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Fund Raiser and Vision
“Turning a Corner for Change”
A Capital Campaign for the Cornerstone Community Center

Cornerstone Community Center
P.O. Box 620
Hartford, Vermont  05047
802.295.5738
 

The Cornerstone Community Center 

The mission of the Cornerstone Community Center is to educate and equip people in this generation and the next to live lives of victory and hope. We do this through programs for youth and adults that educate and develop skills necessary for the achievement of an attainable hope. The Cornerstone Center is a place where people in our community can see the direction of their lives “turn a corner” toward a future and a hope.

Turning a Corner for Change, the Capital Campaign of the Cornerstone Community Center is seeking to raise $1.6 million dollars for a two-fold purpose.

Our primary purpose is to enable youth and adults to “turn a corner” in their lives. The Cornerstone Community Center is primarily an educational center. The Potter’s House Junior and Senior High School will be housed in the Cornerstone Center. Through our Junior and Senior High School, youth from the broadest spectrum of economic levels in the Upper Valley will have an opportunity to receive a private school education which will instill strong academics and moral character. Through our Youth Recreation Center and After-School Youth Development Program, youth in the Upper Valley will develop the skills to be productive, self-determining and self-sufficient members of our community. Through our innovative Career Development Center, adults will be given the tools and training to create and sustain positive life change. Adults who are facing extreme barriers to work will be given a chance to realize positive life change and success in the world of work. Our Sciences @ Work Program will provide youth in the Potter’s House School and the After-School Program and adults in the Career Development Program to take their dreams one step further, advancing their skills and connecting with others in the community who support their efforts at change. The Cornerstone Community Center will also provide relief services through our expanded Food Bank and Career Boutique which will provide those entering the work world with wardrobe and “make-over” resources.

Our second purpose is to literally “turn a corner for change”. We seek to turn an existing corner building in Hartford Village into the Cornerstone Community Center. The building is a unique space where our life changing programs can be housed. We will also have the opportunity to create income streams that allow a major portion of the operational costs of programs to be self-funded.

To realize fully these possibilities, we seek your financial assistance. We propose to embark on a $1.6 million capital campaign – a campaign that is about people and the tools they need to succeed. What follows is a brief description of the priority areas where funding is critical to the success of this campaign.

Potter’s House Junior and Senior High School 

Potter’s House School is a non-profit organization and has been a recognized private school by the State of Vermont since 1995. The Potter’s House offers a classic academic program using a traditional approach drawn from biblical principals to provide the best possible program of studies for each student.

While our academic standards are traditional, our delivery of services is anything but. We know that many families in the Upper Valley desire to provide their children with a quality education, but financial limitations keep many from being able to do so. We have looked for creative ways to offer a solid academic program, but at a fraction of the cost of a traditional private school education.

Our desire to create a program that could be offered at a price accessible to the broadest possible spectrum of economic levels of the Upper Valley led us to offer an audiovisual based curriculum. We use the A Beka Academy Audiovisual Program. This audiovisual program is accredited by the following organizations:

Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS),
Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).

In keeping with accreditation standards, audiovisual teachers undergo certification through FACCS. Textbooks and workbooks are coordinated with the audiovisual program.

By using computer technology, and the ever advancing field of audiovisual instruction, we are able to place a certified teaching specialist in each classroom, and provide quality Teacher Training Resources to our teaching staff. The audiovisual instruction allows us to offer quality instruction that is standardized across grade levels. We are able to provide schooling to interested students, regardless of class size, or total enrollment.

The Potter’s House High School is focused on preparing students for college and career. Beginning in the 9th grade, Potter’s House High School students are given individual assistance and instruction to research and explore their areas of interest for future career development. The students are connected with opportunities to acquire real world exposure to their desired field of interest. Students research either the vocational or college requirements needed to pursue their field of interest, and a plan of action is developed to enable the student to prepare for their future. Students desiring and needing advanced academic enrichment in the sciences and math are given the opportunity to participate in the Sciences @ Work program. The Sciences @ Work Program is explained more completely below.
 

Community Youth Development Center 

The Cornerstone Center’s Youth Development programs focus on academic enrichment and character development.

The Cornerstone After-School Program is open to all youth from surrounding Upper Valley communities. The After-School Program runs during the school year between the after-school hours of 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. The After-School Program focuses on academic enrichment and character development of participating teens. The After-School Program will be staffed by adult volunteers who have undergone training in Youth Development through S.A.Y. Yes!, a nationwide youth development training organization. The S.A.Y. Yes! Program provides training and two full years of weekly curriculum.

The faith-based program includes activities in:
Tutoring
Mentoring
Basic Education Achievement
Computer training
Entrepreneurial skills
Character Development.

Upon entering the program, academic skills of all students will be assessed, and a plan developed to provide for their academic enrichment. Students, who have progressed academically and demonstrated the development of self-governing skills, will be eligible to participate in the Sciences @ Work Program.

Youth Recreation Center

Youth in the Community also need a safe and supervised setting for recreation. The Youth Recreation Center is such a site. The Recreation Center is roughly 4,400 square feet. The space is equipped with recreational activities such as darts, pool, music and TV. The setting is comfortable and relaxed. The Recreation Center will offer a supervised recreational setting for teens to engage in structured activities, play pool or darts, listen to music, and watch TV or movies.

Adult Career Development Center 

Cornerstone Adult Career Development Center is designed to offer innovative career development training to adults who are in the midst of transitions, or life-challenges, or are facing extreme barriers to workplace success. The workshop training format has been developed by WorkNet Solutions, a global career development and training organization, with a success rate of over 62%. The purpose of the workshop is to work together with candidates so they are in a job which fascinates them. The training and workshops enable candidates to engage in “life-mapping”. The development of this skill enables candidates to create a plan and strategy, which builds a personal vision beyond their entry position. Adult students capture a vision for their future career path, which may include advanced education, or advanced positions.

Adult students involved in the WorkNet program will have opportunities to seek additional academic and career enrichment through the audiovisual curriculum, the Sciences @ Work program, or the food-services training program.

Candidates will be recruited first from the other program areas of the Cornerstone Center. Additional recruitment will come from collaborations with agencies which offer stabilizing life services. 

The Sciences @ Work Program 

In our focus to prepare students for college and career, we recognize that students must be prepared to work in a world that is increasingly scientific, technical, and highly competitive. A focal point of the Potter’s House Junior/Senior High School is the Sciences @ Work Program. The Sciences @ Work program features an interactive math and science laboratory, coupled with a community partnership program. Students will be exposed to advanced math and sciences in an interactive technology format. Students will have an opportunity to connect with local science and technology based companies through workplace volunteer mentors and internships.

The project has been designed after two working models. The first model is the Bill Gates Computer Science Building with “Smart Classrooms”, located at Stanford University. The second model is the “Small School” community concept at Vail High School, located at the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park. By integrating concepts found in these models, we will be able to introduce the latest proven technology for teaching the sciences to the students in our community. Students will be given access to individual student workstations, and group presentations with hands-on applications to maximize
each student’s potential. Students will have the tools to be better prepared for entering the work place and college.

Youth participating in the After-School program, and adult candidates participating in our career development workshop, will have an opportunity to participate in the Sciences @ Work Program as well. Those lacking academic foundations in their education will enter into an audiovisual learning environment where they too can benefit academically. Those with an existing academic foundation can participate in the advanced learning and internship opportunities.
 

Cornerstone Community Center Relief Services 

The Cornerstone Community Center will also offer relief services to those in our community facing emergency situations.
 

Food Bank

Cornerstone Community Center will have a Food Bank, able to serve over 250 families per month. The food bank will offer food, toiletries, and household supplies to those in our community needing such assistance. The Food Bank will enable us to connect with the needs of the community, and to offer this added service to those participating in our programs.   

The Unique Boutique

Another feature of the Cornerstone Community Center will be our career boutique, which will provide those entering the work world with wardrobe and “make-over” resources. The Unique Boutique will provide professional attire for those in the Career Development Workshops. It will also allow us to connect with those in the business community who wish to donate suits and business attire, and volunteer their services to the Career Development program.

The Cornerstone Community Center Building 

While each of these programs is unique, the corner building in Hartford Village is also unique. It is this uniqueness that makes the site an ideal location for the Cornerstone Community Center.

The building is roughly 25,000 square feet and has three distinct floor plans. Each floor plan has the ability to be secured and separated. This will enable us to ensure that youth in the school, after-school program, or recreation center, can be separate from the adults in the career development center. It will allow us to run programs concurrently without one client group interrupting the other.   

The other benefit of housing the Cornerstone Community Center in this site is the building itself. The building is a 25,000 square foot facility, with a full-service industrial kitchen and a reception room complete with dance floor. The space was designed for catering large events and can accommodate 300+ people comfortably.

The full-service kitchen and adjoining catering facility, will allow us to offer on-the-job training in the food services industry. This on-site facility gives us the ability to offer certification training to those in the Career Development program who have an interest in the food services industry.

We are researching all options for using the space to create an income stream from catering. Having done preliminary budget planning, we believe this could realize a total yearly income of $80,000. This income would offset a large portion of the operational costs of the facility. Additional income streams, such as family movie nights, community dinners, recognition dinners and family fun nights, allow the facility to be used to foster community building events, connect with the local community, and promote our programs and services.

PROPOSED BUDGET
 

The Capital Campaign of the Cornerstone Community Center will run until 2010. We are undertaking this campaign to raise needed funds for the purchase and renovation of the existing facility, to house the After-School Center, Adult Career Development Center, Sciences @ Work Lab, and the needed equipment and training to launch school and all programs. We are also seeking funds to cover the first year operating and administration costs while additional income streams are developed.