Phone Call with Rachel Cohen

Today at 11am I had a phone interview scheduled with Rachel Cohen, the Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager at Heritage Community Initiatives. She has worked with Heritage since October, so she is still new to the community; she is full of life, though, and seems to love her job.

Our conversation began with me telling her a bit about myself, my interests, and what I am currently working on, research/academic-wise. She then told me more about Heritage-- what a great organization!

The following information is from my transcription of our phone interview:

Heritage began more then 25 years ago as part of the Heritage Health Foundation. Eventually, though, it branched off to other needs of the Mon Valley community.
The Mon Valley is the area around the Monongahela River. In the wake of the post-steel mill era, all 37 communities crashed into a state of starvation. This is the story of Braddock, yes, but also the multiple communities of the Mon Valley.
So, Heritage now looks to see what the gaps are in these areas. The organization has three main areas: transportation, education, and community engagement.

(1) Transportation
Port Authority cut most of the lines that ran to and from the Mon Valley. This effectively cut off most people's lifelines to work and educational resources. So, Heritage created WorkLink, a fixed-route land service, free for anyone riding for work or work-related activities such as job interviews or school. WorkLinks connects people to bus routes and Jefferson Hospital, just to name two examples, providing service to 3000 riders and 13,000 rides per month. Funding, however, was just cut for the WorkLink program, so Heritage is currently looking for fundraising sources.

(2) Education
Problem: The students of the Mon Valley were entering school behind their peers.
Response: Heritage Community Initiatives created two education programs, the 4 Kids Early Learning Center and Heritage Out of School Time (HOST).
The Early Learning Center is a government subsidized year-round program for infants through pre-K aged youth.  Reading and imagination are fostered, as well as positive attitudes and problem solving.
HOST is an after-school program for kids from kindergarten through 8th grade, where homework help is provided and creative activities are well-loved. During the summer, HOST provides summer camps to keep these same kids off the streets and in good hands.

(3) Community Engagement
This is the program where Rachel (the woman I spoke with) works. She finds individual or groups of volunteers to help with activities and events for kids in HOST, as well as to help with two main fundraisers: Chair-ity and Walk for a Healthy Community.

• • •

Rachel and I discussed working with the HOST Summer Camps this summer. "Theatre would be great," Rachel told me. "The kids love dressing up and stuff."
She is going to get me in touch with Jodi, the HOST coordinator, and the three of us will begin a conversation together about how I could be worked into the community efforts of Heritage.