PHL Giving Circle 2023 Finalists

Home Control Panel Custom PagesPHL Giving Circle 2023 Finalists

ANNOUNCING THE 2023 FINALISTS

In May, members of TTN Philadelphia Giving Circle voted and selected the four worthy nonprofits listed below with the funds raised during the 2022 campaign entitled the “Year of the Child” in honor of the 10^th anniversary of the TTN Philadelphia Giving Circle.

12+

12+ partners with schools in underserved Philadelphia neighborhoods providing academic support and counseling for students in 9th through 12th grades. Its goal is to ensure that all students, not just a select few, graduate with a dedicated post-secondary path. It is currently a “contracted vendor” with six Philadelphia Public High Schools including Kensington Health and Science Academy, Kensington High School, Penn Treaty School, Hill-Freedman Word Academy, Belmont Charter High School and The Linc. These schools each have between 400-500 students. This nonprofit has achieved success by building PLUS Centers, a dedicated space within each school. The Centers are staffed by Fellows who are recent college graduates, undergo intensive training, and provide individualized support for all students at each school. The Centers provide financial aid and enrollment assistance, vocational and career guidance, and academic and social support. The 12+ initiative redefines what post-secondary education looks like so that students have options ranging from community college, 4-year college s, vocational school or job placement. 90% of graduating seniors were accepted into a defined postsecondary path and 12+ assisted its students in accessing over $5,5000,000 of need-based grants and scholarships.

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES PARTNERSHIP (ASAP)

For nearly two decades, ASAP has championed the vital role out-of-school time programs play in supporting the well-being of children, families, and their communities. ASAP has emerged as a leader and trusted collaborator in Philadelphia’s out-of-school time sector. Supported by strategic partnerships with city agencies, community organizations and a broad network of stakeholders, ASAP has served more than 85,000 school-aged youth since its inception. Focusing on Drama, Chess, Debate, and Scrabble, ASAP partners with more than 200 schools, libraries, and recreation centers to support these activities, and organizes dozens of citywide events to build community and challenge the youngsters. To ensure that programming is engaging students with the greatest need, ASAP focuses its effort on areas within the city with the highest rate of gun violence. Founded by Marciene Mattleman, a citywide recognized leader in literacy, ASAP carries on her legacy, with an executive director who she named 13 years ago. The program continues to grow and thrive providing a model for after school programs across the county.

Kensington Soccer Club

The Kensington Soccer Club, located in a community with high crime and an opioid epidemic, engages youth in a robust soccer program as an alternative path. KSC is deeply embedded in the community. Its hallmark is its ability to uplift the neighborhood by connecting families and caregivers to the program, attracting and paying coaches most of whom grew up and live in the neighborhood, and placing value on academic achievement by connecting with participating schools and offering tutoring as an extension of its program. The children served are primarily BIPOC and the board reflects this diversity, many of whom are parents or actively engaged in the community The nonprofit will offer programs in 20 schools and recreational centers by the end of the year, attracting 1,600 children. KSC is opening a second summer camp this year and collectively will serve 100 kids. KSC also reaches another 2,000 children through its participation in day-long community events. No child is turned away for lack of the nominal enrollment fee. The program’s success has resulted in an increased budget, and programming each year and KSC is further professionalizing its infrastructure, staff and board to provide improved oversight and stronger metric collection.

The Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP)

YASP is a youth-led nonprofit empowering young people who are or have been incarcerated through a combination of artistic expression, political education and community organizing. Through its work in Philadelphia jails, YASP provides space for incarcerated young people to express themselves creatively through poetry and the arts, and to develop themselves as leaders both within and outside the prison walls. Young people who have had “lived experience” are at the forefront of YASP. Additionally, this nonprofit offers a youth-led space (Participatory Defense Hub) where young people and their families can discuss and get advice on open court cases. Recently YASP began a Healing Futures program which diverts youth from the court system through a restorative justice process where youth and the victim come together and work toward healing. YASP actively engages in advocacy, pushing to end youth incarceration, including changes to state and city laws. It does this through speaking engagements and projects in the community. Accomplishments include 17 youth in Philadelphia’s adult jails—down from 170 when YASP first began its work; thousands of youths reached through its art & poetry workshops in jails and youth detention centers; more than 150 young people and their families served by its Participatory Defense HUB, and 19 cases facilitated in the first year of Healing Futures.