Past PPF Grant Recipients

Chester Garden Youth Collaborative sought to establish a youth entrepreneurial system for distributing produce grown in the Ruth L. Bennett Homes Community Garden. The Chester Garden Youth Collaborative (a project of the Environmental Justice group) addressed the serious barriers to fresh food access that exists in the Chester community, promoting produce consumption as a cornerstone of healthy living. The participants learned both gardening and business skills, which may help them to obtain and succeed in jobs in the future, and will allow them to take a central role in creating positive change in their community. (Talia Borofsky ‘18, Laura Chen ‘19, Tyler Huntington ‘18, Willa Glickman ’18, Bennett Parrish ‘18)

Chester Youth Court Volunteers (CYCV) is an innovative youth-empowerment program at Chester High School that serves and trains high-school students in law and civics, leadership skills, and youth court procedure. CYCV members conduct hearings for their peers who have committed disciplinary offenses, working together to create a constructive sentence that will help their peers. CYCV is a positive disciplinary alternative to suspension that empowers Chester students to engage in civic service while gaining important leadership skills. CYCV mission was to support and expand the activities of the Chester High School Youth Court. They supported Chester students by volunteering on-site at Chester High School. The role of Swarthmore students on-site was to provide guidance and support during youth court trainings and hearings, as well as provide leadership training and opportunities for academic achievement and access to higher education.

Common Ground Solidarity Network (CGSN) convened "Thinking Globally, Acting Locally," a one-day conference on post-Hurricane Katrina Gulf-Coast 5 in May 2006. Hosted at Swarthmore College, CGSN continued to raise awareness of the short and long term issues that arose in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The conference brought students from the University of Pennsylvania, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Ursinus, and Widener as well as Swarthmore to create a network and working framework for social change in local and global communities. The overarching principle guiding this conference and the work of CGSN was that a critical mass can achieve an anti-racist, anti-classist society.

Education to Empowerment empowered youth in underprivileged rural communities in Sri Lanka to attain educational outcomes in line with 21st century globalization, ubiquitous technology, and knowledge economies through digital literacy and project-based learning so they can become active participants in developing their own communities towards prosperity. (Group Leadership: Yohan Sumathipala ‘16 and Aaron Jackson ‘16)

Fanoos Project provided educational, job-training, and networking opportunities for the impoverished women and families in Tehran, Iran. Initially, the Fanoos Project worked with the Ale Ahmad School to create an after school program targeted at those students in the most desperate economic circumstances. Subsequently, the after-school program expanded to provide women with training in textile production and marketing. (Group Leadership: Brandon Connor '17, Mohammad Boozarjomehri '20, and Fatima Boozarjomehri '18)

Global Health Forum (GHF) sought to improve global health through raising awareness, cultivating partnerships, and pressuring political initiative.  Founded in January of 2007, the Global Health Forum, one of their initiatives was "Minus Malaria."  The purpose of this campaign was to educate and inspire college students to become agents of change in the fight to eradicate malaria and other infectious diseases.

Global Neighbours (GN) aimed to eliminate the discrimination and promote the dignity of people marginalized because of medical and/or physical conditions. GN's primary goal was to build and develop mutually enriching and sustainable relationships with the communities GN works with. GN worked toward this goal by cooperating with organizations, volunteering, and raising awareness working with community partners Children and Adult Disability and Educational Services (CADES) in the Swarthmore, PA and Joy in Action (JIA) Network in China.

Peace Innovation Lab (later renamed: Rural Innovation Lab) Peace Innovation Lab worked on a number of steps to promote innovation and creative problem solving at the grassroots in two districts of Nepal: Lamjung and Palpa. RIL is a unique grassroots innovation model - a creative space for members of rural communities to come together to design, prototype and implement interesting projects and models that contribute to grassroots innovation, peace and stability. RIL's long term vision is to establish itself as a local innovation hub - a place where villagers can have access to tools and resources to solve their own problems. (Group Leadership: Nimesh Ghimire '15, Tinashe Harry Mubvuma '14, Rajnish Yadav '18)

Pémon Health was a community-based organization whose mission was to demonstrate initiatives designed to provide sustainable improvements in the health of Pemón villagers. The Pémon Health team was composed of Swarthmore college students, local leaders in Urimán, and Venezuelan healthcare professionals. The primary objectives of Pemón Health was to work with Pemón leaders to implement effective community-level health initiatives; to provide summer interns with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of patient medical care by working with village doctors in rural medical clinics in southern Venezuela; and to serve as a model for other student-led organizations focusing on global health and community-level development. After their tenure as a Project Pericles funded group, Pemón Health received a Davis Project for Peace award; group founder, Yonjun Heo, also received a Clinton Global Initiative University grant to further support the work of Pemón Health.

PowerPush aimed to connect current Swarthmore students to the growing national student movement and to allow them to serve as visionaries for that movement. Power Push enabled students at Swarthmore to begin acting on some of the strategies proposed for the national network, to push our efforts and power beyond just divestment. The strategies encompassed within Power Push included: building regional networks by connecting with student climate justice activists at nearby campuses, participating in resistance on the front lines of extraction, supporting campaigns to de-finance the industry, and lobbying for regulation of the industry.  Generally, the goal of Power Push was for Swarthmore students to lead the national student movement toward weakening the fossil fuel industry. (Group Leadership: Hazlett Henderson ‘17, Tyler Huntington ’18, Ashley Le ‘19)

Sesame Street Project aimed to create a sustainable and meaningful intervention regarding the School to Prison/Confinement pipeline for children in Chester, PA with incarcerated family members. They worked with students with an incarcerated parent and/or guardian whose family members have shown interest in providing their children with additional academic support that focuses on literacy, leadership, and chess. (Group Leadership: Taylor Tucker '20, Coleman Powell '20, Lelosa Aimufua '20)

Storyboard In the heart of the world’s digital media capital, Los Angeles, film education for students in underserved areas is still either insufficient or nonexistent when compared to the schools in wealthier areas. The creation of digital media has been proven to bring communities together and help individuals share their stories with a broad audience. Through offering an intensive filmmaking education with the goal of telling stories and emphasizing social justice, Storyboard offers an invaluable opportunity to dedicated, passionate high school students. The Summer 2018 program was offered to 10-12 students, but as the program continues it will grow to serve more students and create a greater social impact. (Group Leadership: Rebecca Castillo '20, Tiye Pulley '19,Ariana Hoshino '20, Isabelle Titcomb '22, Nara Enkhtaivan '22)

Sudan Radio Project (SRP) (originally called Darfur Radio Project) came to life in the fall of 2006, drawing members from across all academic years. Inspired by the members' involvement in Swarthmore Sudan, the Genocide Intervention Network, and War News Radio, the SRP aimed to shift the lens through which we understand and engage with the genocide in Darfur as well as the north-south and east-west conflicts within Sudan.

Sustainable Serenity is a collaborative effort between Swarthmore students, faculty, and staff of the Serenity House in North Philadelphia. Serenity House is a community resource center that operates there, promoting healing and love in the community. In summer 2014, members of the Swarthmore College community and Serenity House built a community garden, which later led to interest in solar panels and the creation of a new venture called Serenity Soular. This venture aims to create a solar cooperative for solar panel installation and weatherization of homes in North Philadelphia. Professor Giovanna Di Chiro, who course “Sustainable Community Action” forged linkages with Serenity, has been engaged in this partnership since the beginning and continues to provide her expertise in the project. (Group Leadership: Allison Naganuma ‘20, Katherine Zavez ‘17)

Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) R Us included a double mentorship program in which college students trained high school students as Peacemakers, and high school students mentored elementary students in skills to prevent bullying and to learn effective nonviolent conflict resolution skills. Brandon Lee Wolff '07, founder of SAVE R Us, received a Best in Leadership Student Visionaries Award from Cabrini College, which honored outstanding social entrepreneurs.

Swarthmore-Sudan (SWAT Sudan) worked to end the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.  They used Pericles funding to organize a national conference of college students already working on the issue as well as those interested in starting a program at their own colleges.

Village Education Project (VEP) was a non-profit foundation founded in August 2005 by Katie Chamblee '07 and operated by a staff of Swarthmore students. VEP worked to empower rural villages by making education an accessible and sustainable local resource in four villages that surround Otavalo, Ecuador: Mojandita, Chuchuqui, La Joya, and San Juan de Capilla. Many of the students from these sponsored villages were members of the Ecuadorian rural indigenous population, a traditionally disadvantaged social sector. When VEP supports the educational needs of village students, both the families and entire communities reap the benefits of a generation with the power to improve their social and economic circumstances. In addition to rigorous fund raising efforts, the volunteer fees associated with VEP go towards paying Ecuadorian students' high school fees.

War News Radio (WNR) continues to fill the gap in the media's coverage of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan by providing balanced and in-depth reporting, historical perspective, and personal stories. Today, WNR is heard across the country on over 50 radio stations and around the world by thousands online.

Taller de Paz created fun, interactive, and educational workshops that provided the tools necessary for self-expression and empowerment for kids and their families who have been displaced by the 60+ year internal conflict to be agents of social change. The members of Taller de Paz (Workshops for Peace) were named Periclean Scholars in Spring 2011. Taller de Paz started out offering four workshops (Art, Leadership, Inquiry, and Storytelling) plus outings with the kids and graduation. The group later created a Comité de Padres (Parent Committee) in order to ensure the sustainability and future of TDP. TDP, represented by Alexander Frye and Deivid Rojas, was invited to speak at the Third International Conference on Women's Safety:  Building Inclusive Cities in Delhi, India in November of 2010.

Past PPF Seed Funding Recipients

Kennett Square Project aimed to engage the existing community and student groups together in a single program under the Kennett Square title - the Kennett Square Project - so that they may feed off each other to further their impact.   Seed funds were used to conduct community assessment and further research to determine Project feasibility.

​NICA was a group of Swarthmore students partnering with a Nicaraguan non-profit, ASODECOMAT (La Asociación del Desarrollo Comunitario de Matagalpa). The wrote, "We are helping to expand an existing youth-development program in 7 rural communities in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. This youth program provided psychological care to children subject to domestic violence and allowed them to make artisan crafts that will encourage and enable economic empowerment. Seed funds were used to conduct community assessment and further research to determine project feasibility.

Social and Environmental Eyewear Initiative (SEE It) sought to provide the world with high-quality and cost-effective prescription eyewear. The SEE It team identified a way to make 100% recyclable eyeglass frames and costs under $2.00 per frame to produce. They were able to negotiate and obtain support from two eyeglass manufacturers in Philadelphia, who have agreed to edge lenses for free for the SEE Initiative.  (Tyler Alexander ‘17, Kate Amodei ‘15, Drew Mullens ‘15, and Rob Abishek ‘17)

Student Healthcare Action Network (SHAN) sought to leverage their unique position as students to push for progressive victories towards universal health care by facilitating and organizing a direct action campaign at both the national and local levels.  SHAN used seed funds to produce a comprehensive and attractive organization website.