Urban Promise Community Center
Erin McGee Ferrell and her husband, Nathan, owners of the CertaPro franchise in
Moorestown, NJ, met 17 years ago as volunteers for Urban Promise. Urban Promise
began in 1988 in Camden, NJ, to equip children and teens with skills necessary for
academic achievement, life management, spiritual growth, and leadership. McGee Ferrell
was inspired to get involved with Urban Promise again after seeing the nonprofit
featured on a “20/20” special about youth in Camden and Moorestown, as well as on
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which featured an Urban Promise student and his
family. Both shows aired on ABC television last year.
"The city is one of the country’s most troubled,” McGee Ferrell says. “But the people
in Camden have a wealth of community spirit.” As an artist, McGee Ferrell understands
color’s effect on psychology. “Painting and colors affect who you are and how you
feel,” she says. Erin and Nathan contacted Mark Kahn of Vineland, Olin Johnson of
Princeton/ Trenton, and Ray Breitwieser of Gloucester and Salem counties, who volunteered
to help paint Urban Promise’s Samuel J. Paparone Student Center during the holidays.
“I got a call from Erin asking for volunteers,” says Johnson. “It is worthwhile
what the organization is doing. Someone has to do it, or it wouldn’t get done.”
He contributed the most manpower to the project with four available painters.
The interior had been painted new-construction white when the student center was
built. But with the help of CertaPro, its halls are now alive with bright reds,
blues, and oranges. Color has completely transformed the overall appearance. The
project began over winter break while school was not in session, but the crew had
to finish later when some of the students had returned, giving some of the painters
the opportunity to interact with the students. “What the kids aren’t missing is
spirit and spunk,” says McGee Ferrell, who also volunteers her time as an art teacher
at the school.
The organization paid only for materials used in the project. Urban Promise depends
on donations and volunteers to help maintain its facilities and continue its work,
which includes after-school programs, teen mentoring, summer camps, private education
from kindergarten through grade 12, and a program for single fathers. “It really
is the heart of Camden,” says McGee Ferrell.
Besides its location in Camden, Urban Promise has centers in Wilmington, DE; Toronto,
ON; and Vancouver, BC. For information, visit www.urbanpromiseusa.org.
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