Category Archives: Community Development

January 23, 2015 · 4:32 pm

Concord Academy Students Engage in Sustainable Food Systems

During the past week, I was fortunate to chaperone two service events with Concord Academy students. The first event was spearheaded by Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA), a student club where 8 students traveled to Littleton, MA and prepared 18 trays of lasagna for Open Table, a food pantry serving the Metrowest area of Boston. Thanks to Iris Oliver and her family for hosting us.

Building on the theme for sustainable food, later in the week, I chaperoned a group of 10 students on a 3-hour service trip to The Food Project in Lincoln, Massachusetts that brings together youth, food and community. Our group received a brief orientation and then divided up into groups to “break-up,” drop and plant scallions.

CA students were also working in collaboration with youth from the City of Boston and together were able to plant 10,000 scallions of different varieties. Thanks to Tim Laird, Director of Agriculture and his team at The Food Project for enabling Concord Academy students to learn about the values of team work, service and the volunteer spirit.

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Filed under Community Development, Education, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development

January 21, 2015 · 8:49 pm

Kidsquash Completes 8th Season with Smiles

Since the 2004 pilot of Kidsquash, we marked the completion of the 8th Kidsquash season with ten students from the Greater Boston community. They played in a friendly round robin under the supervision of Laura Gemmell, a Harvard senior and 4-time All-American on the women’s varsity squash team, Octavio Chiesa, a volunteer peer coach and myself.

Beginner junior squash players make progress at Kidsquash.

Beginner junior squash players make progress at Kidsquash.

From October 2012 to March 2013, Kidsquash students gathered for Saturday morning recreational squash clinics. Thanks to donations from the Harvard Athletics Department, we were able to recognize 4 students who are newcomers to the sport with Harvard squash apparel. These students were – Megan Yoh (Best Female Player), Seamus Buckley (Most Improved Player), Will Gladstone (Most Valuable Player) and Samuel Esquivel (Sportsmanship Award).

Many thanks to Luke Hammond, Lead Coach for Kidsquash , Mike Way, Head Squash Coach at Harvard and Coach Bajwa, Founder of Kidsquash for their guidance and support of the program. Also, thank you to Kidsquash parents and sponsors for making it a great season!

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Filed under Coaching, Community Development, Education, Gender, Leadership, Recreation, Squash, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport

January 9, 2015 · 7:17 pm

Bringing Change Through Private-Public Partnerships

Just over 10 years ago, I embarked on a journey to Africa to serve as a United Nations Volunteer in Uganda to help strengthen and expand the Cisco Networking Academy Program across secondary schools, technical colleges and universities with an emphasis on gender equity and workforce development. I shot some of the footage from Uganda for the video below that was shown at the 2003 Africa Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

Fast forward 10 years later the explosion of social media and computer networking is continuing to rapidly bring about economic and social change in developing countries. While I am yet to return to Uganda to see the long term impact of the Cisco Least Developed Countries Initiative, I am grateful to Ugandan and non-Ugandan volunteers, colleagues and friends for sharing a pivotal growth experience. Moreover, the lessons that the emerging sport for development and peace sector can learn is that private-public partnerships can spur innovation.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Foreign Policy, Gender, International Development, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Poverty, Private Public Partnerships, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development

January 8, 2015 · 6:41 pm

Building Social Capital Through Squash

Keeping in tradition with last year’s friendly match between the Concord Academy girls varsity squash team and a faculty-staff team, I organized another opportunity for the CA community to foster healthy adult-student relationships, get a work out and have fun.

Introductions at 2013 Concord Academy Girls Varsity Squash vs. Faculty-Staff Team. Photo credit: Ben Stumpf

Introductions at 2013 Concord Academy Girls Varsity Squash vs. Faculty-Staff Team. Photo credit: Ben Stumpf

This year’s match comprised of 14 members of the girls varsity squash team and 7 adults from various departments, including Modern and Classical Languages, Admissions and Athletics. The format included 14 head to head matches with some faculty matches playing twice to complete the roster.

The CA girls team narrowly missed defeating the faculty team by an overall score of 7-6. However, the girls team showed their tenacity by outplaying the faculty in a 5 vs. 5 match of “Offense/Defense,” a team-oriented game that challenges players to win points decisively while demonstrating patience.

Many thanks to the CA adults for making time in their schedules to support CA squash. Overall, the matches were a positive team-building experience for both CA students and adults, alike

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Filed under Coaching, Community Development, Education, Gender, Networking, Recreation, Squash, Stakeholder Engagement, Youth Development

January 7, 2015 · 4:28 pm

Facilitating Greater Growth and Learning in Sport for Development and Peace

In my early 2009 blog post titled, “A good starting point,” I encouraged those new to the field of sport for development and peace to view Youtube videos as means of becoming more familiar with current programs. Not that I can claim any credit for this, but fast forward to 2013, I was pleased to discover a website dedicated to raising awareness of the sport for development and peace sector.

Those of you who are interested in learning more about sport and social change programs, I recommend visiting and joining Sport4dev.tv, an emerging site that allows viewers to be active participants in the sport for development community.

Not only is it a good way of sharing one’s involvement (like I have already done with various Khelshala’s videos) but to learn about other sport for development programs in numerous countries and by sector, such as health, gender or disaster response. As the world becomes increasingly connected, communities of practice such as Sport4dev.tv will hopefully facilitate greater growth and learning for all stakeholders.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Education, International Development, Literature Review, Networking, Professional Development, Stakeholder Engagement

January 6, 2015 · 4:58 pm

Concord Academy Students Donate Blankets to Homeless Mothers and Children

As one of two advisors to Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA), a student club for community service, I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Dorchester, Massachusetts to deliver 37 fleece blankets made by the students for the Brookview House, a community setting serving homeless mothers and children.

Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA) members with fleece blankets for homeless mothers and children.

Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA) members with fleece blankets for homeless mothers and children.

Since September of 2012, CASA has been busy with organizing bake sales, fundraising for the critically ill and more recently making fleece blankets. CASA students met for approximately an hour a week to execute these initiatives with energy and enthusiasm.

Donating Fleece Blankets to Brookview House in Dorchester, MA.

Donating Fleece Blankets to Brookview House in Dorchester, MA.

Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA) members with fleece blankets for homeless mothers and children.

It was a team effort, with my colleague Susan Flink, an experienced biology teacher who led Concord Academy students to quickly mobilize themselves to rally for a good cause. The all round feel good factor for these student-projects raises morale and builds character. Stay tuned to learn about more CASA projects in 2013. Happy Holidays everyone!

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Education, Homelessness, Leadership, Philanthropy, Poverty, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

January 1, 2015 · 7:18 pm

Concord Academy Students Helping Local Senior Citizens

Today I had the pleasure of being one of 5 chaperones on a 5-hour service trip where approximately 40 Concord Academy students volunteered to assist senior citizens in Concord, MA in association with the Council on Aging. Chaperones and students split up into small groups around various sites in the town.

Concord Academy Students in Action in Concord, MA

Concord Academy Students in Action in Concord, MA

Tasks included yard work, moving furniture and weather stripping. The seniors appreciated the students’ assistance, especially since it created savings for many who are on fixed incomes and have seen real estate costs rise significantly. The students benefited from the service in that it was a way for them to learn more about their neighborhood and interact with the elderly.

Grateful senior Concord resident with Concord Academy students.

Grateful senior Concord resident with Concord Academy students.

Concord Academy students have created a buzz around the town through this outreach and will continue to do so with other service activities planned for the remainder of the academic year. Overall, one cannot help feel proud and happy for the students who are learning well, by doing good.

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Filed under Community Development, Education, Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

December 31, 2014 · 4:30 pm

Sharing Community Squash Lessons for Latin America and Caribbean Region

I was recently invited to Havana, Cuba where I was privileged and honored to give a presentation as a panelist in the International Workshop on Physical Activity and Quality of Life at CubaMotricidad. Since there were multiple seminars being held simultaneously, our session opened with a presentation on the United Nations Population Fund’s global and regional approach to an aging population and implications of quality of life for the elderly.

United Nations Special Envoy for Sport for Development and Peace addressing delegates in Havana, Cuba.

United Nations Special Envoy for Sport for Development and Peace addressing delegates in Havana, Cuba.

One may wonder how does a program like Kidsquash that focuses on children between the ages of 8 to 17 apply to the elderly and quality of life? The core of my presentation was to share lessons from the Kidsquash model to improve access to physical activity and promote well-being with an eye for global replication that could be adapted to meet the population needs of a host country.

My fellow panelists presented physical activity, community-based interventions in Finland, Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia across age a variety of age levels.  While there were differences for each countries’ experience, the common theme that emerged from our session and the conference at large, was that planned, coordinated and targeted physical activity, community interventions can play a key role in making a better world.  In the case of Kidsquash and other programs balancing issues of social entrepreneurship, volunteerism and sustainability are critical.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Conferences, Education, Leadership, Networking, Private Public Partnerships, Professional Development, Recreation, Squash, Stakeholder Engagement

December 30, 2014 · 4:15 pm

Concord Academy Students Conduct Thanksgiving Appeal for Critically Ill

This post is driven by my role as a co-advisor to the Concord Academy Students in Action (CASA), a student club for community service. Since the beginning of last month, CASA has been engaged in a Thanksgiving appeal called “Pie in the Sky” to benefit the critically ill and homebound in the Boston area.

Pie_in_the_Sky

Thus far students and parents at Concord Academy have made purchases from Community Servings, the non-profit, food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Caroline Stotz, a sophomore at the Academy has enabled online purchases thereby making the appeal open to all who feel moved to contribute to this cause.

CASA is still selling pies for Pie in the Sky through the first few weeks of November. You can purchase pies here, then pick up your pie before Thanksgiving to make a personal delivery to a sick neighbor or have the pie delivered, on your behalf, to a Community Servings client. Feel free to spread the word!

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Filed under Community Development, Education, Leadership, Philanthropy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

December 28, 2014 · 6:01 pm

Backing the Squash Bid for 2020 Olympics

In honor of the 2012 World Squash Day, we celebrated by kicking off the 2012-13 Kidsquash season with 15 juniors just beginning their foray into the great game of squash. Lead Coach Luke Hammond, a former coach at SquashBusters along with Octavio Chiesa, a former Kidsquash participant who has returned to volunteer coach this season both brought their energy and enthusiasm to give the beginners a good start.

Kidsquash Backing the 2020 Bid

Kidsquash Backing the 2020 Bid

Later in the evening, I returned to Concord Academy to screen the documentary film called “Keep Eye on Ball: The Hashim Khan Story.” It was an educational experience for Concord Academy students to learn about the legacy of the Khan dynasty as well as the historical origins of squash and how the sport emerged. At Concord Academy, my predecessor was Enamullah Khan, an accomplished squash coach and member of the Khan dynasty.

Keep_Eye_On_the_Ball

Even though the numbers of participants for both events were low they did play a part in shaping the bigger picture.  Today over 20,000 squash players mobilized across the world to back the bid for inclusion of squash into the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully the International Olympic Committee will respond favorably to this campaign to rightfully include a truly global sport.

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Filed under Coaching, Community Development, Education, Leadership, Olympic, Paralympic, Squash, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport