In DIn December 1980 the COLT Coalition-CDC was incorporated as a non-profit 501 (c) organization to expand the Coalition's  involvement in community initiated economic development projects and enable the Coalition to move from a planning to an  implementation role. Specifically The COLT Coalition joined with several other organizations to help to produce housing for low income families and seniors in the Tioga Nicetown area The result of these collaborations resulted in over 20 million dollars of housing Development including Bancroft Court at 1604 W. Allegheny where 60 modular apartments are available for low income families; Venango Place where  24 affordable townhouses were built and  St Joes Retirement, Tioga Apartments and Venango House where over 240 senior citizens can call home  

After the housing development period COLT has returned to its roots as an independent organization concerned with helping  the youth and children of the community 

Current Children and youth Programs 

Programs Overview 

One of the Programs started by the President is a mentoring program in conjunction with Temple University graduate students on the Health Sciences Campus near the COLT office and Broad and Ontario Street   called Big Friends.  

Big Friends. Is a tutoring program which aim is to provide 4th and 5th grade students of Kenderton Elementary School with assistance in various academic areas as well as social and cultural areas. Tutors donate two hours every other week for two months. 

The COLT Children's  Programs operate a wide variety of activities, through a number of different formats: 

Weekly Mentoring Program.  

Kindergarten through middle-school-aged children from the housing developments and other low income homes around Philadelphia are paired with college student volunteers and other volunteers from different communities in one-on-one, consistent, long-term relationships. Each week, students bring the children in the program to their college campus church or community recreation center for a combination of group and one-on-one activities. Group activities are age-appropriate, and the individual activities are tailored to the specific needs and interests of each child in the program. 

Besides these fundamental weekend  mentoring activities, which include everything from sports, to arts and crafts, to playing on the Internet, or going visiting local organic farms, COLT  mentors have assisted AmeriCorps members in developing activities for the other days of the week as well. Additionally, other members of the surrounding community have become involved with the children in the housing developments. For example, a number of Greek organizations have hosted haunted houses, cookie decorating activities, meeting facilities, sports events, and various Class Councils have sponsored such events as the renovation of an onsite community library. 

Culminating Experiences. 

The weekly mentoring program builds to a culminating experience at the end of each season. Culminating experiences can take many forms such as a group day of hiking in Fairmount Park, a field day, or a trip to the Zoo. One program organized a  day trip to Washington DC to meet members of Congress that represented Phila.. Culminating experiences are highly anticipated events by all students and enhance important skills such as goal setting and attainment.  

Summer Program. The Summer Program is designed to establish continuity between school years for the children, as well as to provide opportunities for intensive team and self-reliance development. Groups of children and college students work together throughout the summer in helping each other to learn about the communities which they come from COLT also works with The Lil Men of Philadelphia to mentor up to 75 boys a year through singing, learning to play instruments and volunteering in community clean-up and other projects