PHL GC June Newsletter - The Transition Network

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TTN PHILADELPHIA GIVING CIRCLE

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

June 2022

Dear Giving Circle Members and Friends:

YES – it was a very busy May! It culminated on May 19^th with our big Annual Voting event when we heard from our five nonprofit finalists and then selected this year’s three grant recipients. Each will receive $22,000, collectively the largest grants award since our founding 10 years ago. Every year it seems harder to choose, but as you will see, our grants will support organizations providing a diverse range of services for Philadelphia women and children in need. We have listed each recipient below with a brief description of the services they provide and how they support the women and children in their communities. Please take a minute to get to know each one by reading about them and visiting their websites. We know that you’ll be inspired by their great work and commitment. We will be hearing more from each organization towards the end of the year when they attend one of our year-end functions. Each of the three were delighted to receive our funding and our expression of support for their missions.

We would also like to take this time to give a shout out to Ann Lipshutz and her grants committee for all the hard work they do. Months of effort brought us to our successful May 19^th Voting event. These dedicated women study each grant application, visit each finalist and then meet as a group (via Zoom) multiple times to narrow the selection prior to introducing us to the five finalists. Once again, they did a great job and we thank them all.

Our efforts, however, do not stop at the awarding of our grants. Now, we turn our focus to raising money for next year’s grants. In honor of its 10^th anniversary, designated the “Year of the Child”, the Giving Circle will be allocating all funds raised in 2022 for nonprofits serving children. Our goal of $100,000 is a stretch -yes - but we are confident we can achieve it. We do this in recognition of our 10-year anniversary but, more importantly, to address the overwhelming needs of children living in poverty in our city.

Next month we’ll give you an update on our joint TTN Philadelphia and Giving Circle June Volunteer Days. There are just so many ways to join efforts in support of women and children in Philadelphia. So watch this space!

With gratitude,

Executive Council

The three grantees are . . .

SOWN

The mission of SOWN (Supportive Older Women's Network) is to strengthen community support, reduce social isolation and improve well being of older adults, especially women. SOWN also provides support for grandparent-headed families, caregivers for loved ones, and vulnerable older adults in the Greater Philadelphia region. To learn more, click here.

ST. CHRISTOPHER'S FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN

St. Christopher's Foundation for Children's mission is to support the core health needs of children in the community served by St Christophers hospital, through innovative programs, outreach, research and education. They also provide free dental care to children in need. To learn more, click here.

THE WAGNER FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

The mission of The Wagner Free Institute of Science is to provide free educational programs that address glaring educational inequities for inner city children (particularly in the area of science) as well as address low representation of African Americans in STEM careers. The Wagner Free Institute of Science is also open to the public so we encourage you to not only read about the institute, but to visit as well. To learn more, click here.

Our Volunteer Days in June are here . . .

As part of our "Year of the Child" campaign, we announced our June Volunteer Days last month and we received a terrific response. Starting on June 1st and running through June 11th, we have six different options for which Giving Circle and TTN members have registered. As overall coordinator for these opportunities, I want to thank everyone who has signed up to volunteer.

The six nonprofits are looking forward to meeting you all. Thanks again.

Mary Klein

Year of the Child Campaign

We are pleased to announce that we continue to move towards our goal of raising $100,000 for our 2023 grants, and supporting the “Year of the Child”. But we have a ways to go. Every dollar that is contributed this year will go to grants for nonprofits working in Philadelphia working to improve the lives of children in need.

We are making progress, but we need your help. So, If you haven’t already, now is the time to be a part of making a difference right here in Philadelphia. To support our 10th anniversary “Year of the Child", please consider a special larger gift this year. Through the power of our collective giving, we can all make an important difference. To make a contribution, click here. And invite your friends to do the same. Thank you.

Did you know. . . Philadelphia has the worst poverty rate of the ten largest U.S. cities. Twenty-six percent (26%) of Philadelphians—between 377,000 and 413,000 people—live below the federal poverty level, including 37% (126,000) of our children, 24% (238,000) of work-age adults and 17% (32,000) of seniors. To learn more, click here.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Giving Circle Member

Each month we are going to feature one of our own Giving Circle members "in the Spotlight." This is a great way to get to know your fellow Giving Circle members and to learn why being part of our Giving Circle is important to them.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Past Grant Recipients

In honor of our 10th Anniversary, each month we are going to feature one of our past recipients. This month we are featuring Rebuilding Together Philadelphia to which we awarded a grant in 2017.

Susan Vineberg

A Philadelphia area native, Susan Vineberg joined TTN and The Giving Circle when she and her husband left the suburbs and settled in Center City in 2008. Several friends said to her, “You have to join TTN. You’ll love it. You have to join The Giving Circle!” Enrolling in both, Susan jumped in with both feet. She served on the Giving Circle Grants Committee and Chaired the Giving Circle for two years. Susan fondly remembers early Giving Circle fundraisers, including a fashion show at Joan Shepp that earned $16,000. Though no longer in a leadership position in The Giving Circle, Susan is not one to sit idle. She participates in many TTN activities and events and spearheaded TTN’s Cooking for a Cause, which started with 12-15 volunteer cooks in November 2021 and has grown to include about 23 participants today.

When Susan’s husband died in 2019, with his agreement, she designated the Giving Circle as a charity to which friends and family could donate in his memory. Those donations were used for an additional grantee that year, one chosen by Susan and her daughter in consultation with The Philadelphia Foundation. It was a very moving and important experience for both of them. Susan was so grateful for the support of TTN and the Giving Circle at such a difficult time. She hopes others will consider The Giving Circle for special memorials as well as in honor of friends and family for birthdays and other significant events.

The Giving Circle’s growth in membership, numbers of grantees, and dollars awarded are sources of joy for Susan. She has only praise for the current executive council, saying it is filled with wonderful women who are so professional, so attuned to what’s going on in the world of nonprofits and technology. Susan has come full (Giving) circle, and is now one of those people who always says, “You have to join TTN, you have to join the Giving Circle."

contributed by Janet Weinstein

Rebuilding Together Philadelphia (RTP) brings volunteers and communities together to work with homeowners to transform their houses into safe, healthy and energy-efficient homes. Each year, the RTP team and over 1,000 volunteers work with over 100 homeowners. They do this through four programs.

Block Builds. 100-250 volunteers, neighbors and homeowners come together three times a year to repair 10-25 clustered homes in a targeted neighborhood.

Asthma Trigger Reduction. Volunteers work alongside the in-house contractor team to improve the health of residents through providing repairs to reduce factors that can provoke asthma and other breathing conditions for adults and children.

Middle Neighborhoods Initiative. The in-house contractor team and subcontractors repair homes for age 55 or older homeowners in middle neighborhoods, those that are neither in crisis nor booming but are critical to a thriving Philadelphia.

Emerging [Re]Builders. RTP provides Career and Technical Education students with opportunities to repair homes for seniors and to build their technical and soft skills.

In 2017, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia was given a grant by the Giving Circle of $15,000. The grant supported RTP’s project, “VoTech in the House!” which mobilized vocational education students to make free health and safety home repairs for low income home owners who lived in the Fairhill section of North Philadelphia. Many of the senior women who received these free services owned their homes for more than 30 years. Having raised their children and grandchildren in these homes, the properties were seriously in need of repair.

With TTN’s Giving Circle support, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia was able to provide electrical, plumbing, carpentry, roofing, and health and safety repairs to 15 homes. It was the second grant ever received for this program and a true vote of confidence in their work! For additional information, click here.

contributed by Joan Gordon