THE INNER CITY DIAMONDS
COLLABORATIVE
The Inter-faith Social Change Movement’s Inner-City Diamonds Collaborative is designed to address one of the critical unmet needs of disadvantaged children attending public schools today - the need to stay in school while being inspired, complete their senior year, gain skillful employment and/or attend institutions of higher education and become productive contributing members of society.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old, they will not depart from it.
The purpose of the Inner-City Diamonds Collaborative works with Universities, Colleges and Vocational Institutions in offering in personalized reality-based and inspirational experiences to elementary and middle school-aged children to stay in school and develop toward their full potential as productive members of society. Now instead of just offering the university, college and vocational tours to high school students as potential candidates for admission, this collaborative targets our children at an early age to make the most impressionable difference regarding the outcome of their future endeavors.
The fact that disadvantaged students drop out of school before obtaining the minimum educational requirements to adequately compete in the workforce, further suggests that without support many do not realize the critical importance of completing their education or the relevance to their future economic success.
Research released by The School District of Philadelphia disclosed that over 70% of Philadelphia’s public-school students come from families whose income is at or below the federal poverty level guidelines for eligibility for public assistance programs. Fifty percent (50%) of these students drop out of school before reaching the 11th grade, and the School District’s college preparation programs targeted only high school students at a point in time after 50% of high school students had already become disengaged from the system. The data further indicated that each school term at least 50% of public high school students: (1) did not realize the connection between education and economic advantage; and (2) because of their economic circumstances, perceived that they could not afford to defer their entry into the workforce for the length of time necessary to finish high school, trade school or even college.
Outside of the classroom, these youth have little or no opportunities to interact with achieving students, successful professionals, or business owners. As a result, they fail to comprehend the connection between education and their future success in life. The majority of those who drop out of school lack employable skills and are socially isolated from their peers who remain in school and are at risk for engaging in anti-social and unhealthy behaviors such as violent crime, drug abuse, incarceration and death.
Accordingly, like the diamonds that are buried deep within the earth and often unnoticed, our children’s worth and priceless potential must be reveled not only to the world but to the knowledge of themselves so they can realize and develop toward their full potential as productive members of our society.
No matter what part of the city where our children may live, or how they may be perceived based on unfortunate and underserving stereotypes, all of them are Inner-City Diamonds and need our support and encouragement in order to succeed in life. Students involved in the collaborative experience, are also provided the opportunity of participating in the Business and Career Exploration Program which consist of a full Curriculum and Student Activity Workbooks, which is comprised of numerous fun filled related activities with an entrepreneurial projected appropriately entitled Minding My Own Business.
In collaboration with the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Curriculum Assessment and Support, the Business and Career Exploration Program Curriculum and Students Activity Workbooks for Elementary and Middle School Aged Children was approved to be taught, and in agreeance with Principals as a supplement in social study classes throughout the District.
Deliver What You Promise
Municipal government is based on the principle of ensuring that it citizens have a voice in the affairs of their municipality. This requires the election of people who are prepared to serve their communities in leadership positions, and who are willing to exercise their best judgment on issues impacting the lives of others and on behalf of the individuals who voted for them to be in office
Periodically throughout the year the voice of individuals concerned about the problematic conditions of their communities are expressed though their actions of voting for a political candidate. From young to old we cast our vote with the prayer that our desired choice will serve our needs. For no vote is given without merit due to its historical significance, sacrifice and ability to affect the lives of the people involved. It is this reason we vote, and hold our political candidates and officials accountable for the promises that were made before being elected.
However due to promises not being kept, the perception by the community of most politicians is that they are more concerned with personal/career advancement and monetary benefit, and less concerned about resolving the problems or issues for which they were elected.
Each year politicians running for re-election or endorsing and political candidates visit many of our most influential and highly regarded institutions of interest to either campaign for votes or to support their candidate. One institution of particular interest and appears to be on the campaigning agenda of all politicians is to visit the congregations of our mega institutions of worship. Based on the needs and concerns of the community for their voices to be heard through the power of their votes, the Inter-Faith Social Change Movement announces to all politicians and candidates running for office to “Deliver What You Promise.”
The intent of the Inter-Faith Social Change Movement’s “Deliver What You Promise, is to work with our coalition of religious institutions, and Mega Churches to hold individuals running for any public office and elected officials accountable for what they promise when they campaign for votes and visit our institutions of worship.
By holding elected officials accountable for the promises that were made it strengthens our Municipal government and ensures that the voices of their constituents are heard in resolving their concerns. It also provides the opportunity and dialog of examining the issues most relevant to them and within their communities. Holistically, the end result is an agenda where both constituents and politicians can hold each other accountable for the success in resolving problematic conditions together.
Some of our Mega Institutions of Worship and involvement include the Triumph Baptist Church, the Sharon Baptist Church, the Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, and the Al Aqsa Islamic Academy of Philadelphia.
Inter-Faith Social Change Movement (IFSCM) University and College Support Chapters
Temple University Chapter
The Inter-Faith Social Change Movement University and College Support chapters represent a diverse body of students from various majors within universities and colleges, committed to restoring the faith, freedom, inclusion from division and fighting for the soul of America. Dr. Martin Luther King realized that the true solution to the nation’s problems requires a transformation not just in moral values, but also through direct action in helping to make the world a better place for us all. This requires a moral conviction to live out the word of God and serving as examples. We are not republicans, democrats, the right against the left or independents, but Americans united as one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.
In order for this to become a reality, the Inter-Faith Social Change Movement University and College Chapters are committed to raising the consciousness of young people to get involved politically, to work within their communities and individually using their votes as the voice of change. Municipal government is based on the principle of ensuring that its citizens have a voice in the affairs of their municipality. This requires the election of people who are prepared to serve their communities in leadership positions, and who are willing to exercise their best judgment on issues impacting the lives of others and on behalf of the individuals who voted for them to be in office. Periodically throughout the year the voice of individuals concerned about the problematic conditions of their communities are expressed though their actions of voting for a political candidate. For no vote is given without merit due to its historical significance, sacrifice and ability to affect the lives of the people involved. Therefore, we vote and hold our political candidates and officials accountable for the promises that were made before being elected.
However, due to promises not being kept, the perception by the community of most politicians is that they are more concerned with personal/career advancement and monetary benefit, and less concerned about resolving the problems or issues for which they were elected. Each year politicians running for re-election or individuals endorsing political candidates visit many of our most influential and highly regarded institutions of interest to either campaign for votes or to support their candidate. The purpose of the Inter-Faith Social Change Movement University and College Chapters is to educate, empower, organize and mobilize its networks to get involved in activism, advocacy, education, public policy, pushing for legislation, meeting with policymakers, rallying the community around critical causes, and to hold individuals running for any public office, and elected officials accountable for what they promise when they campaign for votes and visit our institutions. By holding elected officials accountable for the promises that were made, it strengthens our municipal government and ensures that the voices of their constituents are heard in resolving their concerns. It also provides the opportunity and dialog of examining the issues most relevant to them and within their communities. Holistically, the end result is an agenda where both constituents and politicians can hold each other accountable for the success in resolving problematic conditions together. As the constitution proclaims, We are the people, united with liberty and justice for all.
letters of struggle of hope and unity
The Inter-Faith Social Change Movement
Student Chapter at Temple University Presents its
Annual Community Event Entitled Letters of Struggle of Hope and Unity.
It is our purpose to present a dialog of open communication through music and the reading of various letters of struggle, and how they provide an insight to the awareness of how our individual experiences of adversity not only represents the unity of our strength, but also the hope for our future progress. As students at Temple symbolic of our representation from around the world, it is not our differences of race, age, religion, or sexual orientation that matters or divides us, but most importantly events like today in using our life experiences and education to bring people together in order to make a difference.
Upon the concluding of the event we hope that by sharing the commonality of our struggles, it provides the unity to resolve our problems together and invite everyone to participant in a short question and answer forum with our presenters. The Student Chapter of the Inter-Faith Social Change Movement at Temple is a diverse body of students from various majors within the university, committed to inspiring and helping disadvantaged individuals and children throughout the Philadelphia area.
We have the ability to achieve, if we master the necessary goodwill, a common global society blessed with a shared culture of peace that is nourished by the ethnic, national and local diversities that enrich our lives.
- Mahnaz Afkhami
It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
- Maya Angelou
We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race."
- Kofi Annan
"There are no nations! There is only humanity. And if we don't come to understand that right soon, there will be no nations, because there will be no humanity."
- Isaac Asimov
"What we need to do is learn to respect and embrace our differences until our differences don’t make a difference in how we are treated."
- Yolanda King
In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as our fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.
- Booker T. Washington