Haverford House

Last Friday, four superstars from the nationally ranked Haverford and Bryn Mawr Women’s Ultimate team, the Sneetches, came out to North Philly to lead the first of what will be a series of Ultimate Frisbee workshops for fourth and fifth graders at Community Partnership School, a small independent elementary school in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood of North Philly whose mission is to meet talent with opportunity by providing access to high quality education to all families, despite their income bracket.

Members of the Bi-Co women’s ultimate team introduce themselves to 4th and 5th graders at CPS.

It took CPSers about 15 minutes to nail what it had taken me months to master–the backhand!

A fifth grader throws a backhand–look at that form!

Along with themes such as teamwork, honesty, mutual respect, CPSers and Sneetches discussed the foundation of Ultimate Frisbee: Spirit of the Game. When asked, “What does Spirit of the Game mean to you,” one fourth grader answered, “Be competitive, but never forget to have fun!”

Sneetches and CPSers finish off the day with a cheer! A frisbee tradition.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks to the Sneetch Ultimate Frisbee team and everyone at CPS who made this project possible!

Nothing says “Thank You” like a gourmet popsicle from West Philly’s own Lil Pop Shop

Last Saturday, Haverford House had the pleasure of spending the day with the CPGC staff and summer interns at Pendle Hill, in Wallingford, PA.

Lovely Pendle Hill

We led a workshop called Nonprofits 101, worked through some challenging scenarios that might crop up during an internship, and ate what I’m sure are the best zucchini fries ever created.

Veggie Burgers, Sweet Potatoes, Zucchini fried, and brownies, all prepared by Pendle Hill’s very own staff

The room was bursting with passion, inspiration, and energy. As our time at Haverford House winds down to a close, the retreat at Pendle Hill reaffirmed the many opportunities to stay involved with nonprofit work, in Philly and beyond!

Molly Minden, Haverford House fellow, leads a group as they talk through how to handle a tricky homestay.

What better way to end an inspiring day than around the fire with S’mores. Thanks, CPGC staff and interns, for a fantastic day!

The group gathers around a campfire and ends the evening on a sweet note.

Last Friday a group of Haverford and Bryn Mawr students went to the El Viaje de los Niños opening reception at Magic Gardens and enjoyed a delicious dinner (and dessert!) at Reading Terminal. El Viaje de los Niños (The Children’s Journey) tells the stories of Mexican immigrant children who have crossed the border to come to Philadelphia. Through visual art sessions with artist Nora H. Litz, the children created large-scale dioramas that illustrate their journeys and the distress that migration has created in their lives and identities. Narrating their stories in accompanying audio tracks, the children take us along with them on their pilgrimage.  Small paintings and poems by immigrant adults augment the children’s stories to fully reveal their emotional journeys. El Viaje de los Niños is in collaboration with Puentes de Salud, and with assistance from Dr. Steven Larson, University of Pennsylvania.

www.phillymagicgardens.org/news/exhibitions

The group of Haverford and Bryn Mawr students is interested in migration issues and recently participated in the 2013 Migration Field Study (MFS) in Arizona and Mexico City. As I learned, this year was the first time MFS participants visited Arizona and spoke to Border Patrol officials. Then they traveled to Mexico City where they stayed at the Casa de los Amigos, and were exposed to the nuances of migration through briefings by non-profit organizations and daily seminar-type discussions. I had the pleasure of participating in the pilot Migration Field Study in 2010, so the group and I were able to compare experiences.  If you’d like any information on the MFS, Puentes de Salud, or the exhibit, please let me know!  The exhibit will be open through February 24, 2013.

Saludos!

Looking for a fun and novel way to explore Philly? Great news! Last week, Mayor Nutter announced the launch of a Bike Share program set to begin in 2014. Picture 650 bikes throughout Center City and University City, that you can pick up at one pod and drop off at another–for free (for the first 30 minutes, that is)!

While the Bike Share plan is still in its most preliminary stages, the fact that the plan is in motion is promising. To learn more or follow the plan as it progresses, see the links below. And happy riding!

www.uwishunu.com/2012/12/awesome-news-bike-sharing-is-coming-to-philadelphia/

bike-sharing.blogspot.com/2009/01/bike-share-philadelphia-hosts-bixi-bike.html

As a paralegal in the employment unit, you might think my job has me helping people find jobs or deal with issues in their workplace. While that does make up a tiny portion of my caseload, the biggest issue I deal with is criminal records. Having a criminal record is a huge barrier to finding any job at all, not to mention a decent-paying job in the field that you are passionate about. This video does a great job of showing some of the issues that many of my clients are currently struggling with:

Credit goes to students and professors that are part of the Penn Law Documentaries and the Law program: www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/documentaries/

Answer:

As seen on Baltimore and 46th

West Philly is Wonderful! There is activity and energy and community!

Haverfordians checking out the Reclaim Print Studio on Baltimore Ave.

On the Alternative Tour of West Philly last month, we visited local community organizations and spaces that are active centers in the West Philly Community.

Popsicles from the local Pop Shop. Goat Cheese Honey anyone?

Among those were community gardens, Mariposa Food Coop, the Paul Robeson House, and the Reclaim Print community silk screening organization.

Checking out the Clark Park Farmer's Market

Baltimore Ave. Mural, One of Many

And of course, we visited Haverford House!

Last Sunday we had some friends over for cooking and eating to give fall a warm welcome!  Molly made some tasty curry and we all made pumpkin/apple muffins (which were delicious)! To top it all off, we had some apple cider and pumpkin ice cream! Movie time followed.

If you ever want to join in the Sunday night dinner fun, please e-mail havhouse@haverford.edu and we will tell you when to drop by!

Welcome to another edition of foodie on a budget! As a vegetarian foodie with a vegan sister, I have definitely come to appreciate restaurants that cater to our non-meat eating needs. Below are some of my favorite vegetarian eateries in Philadelphia.

1. Satellite Cafe–Very reasonably priced place for breakfast or lunch in West Philly. It is a really cool place to hang around some morning while studying or reading. My favorite treats there are their Magic Bagel (bagel with nutritional yeast, olive oil, and cream cheese), their vegan grilled cheese (with spinach, nutritional yeast, and vegan cheese), and their yummy vegan desserts.
2. HipCityVeg–If you want to spend around ten dollars on lunch in Center City, this is a DELICIOUS option for you. I was recommended it by some of my meat-eating co-workers who sing its praises. So far I have only tried their Crispy HipCity Ranch but is was unbelievably yummy.
3. Blackbird Pizza– While ordering an entire pizza from here is a little pricey, you can buy a slice at this all-vegan South Philly pizzeria for between 2.50-3.75 which is a really good deal considering the slices are HUGE. The pizza is really yummy and even though I am a great lover of cheese, I couldn’t taste the difference between Blackbird pizza and non-vegan pizzas I have had. So far I have tried the fungi and pepperoni slices and loved both. Apparently they also have some great vegan sandwiches, but I have yet to try one.
4. Horizons–Okay, so this one closed last year but it WAS an amazing fine-dining vegan restaurant in Center City. However, since I don’t want to just tease my readers, you should know that the owners have since opened a new restaurant called Vedge. According to the reviews, it is just as fantastic as its predecessor.

Please add any of your favorite vegan/vegetarian Philadelphia eateries in comments!

Tri-Co students and Haverford House Fellows in the Haverford House living room

Given that one of the best parts of being a Haverford student was meeting and getting to know my fellow students, one of the coolest parts of Haverford House so far (besides living with my fellow Fellows, of course!) has been meeting and sharing meals with some of the incoming Haverford freshmen. In July, we had the pleasure of dining with the Chesick Scholars, a group of students who spent much of the summer at Haverford taking courses and doing research, at a nearby Indian buffet, New Delhi.

Last Tuesday another wonderful and impressive group, the Haverford students who had just participated in the Tri-Co program, joined us for dinner at Haverford House (Indian again, this time from Desi Village!). It was so exciting to hear about the different places people in the group are from and what they’re interested in getting involved in at Haverford. And of course I think we fellows all enjoyed the opportunity to give out some unsolicited advice about making the most of the Haverford experience.

There’s something so nice about sharing a meal and good conversation- I hope for many more opportunities such as these as the year goes on. And good luck to all the incoming students in their first week of classes!