Prometheus Educational Services

Our Schenectady County 1996/97 United Way Investment Design

Carver Community Center, Inc. United Way of Schenectady 1997-98 Investment Concept Paper
; Copyright, Carver Community Center, Inc.
1996 - All rights reserved

Our prospectus addresses these community issues...

According to the Albany/Schenectady/Troy Enterprise Community Strategic Plan (ECSP), the following are listed as major plan elements for programs seeking to operate within the Plan's purview (which includes our Service Area, Hamilton Hill) [ESCP; p 4]:

Neighborhood Empowerment; Environment and Planning; and Youth Enrichment and Family Preservation

Additionally, we bring to our reader's attention that the Hill-Vale Alliance Strategic Neighborhood Action Plan (SNAP) adopted in October, 1995 with Carver Community Center, Inc. (Carver) being designated as Lead Agency for this Neighborhood Action Plan lists, of their six (6) Issue Areas, these three (3) issue areas which this prospectus addresses [SNAP; Table of Contents]:

Human/Resources/Workforce Preparation; Economic Development; and Youth and Family Development. These six (6) detailed issue areas are generally subsumed under the Schenectady County United Way's 1997-98 Investment Guidelines of: Youth Needs; and Employment.

We introduce to you our client consumers...

Of course, Carver, being the Lead Agency of the Hill-Vale SNAP will be offering our services to the Hill and Vale Communities (Hill-Vale) (census tracts: parts of 208, 209, 210.02, and 217). The Hill-Vale neighborhoods have considerable assets that, if recognized and developed, could serve as the basis for revitalization strategies. Residents, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, churches (including the two presenting partners) and banks have been working on various initiatives to revitalize the neighborhoods. Furthermore, both neighborhoods have neighborhood associations who have worked on this and will continue to be involved through program implementation and maintenance with the partners. In fact, the SNAP was designed from the ground up with client participation being used as the fundamental vehicle for its drafting and adoption. Therefore, these presenting needs were discovered by our clients among those within their SNAP [SNAP; p 37 & 38]:

Expanded membership and increase capacity of neighborhood associations; Improved job skills/job preparedness of neighborhood residents; Creation of neighborhood based businesses; Improvement of support services for employed persons and those seeking employment and; Improved collaboration of health care providers, social service agencies, and the school district through improvement of communication networks.
In particular, this prospectus seeks to serve youths and young adults ages 16 - 22, especially high school drop outs, enrollees in the City School District's Alternative High School and expecting and/or young mothers all of whom are, documentably, the least served population in our neighborhoods.

Our investment period will enjoy these achievements...
Entrepreneurial business startups:
This Investment, utilizing the existing facilities of Carver Community Center's and Refreshing Springs Academy's Community Technology Centers (CTC) will effectually install a state-of-the-art Small Business Incubator and Business Management Center (SBI) where:
of the 24 adult (ages 16 - 22) participants, at least 4 will design professional business plans for and establish new businesses as going concerns (as measured by a bottom line profit entry posted quarterly) in such areas as:
apartment prepping; light maintenance and construction; desktop publishing (including WEB page design and INTERNET publishing); technology transfer station (rebuilding/upgrading computer workstations and selling at discounted prices to neighborhood agencies and non-profits as well as to our entrepreneurial participants, themselves, for their home based business and; home based day care centers; among others (according to client profiles).
One (1) successful Community based Junior Achievement Company (JA) (as measured externally by the JA curriculum design) in which 24 youths (ages 14 - 18) will design, plan and implement their JA business, and moreover, sustain it after the JA curriculum year (Oct - Feb; anyyear) as a going concern (as measured by a bottom line profit entry posted quarterly).
Job Placements:
Of the 20 remaining adult (ages 16 - 22) participants (who have not started up businesses), at least 14 will become employed as a result of the jobs skills training and support provided in our Investment.
Supportive Services for and Community Reinvestments by Participants:
All (100%) program participants will increase their own self sufficiency by engaging in supportive services already available in the community such as (according to their profiles):
Adult Basic Education (ABE); Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED); Parenting Skills Training; Drug & Alcohol Abuse Treatment; Day Care for children (if any); any other services as may be mandated by prospective Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) guidelines, thereby securing vouchers for supportive services as well as benefits afforded participants in TANF certified training programs which this Investment is designed to be (such enrollments to be secured by contract as part of the application process for prospective participants).
All (100%) program participants will enroll in their respective neighborhood associations and volunteer to serve on one (1) standing committee; such participation to be measured by attendance sheet signatures and committee reports of activity and measurable results to the respective Neighborhood Association Presidents.
All (100%) program participants will serve at least two (2) hours/week as aids in the Carver or Refreshing Springs Community Technology Centers (CTC); thereby providing at least Twelve (12) service units (hours of service received by other participants utilizing Latimer Education's Each-One-Teach-One Educational Service Methodologies).

These are the staff presently "on board" waiting to serve...
Richard A. Parkany (Carver); Investment Oversight:
Certified Teacher of Family Living Skills under the Boys Town, NE, Teaching Family Model; Site Developer in three (3) sites under the Boys Town Teaching Family Model; Certified and Permanently Licensed NYS Teacher of Mathematics (7-12); CEO and Chief Designer for Prometheus Educational Services, specializing in the design, installation and operation of educational and social service programs for agencies, non profits and corporations in the Upper Hudson and Mohawk Valleys (from Kingston to Plattskill to Buffalo). [see WEB page: http://www.borg.com/~rparkany; One of seven (7) newly appointed National Steering Committee Members for the Community Technology Center Network (CTCNet), stewarding a $5,000,000 National Science Foundation Funded Project headed by the Education Development Center, Inc., Newton MA (a worldwide center for education and social development projects since 1958). [see WEB page from Prometheus ES WEB page, above; Section: "Links to Partners and Collaborators/EDC, Inc."]

Jenny Lee Vreeland (Carver); Small Business Incubator Mentor and Business Manager, Case-manager : Certified NYS Teacher of Mathematics (7-12); Drug & Alcohol Abuse Treatment Counselor for Conifer Park; Group Home Supervisor for residentially placed adolescents; Family Math and Science Fair Coordinator.

Doris Belton (Refreshing Springs Academy):
Superintendent; Refreshing Springs Academy Administrator; NYS Education Department; Certified NYS Teacher.

This is all it will take for the Investment...
This is our budget overview (total project value, Investment + Match = $385,000): United Way of Schenectady's 1997-98 Investment: $50 - 60,000 total service/supplies
$30,000 Salary: Small Business Incubator Mentor/Case-manager
$4,500 Payroll Taxes/Fringe: Small Business Incubator Mentor/Case-manager
$15,500 - 25,500 Consumable Program Supplies
Carver Match (use of facilities for this Investment): $200,000 total $150,000 use of twelve (12) workstations: @ $25/hr; 10 hrs/wk; 50 wks
$50,000 use of Carver building space: @ $100/hr; 10 hrs/wk; 50 wks
RFA Match (use of facilities for this Investment): $125,000 total
$75,000 use of six (6) workstations: @ $25/hr; 10 hrs/wk; 50 wks
$50,000 use of RFA building space: @ $100/hr; 10 hrs/wk; 50 wks

This is a partial listing of other major contributors:

UPS Foundation, United Way of Sch'dy County, Refreshing Springs Baptist Church, SMHA, NYS Division for Youth, Schenectady County Youth Bureau, WGY Radio Station, CTCNet, EDC, Inc.