The Village uses arts-based programmes in education, land transformation, construction and economic development to build community. In all of its activities, volunteers are central. In 1999 over 400 volunteers and interns contributed more than 10,000 hours of their time working with Village staff and community.

The Village has developed a hands-on educational programme to engage and nurture youth, to increase their connections to positive peer and adult role models, and to build their skills, confidence, and sense of their own potential. The Learning through the Arts programme includes four interconnected parts: Core Leadership (where, among other things, teens are hooked up with organisations offering internships in disciplines like urban gardening, carpentry, or craft and theatre production - they learn job skills while earning money), Open Workshops, Outreach (hands-on learning through art, health through art, urban gardening, and building community through the arts), and Youth Theater (teens create and perform original theatre productions based on the writings of local artists as well as their own poems, stories, and experiences). Young people ages 6 to 18 take part; in 2000 more than 2,500 youth participated in Learning through the Arts.

A second strategy involves land transformation through urban greening and park construction, activities that are designed to build beauty, community, and pride. In the immediate neighbourhood, residents have worked to create nine parks and gardens and two muraled alleyways. Here are a few specific examples:

The Village will soon break ground for its first new construction project, Village Homes. This project will create six new homes in the Village neighbourhood for first time low-income home buyers.

Economic development activities are central to the Village's work. For example, inspired by the images and artwork that emerge from the Village programmes involving children and teens, professional artists develop ceramic sculptures and tiles, mosaics, fabric dolls, wooden figures, cards, and silk-screen items. Teens and adults are then trained and employed in various production processes. The programme creates a source of training and employment for area residents, as well as income to support the organisation.

The Village Press has published the writing of community members through publications including "The North Philadelphian" (a literary magazine), "My World" (a children's newsletter), "Connecting through Walls" (a newsletter created by artists and prison inmates), "Learning through Creating" (a booklet describing a year-long project with at-risk 4th and 5th graders at a nearby elementary school), and "Lead-Out Fun Book" (a colorful activity book for children teaches the dangers of and ways avoid lead poisoning).

As part of its Hands-on-Health programme, the Village studies barriers to good health in the community and works with Temple University's School of Nursing and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to provide art-based workshops to children and adults. Puppet shows, photography exhibits, and hands-on activities such as painting are designed to teach people about nutrition, exercise, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, breast cancer, and diabetes. A community advisory working group, "teach the teacher" workshops, and numerous outreach activities with local organisations, residents, and health providers are other strategies.

The Village produces several annual festivals that bring neighbours together to celebrate community accomplishments and showcase the creativity of neighborhood youth. Kujenga Pamoja (the Swahili translation of the Village's motto, "Together We Build") is held each autumn. Other celebrations include the Winter Festival, Black History Month festivities, community music jams, and performances by visiting artists.

Economic Development, Health, Community, Children, Youth.

The Village was established during the summer of 1986 when Philadelphia-based artist Lily Yeh began working with neighbourhood children to transform an abandoned lot in North Philadelphia into a colorful public park. During the following three summers, more children, along with neighborhood adults and professional artists, collaborated to complete the project. The Village was established as a nonprofit organisation in 1989.

The median family income in this 260-square-block area is US$10,000.

Since 1986, the Village has renovated 6 abandoned properties and transformed more than 150 parcels of vacant land into parks, gardens, green spaces, and a tree farm. Organisers claim that "The Village has become a safe and trusted place where residents meet to discuss and resolve broader community issues. Today, the organization is seen by area residents, service providers, policy-makers, and public and private funders as a symbol of hope in community revitalization." The Village's programmes and activities reach more than 10,000 people annually.