their teachers gathered at the shout out in may to showcase their projects to peers and community partners. Interspersed throughout the year were monthly professional development sessions for network teachers, as well as individualized coaching, access to mini-grants for project-related expenses, and access to learning resources (books, articles, videos, websites, etc.) to increase students' understanding of the social issues on which they focused. Homelessness and gun violence again topped the list of issues that students chose as the focus of their inquiry and projects. Among the other issues students explored were stress, substance abuse, immigration, police/community relations, driving safety, child abuse, animal abuse/welfare, eviction, and hunger. Experts from more than 70 community partners broadened and deepened students' understanding of these complex social issues and avenues for action. The following are just some highlights from among this year's projects: 6th-8th graders collected 4,044 pairs of socks for distribution to homeless individuals through seven local agencies; 3rd graders packed more than 5,000 meals for global distribution through stop hunger now; 3rd graders concerned about gun violence interviewed their state representative on how a bill becomes a law and the role of citizen voice; a 5th grade class created a video on visitor behavior for the philadelphia zoo; a class of 3rd graders wrote and distributed a book, "the abcs of stress" for their school; 7th-8th graders interviewed a trauma specialist on the long-term effects of trauma on the body; a 6th grade class created a brochure for people a”

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