NSP Impact Report 2008
NSP Impact Report 2008
10
Years
“After I helped one of my clients,
who had been hopping from one
homeless shelter to another, find
a job, she looked me straight in
the eye and said, “Thank you so
much. You don’t know how much
this means to me. Now I can get
my life back together again.”
- NSP VOLuNTEER
mission
vision
table of contents
We envision a day when all
Letters from the CEO and Chairman.................. 2
people in our country will have Program Year Highlights................................... 3
I never could have imagined that at this moment – 10 years into NSP’s history It has been a decade of remarkable growth and accomplishments for National
– we would be facing the greatest test of our mission in our organizational Student Partnerships. As one who was present at the very beginning, I am
lifetime. I have to confess that it has been hard for me take the time to reflect both gratified and inspired that over these past 10 years NSP has helped
on all that we have learned and accomplished when I feel so focused on how more than 30,000 families pull away from poverty and homelessness, while
much more we are going to need to accomplish in the next 10 years. graduating over 5,000 student advocates into its alumni ranks.
As the immediate sting of our nation’s financial crisis settles into a long- As I reflect on what NSP has achieved over the past ten years, I am more
term reality, the recovery battle will need to be waged on two fronts. The convinced than ever of the power of its mission to combat poverty in our
first undoubtedly will be at the highest levels of government and finance. communities by engaging our nation’s best and brightest college students in
The second front line will be drawn from community to community this effort. The individuals profiled in this report, both alumni and clients,
across the United States as more families face unemployment, poverty, and prove that NSP has achieved success in beginning to execute this mission. We
homelessness. It will be organizations like National Student Partnerships have also proved that the need is great, and I am excited and encouraged by
manning that front line, helping families create a plan of action and providing the way NSP’s management team is meeting this challenge – deepening our
hope and moral support through the tough times ahead. The good news is presence in our communities, bringing in critical support like New Profit and
that our nation’s young people are activated and ready to serve now. This is Monitor Group to engage in rigorous growth planning, and making sure our
NSP’s moment. brand reflects the depth of our local impact.
This report is really an extended thank-you letter to all of our supporters. I look forward to working with all of our valued supporters in the year ahead
Now, more than ever, we need your support not only to sustain, but to deepen as we craft a vision for NSP’s next decade of service.
and expand NSP’s ability to serve families in the next 10 years.
With deepest appreciation for your commitment to NSP’s important work,
Words cannot express my gratitude for your support of NSP,
”
I tell everyone about the work we do and they all think it’s incredible. - NSP Volunteer
our model
What We Do
NSP operates a national network of resource centers (Local Offices) staffed by a dedicated corps of student volunteers from
area colleges and universities. Working one-on-one with low-income community members (clients), NSP volunteers provide
on-site and referral services that enable clients to: locate employment; further their education; become computer literate; secure
affordable housing; and receive the information and skills necessary to pursue their long-term goals. Perhaps most importantly, NSP
volunteers provide clients with hours of listening and support services that are rarely available in other service agencies. NSP has no
eligibility requirements and provides all of its services at no cost to its clients.
How It Works
Students For example, NSP does not provide childcare, but each NSP office forms
NSP is a student-driven organization. Student volunteers—with their partnerships with local childcare providers to ensure NSP clients who
compassion, resourcefulness, and determination—undergo leadership need those services have access to them.
trainings which empower them to become knowledgeable advocates for
Volunteer Leadership
those less well off in their communities.
• 1-2 Site Coordinators—Full-time AmeriCorps-sponsored fellow(s)
Clients provide(s) onsite supervision and management, thereby ensuring
NSP’s clients are typically individuals aged 18-65 who lack sufficient efficient volunteer performance
access to the employment opportunities and social services available to
• 2-4 Local Directors—Dedicated student leaders appointed for one or
them. NSP’s clientele is generally low-income and/or homeless, an even
more year-long terms to provide management support
mix of males and females, and diverse in race, language spoken, religion,
and ethnicity. • 15-50 Student Volunteers (per semester)—Students who work directly
with NSP clients to identify and access appropriate services
Local Advisory Boards
All NSP offices are supported by Local Advisory Boards made up of • 2-3 Student Summer Directors—Full-time AmeriCorps-sponsored
community leaders within the human services, government, education, fellows provide onsite client service during the summer months
and private sectors. NSP’s Local Advisory Boards ensure that each Local
Office responds to its host community’s culture and priorities. NSP National Office
Headquartered in Washington, DC, NSP’s National Office provides
Community Partners Local Offices with the supervision, management, training, financial
NSP enlists a network of local specialists through both its partnerships support, and tools that they need to provide consistent, high-quality
and its Local Advisory Boards to connect clients to necessary services. client service.
”
like myself who are desperate and need help to achieve their goals. - NSP Client
2000
First Annual
1999 Leadership and
The First Offices Training Summit
New Haven serves NSP hosts its first 2001
as the first Local leadership and U.S. Department of 2003
1998 and National Office. training conference in
Labor Grant 2002 Client Service
NSP Founded The National Office Washington, DC
The U.S. Department
AmeriCorps*VISTA Manual
soon relocates to
After seeing the Washington, DC CORI Rollout of Labor awards NSP’s first nine NSP creates its Client
impact of their work NSP a $1 million AmeriCorps*VISTA Service Manual to
With the help of
with New Haven, One America three technology
grant to expand and members assume bring client service to
CT residents, Yale Conference professionalize its their roles as Site social work standards
companies’ products
students Kirsten model Coordinators in the
and services, NSP
Lodal and Brian NSP sends a
launches the CORI Local Offices *NSP-Baltimore
Kreiter found NSP. delegation of student Summer Director
(Central Online
With the generous leaders to the Welfare
Resource Index) Training NSPeople *NSP-Chicago
help of Marne to Work Partnership’s
System as its method
Obernauer, their OneAmerica NSP welcomes its First issue of *NSP-North
of tracking clients first set of Summer “NSPeople,” NSP’s
model becomes a Conference, where Philadelphia
and services rendered Directors at a training newsletter, is
reality NSPers meet with
President Bill Clinton in Washington, DC published *NSP- West
*NSP-Cambridge
*NSP-Pittsburgh Philadelphia
*NSP-Evanston
*NSP-Richmond *NSP-DC
*NSP-Bronx
”
I’ve gotten in the last five years. - NSP Client
”
2008
Growth Strategy Plan
2004 2006 Working closely with
consultants, NSP begins
Jefferson Awards NSP Featured on NBC the process of better
On behalf of NSP, Nightly News defining its theory of
change and evaluating
Kirsten Lodal and Brian
Kreiter accept the 2005 NSP’s achievements how to grow its program
prestigious Jefferson First “Hill Day” are highlighted on NBC and revenue plan
Award in recognition of
As a complement
Nightly News’ “Making A
Difference” series
2007 Renaming and Visual
Greatest Public Service New Profit Inc.
by an Individual 35 Years to NSP’s Annual Identity Initiative
Leadership Summit, AmeriCorps*National Investment
or Under
student volunteers meet Direct With the help of
New Profit Inc., a
Client Satisfaction with Congressional marketing and design
Awarded to multi-state national venture
Representatives from professionals, NSP
Survey their Local Office models meeting a philanthropy fund that
launches a rebranding
community need, the provides financial and
NSP introduces a new communities to convey effort to produce a
AmeriCorps*National strategic support to
qualitative evaluation the needs of their clients name and image more
Direct grant gives NSP growth-oriented social
measure, the Client reflective of its work
change organizations,
Satisfaction Survey Alumni Engagement the support to staff two
Site Coordinators in every awards NSP a $1 million,
NSP alumni formally Local Office four-year investment
*NSP-Somerville organize efforts to remain
engaged anti-poverty 2009+
leaders Looking Ahead
NSP will implement its
“go-deep” strategy in
five core geographies—
Boston, Chicago, New
York, Philadelphia, and
Washington, DC— and
expand its two Site
Coordinator model to
effectively serve more
clients in these regions
Dave Westervelt
Currently: Working for
the Peace Corps in
Where are they now? alumni
Mauritania
student experience surveys consistently report that over 80
percent of student advocates pledge committment to Public service
Svea Stromme
or nonprofit work following their nsp tenure. we wanted to highlight
Currently: AmeriCorps
NCCC alumna, graduate some of those who kept that pledge...
of Washington University
'07, MSW, Assistant Study dave westervelt (NSP-Pittsburgh, Local Director, '02-'03)
Director at the Center What insights did you come away with after completing your time with NSP?
for Survey Research
at the University of
“NSP showed me how much a local difference can mean. I always felt pushed towards
Massachusetts, Boston the greater world, global thinking, global integration... but NSP brought me right back
Fanta Waterman to the community, and showed me what was happening at home while I worked to
(Northwest Philadelphia make a positive change.”
Local Director '04)
Currently: Adjunct Lecturer for Svea Stromme (NSP-Baltimore, Site Coordinator, '03-'04)
the CUNY Bronx Community Did NSP influence your career path?
College (Health Education,
Policy and Research, with
“A question often asked in job interviews is, ‘What is one thing you have done that you
a focus on minority and are most proud of?’ My work with NSP is always my answer...I spent one more year in
underserved communities)
AmeriCorps, then returned to school for my Masters in Social Work. My time at NSP
Daryl Levine (NSP-DC helped me realize that I am a social worker.”
Site Coordinator '05-'06)
Kunal Modi (NSP-Evanston Volunteer '04-'06, national Office
Currently: Public Policy
Program Associate/ AmeriCORPS*VISTA '06-'07)
Specialist with the National
Association of Student What do you find unique about NSP’s work?
Personnel Administrators
(NASPA)
“NSP defines grassroots change; [it] understands climbing out of homelessness or
unemployment to achieve self-sufficiency will take more than a three-point plan or
Molly Day (NSP- filling out the right form. We ’re out there side-by-side with our clients — attending
Evanston Local city council meetings, knocking on the doors of landlords, waiting in line for food
Director '06-'07) and stamps, visiting job fairs— fighting for the future of our clients and our community...
Kunal Modi At the end of the day, NSP is about people— a group of people more broadly defined
Currently: Co-founders
of campusCATALYST, than volunteers and clients— but rather a community that’s working together on
a consulting corps for behalf of one another.”
nonprofits
10
Years
Jeffrey Richberg
Jeffrey Richberg grew up in East Harlem. After finishing high school, he was in and
out of trouble, bouncing between jobs, and struggling to support himself. After seeing
a television ad for the NSP-Bronx Local Office, he contacted the volunteers for help
with a Section 8 housing application. “The housing authority was prolonging my
case as long as they could. The volunteers looked right into it for me and made phone
calls,” Jeff says. Jeff was able to settle into his new apartment and reached out to
NSP to express his desire to volunteer. Site Coordinator Danielle Egic referred him to
CASA, a community organization that protects tenants rights, where he now serves as
a volunteer. Jeff has remained active with NSP-Bronx, continuing to visit and speaking
with freshmen at Fordham University. He also continues to spread the word about
NSP: “[NSP] helped me out and I thought they could do the same for other people...I
would recommend [NSP] to anyone in a heartbeat.”
Sharon Daniel
Eight years ago, Sharon Daniel left her home in Trinidad and immigrated to
Washington, DC. With three children in tow and another on the way, Sharon ended
an abusive relationship and was evicted from her apartment. When a health clinic
referred Sharon to NSP-DC, she was living in a shelter and had just given birth to her
daughter. NSP volunteers worked with Sharon to tackle the overwhelming number
of obstacles before her. She located legal assistance for her custody issues and her
children’s immigration issues. NSP volunteers referred her to a partner childcare center,
which allowed her to enroll in a food-service training program. After completing the
program, Sharon secured employment with Starbucks. She credits NSP with much of
her success, saying, “It was NSP that brought me to the point where I am now. NSP
helps you see that you can achieve whatever you reach for.”
Number of Volunteers
10 years of: volunteers
600 564 562
550 At any given college involvement fair, the typical freshman is bombarded
520
500 with an array of service organizations—Hunger Help International, Protect
the Environment, Promote Peace, Save the World—but rarely are students
399
400 encouraged to devote themselves to causes in their own backyard. National
352
Student Partnerships is one of the few organizations that recruits college
Volunteers
300 students to take on the very real problem of domestic poverty plaguing the
235 communities directly outside their often ivy-covered walls. NSP breaks down
220
194
200 the “town-gown” divide and puts volunteers and low-income community
members in the same place and on the same level.
100
Teaming up with clients, NSP volunteers navigate tedious housing
0 applications and bureaucratic tax forms. They tackle employment searches in a
00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 struggling job market and they advocate for clients to landlords, lawyers, and
Program Year a variety of social services offices. NSP volunteers come face-to-face with the
harsh reality of poverty. They experience the red tape and the frustration that
comes with it, but also the immense relief when that hurdle is cleared.
NSP volunteers also see how a community can struggle when caseworkers are
overburdened and public programs are under-funded. By collaborating with
area partners and participating in local events and politics, NSP volunteers
become more than temporary residents; they become engaged citizens.
NSP encourages student volunteers to take this awareness and spread it, but
more importantly, NSP empowers student volunteers to take this experience
and change it. NSP ultimately seeks to cultivate a new generation of
informed leaders and advocates with the direct exposure, the insight, and the
compassion to ensure that the systemic challenges they inherit do not become
NSP-Cambridge volunteers work with clients to improve
their computer skills. In Program Year 2008, volunteers the ones they pass on.
completed a total of 52,100 hours of service in all 12
Local Offices.
Swati Shah came to NSP through a different avenue than most volunteers. Two years of working as an intern
”10
with a large banking firm gave Swati, an Economics and Community Health major, professional experience, but the
Years
opportunity to do something more hands-on was what attracted her to NSP. “With NSP, you feel a sense of your own
power. There is no hierarchy because everyone is working toward the same goal. You become a leader, you’re making
a difference, and you’re making a change that you can actually see.” The Tufts University sophomore landed the
position of Summer Director in the NSP-Somerville Local Office and set to work bringing about that change.
To her surprise, Swati found that one of the most important changes she witnessed was the change in her perception
of poverty. “Originally I assumed that most low-income or homeless people brought their [situation] on themselves,”
she confesses. After struggling to help clients with great resumes find employment, she realized that a life in
poverty was not always created by personal fault or mistakes. “We had a Harvard graduate who couldn’t fill out an
application on her own. That could be any of us. It was shocking,” Swati says.
Swati’s NSP experience led her to realize that poverty can be a result of economic depression,
lack of public housing or other benefits, rigorous regulations and slow bureaucracy
surrounding public assistance, or lack of family support. As the daughter of immigrant
parents from India, Swati knows how crucial family support was to her parents’ success upon
arriving in the United States.
She also saw the role physical and mental disabilities played in clients’ daily struggles,
causing her to reevaluate the country’s mental health care system and the adequacy to which
it addresses the population’s needs.
As she advocated for clients facing these obstacles, placing numerous telephone calls
and writing letters to housing authorities, employers, and offices, Swati found that “the
community was out there to help.” The solution to a problem was often a matter of putting
the right people in touch. This year, Swati will continue to put more people in touch with
the right resources as she leads a partnership program with the Tufts Office of Sustainability
and LiveCooler, an energy assistance provider that helps low-income residents exchange light
bulbs for compact fluorescent lamps to save on energy costs.
Swati knows that the ability to lead will be something she looks for when choosing careers.
With a growing interest in health policy, she plans to use her NSP experience as a reminder
to take all community members’ views into account, saying, “In my future I see myself always
looking at the other side of the coin.”
In February 2007, Faye Crump suffered a severe accident, hitting her head and injuring her right arm. The
physical damage affected her memory and her full range of motion, and though capable of working, she was let go
” 10 Years
from several jobs. “Employers did not want the risk of employing me,” she says. In need of employment to pay her
mounting bills and overwhelmed by the situation before her, Faye sought help from Life’sWork of Pittsburgh.
Life’sWork put Faye in touch with the volunteers at NSP-Pittsburgh. Local Director LaTrenda Leonard met with Faye
to discuss her situation and together they mapped out a plan that complemented her activities with Life’sWork. She
enrolled in a job training program and started meeting with NSP volunteers regularly to revise her resume, apply for
jobs, and seek disability assistance.
Faye also sought advice on making her housing more affordable. Together, she and LaTrenda explored rental and
utility assistance programs, as well as alternative housing options in the area. “She came in every day and was so
committed. She was always asking, ‘What can we work on today?’” LaTrenda says.
LaTrenda recalls how Faye’s attitude changed over the course of their meetings. “She had so many problems
and felt like she had no direction. After we laid out her goals and she saw real tasks to be completed, her mood
brightened. Once we started getting the tasks done, it was a total change.”
Faye secured temporary work this past August and soon visited the office to inform the volunteers that she had been
hired as a full-time housekeeper. Faye enjoys her current job immensely, saying, “I’m so happy right now. I wake up
every morning and know I have a job. I’m so thankful for that.”
She continues to visit NSP-Pittsburgh regularly to update volunteers on her progress, joking
that she has become “somewhat of a fixture” in the office. She recently shared her story with
members of NSP-Pittsburgh’s Local Advisory Board.
What Faye remembers most about her NSP experience is the feeling of support she received
from volunteers. “They genuinely care about people. They had never even met me and they
worked with me like they had known me for years,” she says.
Faye’s future plans include improving her computer skills and eventually enrolling in school
again. “I never understood computers before, but after I got on one, I liked it. I thought,
‘Hey, this is easy!’” She acknowledges Life’sWork and NSP-Pittsburgh’s contributions to her
overall improved sense of confidence, saying, “[NSP] turned my life around. I am so happy,
so positive...I am so proud of myself.”
National Student Partnerships is grateful for the support of the following individuals, foundations,
corporations, government agencies, and universities whose significant contributions help to make our work
” 10Years
possible. This list reflects all gifts received between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2008.
Government Partners The Lily Auchincloss Foundation David Parker and Marian Davis Arturo and Hilda Brillembourg Charles and Anne Mullany, in
The Combined Federal Campaign Bank of America Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC John and Amanda Cali honor of Lucy Mullany
of the National Capital Area The Capital Group Companies David and Susan Rahm George Chopivsky and Clara Wayne and Melodie Oldenburg
The Corporation for National Charitable Foundation Peter and Suzanne Romatowski Brillembourg Mark Penn and Nancy Jacobson
and Community Service/ The Richard H. Driehaus Citizens Bank Arnold Penner
Eugene and Iris Rotberg
AmeriCorps*National Direct and Foundation
Michael Ryan and Lili Lynton Melvin and Ryna Cohen William and Lee Perry, in honor of
AmeriCorps*VISTA
Lee and Mindy Foley James and Mary Connelly the wedding of Kirsten Lodal and
Smith Rothchild Financial
The Gray Charitable Trust Jeff Himmelman
investment partners Paul Sohn and Sarah Schulze Dominic and Rita Cusimano
Richard and Carol Hochman Dale and Kay Pittman
New Profit Inc. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati John and Pat Deutch
The Charles Jacob Foundation Easton Ragsdale and Wendy Lee
Kevin Downey and Michele Jolin
Provost Club ($50,000-74,999) JPMorgan Chase William and Cassie Rahm
Cum Laude Partners Tim and Elizabeth Dugan
Global Printing Jan and Elizabeth Lodal ($2,500-4,999) Matthew and Tina Ripperger
David and Debra Eichenbaum
The Goldhirsh Foundation Modestus Bauer Foundation (Marc Carl and Tammy Allegretti Larry Robbins
Steven and Judy Elbaum
Laurence and Susan Hirsch Lawrence) Daniel and Susan Christman Charles and Barbara Rossotti
John and Marie Evans
The McCormick Foundation Marne and Peggy Obernauer Bob and Sara Cusimano Christian Salomone and Suzanne
David Fischer
The Prince Charitable Trusts Fine
CVS Caremark FBR Capital Markets
Valedictorian Circle Verizon Foundation (Richmond) Darryl and Alicia Sargent
Phil Deutch and Marne Levine David and Andrea Goldman
($25,000-49,999) Virginia Non-Profit Housing Guillermo and Cecilia Schultz
ExxonMobil Corporation Lawrence and Lorna Graev
Anonymous Coalition (Bob and Anna Lou Brent Scowcroft
Kenilworth Union Church Harold and Bonnie Himmelman
The Bromley Charitable Trust Schaberg) Walter Slocombe and Ellen
Henry and Charlotte Kimelman Mark and Karen Holzberg, in honor
The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Wachovia Foundation Seidman
(Philadelphia) Rick and Nancy Kreiter of Jeff Holzberg
Foundation Stephen and Martha Smith
Wachovia Foundation (Richmond) Marc Lawrence Timothy and Debra Howard
Capital One Michael Sobel and Elizabeth
Robert and Marilyn Mazur Ellen Howe Milbank
The Community Foundation
Magna Cum Laude Partners Rod Smith Abraham and Geetha Joseph Arlo and Carol Sorensen
Serving Richmond & Central
Virginia ($5,000-9,999) Southwest Airlines Brian Kreiter Mark Sullivan
ECMC - Educational Credit Anonymous David and Anna Steinhardt Jack and Lisa Langer Donald and Barbara Tober, in
Management Corporation Don and Anne Ayer Lance and Lisa West James and Carol Leavelle, in honor honor of Marne Obernauer
William and Randa Gerrity Pierre and Amy Chao of Cannon Leavelle Catherine Tyler
John and Rachel Rodin Anderson and Mae Grennan Honors Partners Samuel Lehrman Robert and Margi Vanderhye
Margie and Nate Thorne GTCR ($1,000-2,499) Wendy Makins Paul Wallace and Saundra Whitney
JHL Capital Group LLC Anonymous (5) Michael McCurdy and Lisa William and Lynda Webster
Summa Cum Laude Partners Eugene Keilin and Joanne Witty Richard and Amelia Bernstein Ripperger
Kevin Werner
($10,000-24,999) Peter and Martha Kellner Robert and Nancy Blank Thomas and Eileen McIntyre
Bob Woodward and Elsa Walsh
Anonymous Walter and Monica Noel Joseph and Christina Bliley Michael McNamara
Richard Hochman
Chairman, Regent Capital Management Corp.
NSP Local Offices
Brian J. Kreiter (Board Chair 2001-2007)
Co-Founder, National Student Partnerships NSP - Baltimore NSP - Evanston NSP - Pittsburgh
Manager, Research Analytics, Bridgewater Associates c/o The PEACE Center c/o Illinois Employment and c/o Life’sWork of Western PA
325 E. 25th Street, 2nd Floor Training Center 1323 Forbes Avenue
Marne Levine Baltimore, MD 21218 1615 Oak Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Director Product Management, Revolution Money (410) 235-4585 Evanston, IL 60201 (412) 682-3501
(847) 864-3530 x208
Kirsten E. Lodal NSP - Bronx NSP - Richmond
c/o Refuge House NSP - New Haven c/o Daily Planet
CEO and Co-Founder, National Student Partnerships
2715 Bainbridge Avenue 254 College Street, 2nd Floor 517 West Grace Street
Marne Obernauer, Jr. (Board Chair) Bronx, NY 10458 New Haven, CT 06510 Richmond, VA 23220
Chairman, Beverage Distributors Company
(718) 733-3897 (203) 624-5877 (804) 433-4394