powercorps camden [nj]
2019 giving while living regional grant: $1,800

Woodard & Curran Foundation’s $1,800 grant helped PowerCorps Camden purchase materials and supplies such as a lawnmower, clippers, trash pickers and nitrile gloves in order for the members to conduct their clean up and treatment of acres of land across Camden City. These and other tools get a workout and often need to be replaced. Through this award, PowerCorps Camden was able to ensure that each person working had the proper supplies in good condition to perform maintenance and support the community through environmental stewardship.

As part of the Promise Neighborhood initiative, PowerCorps seeks to conserve and revitalize public lands in four of Camden's most populous but blighted neighborhoods: Cooper Plaza, Lanning Square, Bergen Square, Liberty Park, and Centerville, which combined represent a population of nearly 15,000. By cleaning and greening these open spaces, PowerCorps members help to ensure that the city's waterways, vacant lots, and public parks are not only safe, attractive and enjoyable for current residents, but also environmentally sustainable and resilient. These efforts are especially important for the members, as many are longtime residents of the same neighborhoods.

PowerCorps Camden is both a catalyst for environmental stewardship and a source of economic opportunity. The program recruits and trains young people from the city to conserve and revitalize public lands, simultaneously equipping them with the resources and skills necessary for career success. Between 2015 and 2019, seven cohorts of 30 members each have maintained more than 5,500 stormwater inlets, 400 vacant lots, and 10 public parks and intalled over 50 green infrastructure projects.

PowerCorps is a six-month AmeriCorps program, in which members serve full-time. Members serve for eight hours a day, five days a week, at sites throughout Camden, protecting waterways, cleaning and greening open spaces, and installing new infrastructure. These projects are intended not only to address the city's most urgent ecological challenges, including stormwater management, flood control, water pollution, and illegal dumping, but also to educate the public about them, producing a new generation of environmentally conscious citizens.

Thank you to Mark Pietrucha, from Woodard & Curran, Inc.’s Cherry Hill, NJ, office, who nominated PowerCorps Camden for a Foundation Giving While Living Regional Grant.