Position Made Possible Through First-Ever Cities of Service Leadership Grant Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation
Philadelphia, June 7, 2010- Today, Mayor Michael A. Nutter named Catherine (Catie) Cavanaugh Wolfgang as the City’s first Chief Service Officer (CSO) On Martin Luther King Day of this year, Cities of Service and the Rockefeller Foundation named the City of Philadelphia as a recipient of the first-ever Cities of Service Leadership Grant. As one of ten winning cities, Philadelphia received a $200,000 two-year grant, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, to hire a Chief Service Officer. This new position is dedicated to engaging more Philadelphians in service and channeling volunteers towards the City’s most pressing challenges. Ms. Wolfgang comes to the City from the University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia at Temple University where she was the Associate Director of Youth Civic Engagement and responsible for coordinating community partnership initiatives and developing programs and opportunities for youth and young adults.
“I am thrilled to announce that Catie will be the City of Philadelphia’s first Chief Service Officer,” said Mayor Nutter. “With her experience engaging Philadelphians in a diverse range of programs, she has a tremendous skill set which will help her implement a comprehensive civic engagement plan that will ensure volunteer efforts throughout Philadelphia are focused around our goals for a safer, greener, and better educated city. I thank Cities of Service and the Rockefeller Foundation for the support that has made this possible.”
“I appreciate the unique and exciting opportunity to be the City’s first Chief Service Officer and look forward to working with partners in the non-profit sector, in the business community and across our City government. I also look forward to bringing greater attention to the grassroots efforts of local citizens already deeply engaged in supporting their communities,” said Ms. Wolfgang. “As Chief Service Officer I hope that I can help the Mayor’s Office serve as a critical resource for citizens who want to have a positive impact on our city.”
Over the next several months, Ms. Wolfgang will lead a collaborative effort to develop a citywide service plan. She will convene a strategic committee of service experts and stakeholders, conduct an assessment of existing service levels, and identify collaborative partnerships to deepen the effects of local volunteerism. Phase one of the citywide service plan will be submitted to Cities of Service and the Rockefeller Foundation by September 10, 2010. The plan will include designs for a website making it easier for Philadelphians to get involved in both ‘one-shot’ and ongoing volunteer opportunities organized by City government as well as Philadelphia’s rich network of non-profit organizations. Ms. Wolfgang will begin reporting on the plan’s impact in December.
Philadelphia was chosen to receive this grant because the City demonstrated a strong ability to conduct an assessment of existing service levels; produce a coordinated citywide plan to increase service; engage local universities; and appoint a Chief Service Officer who would report directly to the mayor or another high-ranking official in the administration. Applications were limited to members of the coalition in cities that have more than 100,000 residents, according to the 2000 census, and have at least one community college or four-year public or private university. In total, 50 cities applied for a leadership grant.
“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to continue our long tradition of supporting innovative solutions for urban communities through the Cities of Service Leadership Grants,” said Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin. “As a native Pennsylvanian and former UPenn president, I saw firsthand how integral service can be in creating opportunities for communities to be involved in solving problems and finding innovative ideas on a local level. Mayor Nutter has always been guided by a deep understanding that community involvement can change neighborhoods, cities and a state and we welcome Catie Wolfgang to this inspiring challenge.”
While the Mayor’s Office has long encouraged service, including creating the annual “Philly Spring Cleanup” which lead to the nation’s largest ever city cleanup, existing service organizations in the city are excited that there will now be a clear partner in the Mayor’s Office.
“Philadelphia continues to lead the nation in its service initiatives. With this appointment, Philadelphia is poised to use Cities of Service to expand that leadership even further,” said David Eisner, CEO of the National Constitution Center and former CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Eisner also participated on Philadelphia’s CSO search committee.
“Volunteering builds a sense of civic pride and personal fulfillment. Through the Cities of Service Leadership Grant, the Mayor has the opportunity to help foster a greater sense of civic participation and to demonstrate that we are all in this together. During these troubling economic times, it is more important than ever to find creative solutions to problems we all share,” said Todd Bernstein, President of Global Citizen which runs the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service
“The Cities of Service Leadership Grant provides Philadelphia with a great opportunity to catalyze the many wonderful service and volunteer activities that currently exist and to do so in ways that gain Philadelphia the recognition that we rightfully deserve. With Catie Wolfgang serving in this position, I am convinced that Philadelphia will be on the map in the most prominent of ways,” said Dr. Barbara Ferman, Executive Director of the University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia at Temple University where Catie C. Wolfgang served as Associate Director from 2003 until 2009.
“The Chief Service Officer will be a tremendous asset to Philadelphia. She will mobilize the vast networks of existing volunteers and service members in the City and focus their work, and the work of new volunteers, on solving many of the city’s biggest challenges,” said Mary Strasser, Pennsylvania State Program Director for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
“Having a Chief Service Officer promote volunteerism in the city will help organizations like City Year inspire more people to get involved. We especially look forward to working with Catie who has a long-standing commitment to the service movement,” said Loree Jones, Co- Executive Director of City Year Greater Philadelphia.
“What I’ve most appreciated in working with Catie is her genuine spirit, her welcoming smile and the fact that she just plain cares. She cares about our city, she cares about our children and she cares about those around her. It is this quality that allows her to bring people together to make positive impacts in their communities,” said Tony Alvarez, Director of School and Community Relations for Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School.
“Catie will be most effective in her role as a convener and partnership builder across Philadelphia’s varied stakeholders. Catie possesses the unique ability to communicate and work with a wide range of constituencies. It is this flexibility, and the legitimacy she has with diverse groups, that will make her an asset to the Chief Service Officer position,” said Hillary Kane, Director of Philadelphia’s Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development.
For more information or to be involved, please call 311 or email cso@phila.gov.
