Welcome to Philadelphia’s Newest Learning Hub!

Partners for Sacred Places celebrates the opening of Sunrise Access Center Hub @ Trinity Lutheran Church on Monday, September 21, 2020.

Sunrise of Philadelphia is an Out of School Time provider, that is providing a safe, comfortable place for public school children in Philadelphia to access a remote curriculum at Trinity Lutheran Church, in South Philadelphia. This effort is part of the City of Philadelphia’s plan to open Access Centers for children who do not have internet access or home supervision during virtual schooling.

The Access Center Hub @ Trinity is open from 8am to 4pm, Monday – Friday, at:
Trinity Lutheran Church
2300 S 18th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19145

All Philadelphia Health Department guidance will be followed to ensure a safe environment for youth in need of support to complete digital learning. All youth will receive breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack daily. Pre-registration for Access Centers is required and limited seats are still available for families. Priority is given to children of caregivers who need to work outside the home and cannot provide or afford supervision. Families who want to apply can register here. No one can attend without prior approval. No one can enter the building except for Sunrise staff and students to ensure safety of those inside.

Partners worked with a local software company called LoftySpot,  to bring together Sunrise of Philadelphia with Trinity Lutheran Church as part of its new Community Learning Hubs in Sacred Places initiative. This COVID/virtual schooling response was created to provide a safe learning environments for families who lack home WiFi or adult supervision during virtual schooling. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the leadership at Sunrise, Trinity Lutheran, Trinity Academy, and the City’s Office of Children and Families. So many sacred places, like Trinity Lutheran in South Philadelphia, have space to share. During COVID, that means kids will have room to breathe and not be overcrowded – not to mention enjoy the beauty and warmth of the surroundings,” says Karen DiLossi, the director of Arts in Sacred Places at Partners for Sacred Places. “We believe this will be vital to the overall physical, emotional and mental well being of Philadelphia’s school-aged kids.” Partners for Sacred Places and Loftyspot have inventoried over 15 additional sites, and hope to facilitate additional partnerships. For more information contact kdilossi@sacredplaces.org.

See local media coverage of this initiative on 6ABC, CBS3 and FOX29.

Staff from Sunrise prepare for the first day at the Sunrise Access Center Hub @ Trinity, transforming an underutilized Parish Hall into a Community Learning Hub where up to 88 children can learn in a safe, supervised setting.