Form 990, Part III, Line 1 |
Peter Paul Development Center is an outreach and community center serving children and families in Church Hill and neighboring communities in Richmond's East End. Founded by John Coleman in 1979, PPDC is the oldest continually operating community center in the area. The organization changed its focus from recreation to education in 2008, following a project sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University to assess the academic development of children in the community. Using nationally standardized testing, the assessment revealed that 75 percent of school children in our area tested one of more grade levels behind academically. Today, our mission is one of empowerment through education: to support the residents of the East End and educate its students, equipping them to serve as positive role contributors to their family, community, and society. Under the leadership of our executive director, Damon Jiggetts, MPA, we achieve our mission at Peter Paul through three program areas. First, we serve the community through our Youth Program, which consists of the After School Learning Immersion Program and the Summer Promise. Both focus on providing out-of-school time education, and the success of each is based on our developing innovative, individualized academic supports for students from grades 2 through 12. Promise Family Network, and parent engagement, is the second programming area. Engaging parents through family programming, social supports, and engaging in family goal setting are the hallmarks of this programming. Through the Promise Family Network, parents of current and perspective students of the Peter Paul Youth Program have created a community focused on strengthening their family well-being and developing stronger relationships between parents, children, and other families. Our third area of programming is called Richmond Promise Neighborhood (RPN). Through RPN, we engage the entire community in a variety of events, including Field Day activities, community Info Feasts on important issues (for example, Growing Great Schools), and programs for seniors. In addition, RPN has cultivated five action teams that partner with community organizations to host workshops vital to personal health and mental well-being, academic success, family development, and community cohesion. These teams address topics such as helping Smart Beginnings with kindergarten registration, increasing parental involvement in East End schools, and coordinating training programs on developing resilience for children who experience trauma. |