We have an opening in the QVS Philadelphia House, with an opportunity to work with West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC). We invite young adults between the ages of 21-30 to apply for this position to participate in our QVS Philadelphia program this year — live in community, explore Quaker spirituality, and work towards social change.
We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis until October 20th. If interested, please apply on our website at: https://
The full Fellow Job Description can be found on our website here.
Please share this with folks in your network who might be interested!
WePAC Job Description:
The West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) was established in 2004 with 6 volunteers placed in 1 elementary school. Our scope and reach in providing library services and literacy programming grew in subsequent years to address the drastic closing of school libraries in response to the severe budget crisis impacting the School District of Philadelphia in 2009, that continues through today. There are currently only 5 or 6 certified school librarians for the School District of Philadelphia’s 130,000 students (down from nearly 200 just 25 years ago). In fact, the vast majority of Philadelphia’s 220 schools completely lack a functioning library. Enter WePAC: WePAaC provides essential, regular access to books and literacy enrichment with a simple yet effective approach: get kids excited about learning to read before they must read to learn. Through this approach, WePAC seeks to foster a love for books and reading in Philadelphia’s young students, and support literacy development through enrichment activities. Our libraries are set up to spark creativity, stoke imaginations, and encourage children’s dreams and ambitions through the written and spoken word.
Since 2009, WePAC’s 170 volunteers have dedicated more than 10,000 hours annually to re-opening, supplying, and staffing volunteer-run libraries in elementary schools throughout Philadelphia. WePAC enhances the academic offerings of the schools we serve by providing library services and academic mentoring that are not otherwise available in these schools. All of our programming and services are provided during the academic year within regular school hours. WePAC currently serves approximately 4,500 students in 13 schools.
Community Engagement Specialist: WePAC relies heavily on volunteers, community partners, and families to support its mission. We seek to deepen our relationships with partner organizations, including school operators, nonprofits, advocacy groups, and civic groups. Specifically, we seek to develop strong, sustainable partnerships with a number of key stakeholders to engage volunteers and community members alike. The Community Engagement Specialist (CES) will plan and execute efforts to increase the awareness of WePAC in the communities we serve, as well as manage relationships with key partner organizations. More specifically, the CES will do outreach in the neighborhoods we serve to develop new community partnerships, recruit new volunteers, and identify opportunities for WePAC to better support the families we serve. Activities will include planning monthly service events, attending community meetings, and developing outreach materials to use with a range of audiences. The CES will report to the Executive Director, and work closely with the Program Manager, Program Development Associate, and other staff/volunteers as needed. Duties and responsibilities will include:
- Developing and managing a grassroots outreach campaign in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding our school libraries
- Building and strengthening external partnerships across the city to support WePAC’s efforts
- Serve as WePAC’s ambassador at public events and community meetings
- Run monthly service events to engage and recruit new volunteers at WePAC libraries
- Assist with planning and executing community engagement and organizing events including: trainings, library visits, letter writing campaigns, speaking events, etc.