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Volunteer Opportunities

Many Thanks: The following pantries benefitted from the University’s Annual Food Drive: People’s Emergency Shelter, Project Home, Baring House Crisis Nursery and Southwest Philadelphia Family Service.

Thank you to the entire University community for donating more than 1,200 gifts and toys during the holiday season. We can honestly say we made a difference in the lives of many during the holiday season by providing food, clothing, gifts and toys, to name a few.  There are no words to adequately describe your generosity. Many continue to benefit from your willingness to give.

—Isabel Sampson-Mapp, Associate Director, Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Change Drive Now Through March 19: This is a non-tuition scholarship donation given to graduating high school students accepted at an accredited college or university. The program has been in existence for more than 20 years and has made a difference in many students’ lives; the program name was changed to the Marie K. Bogle Scholarship in 2017.  Students have been able to use the funds to buy books and the many other items needed to make a home away from home.

The following sites are available for your convenience to make your donation:

Contact Isabel Sampson-Mapp at sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu for additional info.

Office                                         Location                                            Contact                            Phone

President’s Office                      100 College Hall                                 Brenda Gonzalez               898-0447

Provost Office 353B                  3401 Walnut Street                             Susan Curran                    898-6841

Human Resources                     600 Franklin Bldg.                              Syreeta Gary                     898-6018

Netter Center                             2nd floor, 111 S. 38th Street              Isabel Sampson-Mapp     898-2020

Wharton                                     1000 Steinberg Hall-Deitrich Hall       Jennifer O’Keefe               898-1092

ISC                                             203A Sansom West                            Kathie Ritchie                   573-3561

Research Services                     5th floor, Franklin Bldg.                      Lauren Oshana                 573-6710

Comptroller’s Office                   312 Franklin Bldg.                              Celestine Silverman          898-7593

FRES                                          3101 Walnut Street                            Carole Mercaldo               573-8795

AFCRI-CBIO                              508 Biomedical Research Bldg II-III   Joanne Gorman               746-5550

Physics & Astronomy                 2E5 David Rittenhouse Laboratory     Michelle Last                   898-5954

Nursing                                       Room 439 Fagin Hall                          Pat Adams                       573-1630

African American Res. Center    3643 Locust Walk                               Colleen Winn                    898-0104

Please donate them to Penn VIPS. We will put them to great use by donating them to community members, many of the students we work with, and we will also use them to say thank you to our many volunteers. Contact Isabel Sampson-Mapp at sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu

Reorganizing?  Do you have furniture no longer needed by your department? Local non-profits are in need of your items! Do you have any computers to donate? Had a conference?  Do you have left-over bags, tee-shirts, or tchotchkes? Need to empty out your storage space?

Support our Book Drive Now through March 31: to benefit children attending The Haverford Learning Center and Baring House Crisis Nursery. Penn will be collecting books to donate for classroom libraries and for students to take home. The Haverford Learning Center provides free pre-kindergarten and early education support to low income families in West Philadelphia and the Baring House Crisis Nursery is the only emergency day care program in the Philadelphia area. Our goal is to make sure every little one has a library of his or her own. Join us in our efforts. Host a drop box location for co-workers, classmates and friends or make a donation today. We are aiming to have several drop off locations with your help. “Sixty one percent  of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children,” according to Reading Literacy in the United States: Findings from the IEA Reading Literacy Study. The Haverford Learning Center and Baring House Crisis Nursery are requesting new and used books, as well as gift cards for children ages 1-6 years old. Pick-ups can also be arranged if necessary. Assistance is needed with collecting, sorting, distributing and dropping off books as well as visiting the locations for story time.

Campus drop-off location: Netter Center, 111 South 38th Street, 2nd floor

Contact Isabel Mapp to donate your items or Maurice Hayman (267) 474-1383.

Join Penn VIPS Drives Committee: Penn volunteers provide a drop off location to collect the many donated items we receive during our annual drives. A variety of drives are conducted during the course of the year to partner with and help support local schools, families and agencies. Dropsite volunteers are located throughout campus. Volunteers post the events, set up collection sites and help select the recipients for the donations. They also participate in an annual thank you luncheon.

Drives are held during the following times: School Supplies Drive: August; Food Drive: November; Gift/Toy Drive: December; Coat Drive: December; Change Drive: March.

Become a Mentor: Penn’s WorkPlace Mentoring Program has been in existence since 1993.  The program is designed to bring 7th graders from area middle schools to the University of Pennsylvania campus, where they interact with faculty and staff. The goal of the program is to expose mentees to a college campus and to help the mentees set goals for their future. Mentors form positive relationships with their mentees and talk to them about the importance of an education, how to set goals, and they also talk to students about how attending college can make a difference in their lives. Mentors provide resources. The mentors share information about their career and they provide information on what is necessary for the mentee to achieve their goal.  They direct mentee to searches on the web or looking up information in books or they set up interviews with persons who may be able to provide resources/information to the mentee. A mentor in Penn’s WorkPlace Mentoring program is a friend. Contact Isabel Mapp at sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu for additional info.

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