Response-Ability is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

volunteer service program that places college graduates in

inner-city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

schools in the United States and in other international sites across the U.S. It is a member of the Catholic Network of Volunteer Services and is affiliated with

AmeriCorps AmeriCorps ( ; officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in ...

. A ministry of the

Society of the Holy Child Jesus The Society of the Holy Child Jesus is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic sisters founded in England in 1846 by Philadelphia-born Cornelia Connelly. History Born Cornelia Peacock in Philadelphia, she was raised a Presbyter ...

(SHCJ) that is grounded in Cornelia Connelly's educational philosophy, Response-Ability trains

volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

to provide education and service in inner city schools and international sites.Graham, Kristen A.
For the love of helping needy children learn
" Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 30, 2001, p. 152 (subscription required).

History

The program began in 1974 as a vocations awareness program for the SHCJ. Sisters would bring college-age students to various sites throughout the U.S. to perform service for three weeks over the summer. Inspired by the work of

Teach for America Teach For America (TFA) is an American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational excell ...

, Response-Ability launched its Teacher Service Program in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1993. Volunteers began to serve as teachers in inner-city

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

classrooms. This was beneficial to many schools that faced the possibility of closure. In the following years, the program grew to include volunteer houses in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

At the same time, the Holy Child Sisters requested that volunteers work with them in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. These volunteers, mainly women, work in the areas of education, health care, and social services. There are currently ten Response-Ability volunteers serving in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and

Los Alcarrizos Los Alcarrizos is a Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') of the Santo Domingo Province, Santo Domingo province in the Dominican Republic. Within the municipality there are the following municipal districts (''distr ...

in the Dominican Republic. Volunteers serve in pre-school through High School settings in positions that range from classroom teachers to music teachers and

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

assistants. As many volunteers do not have formal backgrounds in education training, they partake in ample professional development throughout the year, including a two-week intensive orientation training program and graduate courses in education. Additionally, volunteers go on biannual retreats to reflect and focus on their personal spiritual growth.

References

{{Reflist 1974 establishments in Pennsylvania Catholic organizations established in the 20th century Organizations based in Philadelphia Organizations established in 1974 Society of the Holy Child Jesus