TTN PHILADELPHIA GIVING CIRCLE

 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

January, 2024

Message from Kris Lindenmeyer, Co-Chair:

I like to count. It may be a little compulsive, but for me, counting while doing simple tasks is a form of meditation. I count my strokes when swimming laps at the Christian Street YMCA. I count my steps while walking to the grocery. Counting helps me to focus on what I’m doing and helps me keep my mind free of negative distractions. “I’m too tired to swim. It’s too cold to walk.” I feel gratitude when I reach a goal and knowing the “count” it took to get there gives me a measure, a number, that I can attach to that accomplishment. It may sound a bit compulsive, but it works for me.

Today I found great satisfaction in counting the number of donations that you (the Giving Circle community) have generously contributed to help make Philadelphia a better place. The final total will be released in January, but as of the last week of December, we have almost $80,000 in contributions. That is an amazing accomplishment for a giving circle with less than 150 individual donors. The money will do a lot to help the nonprofit organizations that will be our next grantees. As the Giving Circle’s co-chair, with Phyllis Bookspan, I want to express our deep gratitude for your generosity. The money will go a long way to advance children’s literacy for those most at risk, especially after the COVID pandemic closed schools and disrupted the normalcy of children’s lives.

The next step is for our Giving Circle community to wisely choose the nonprofit organizations that will receive our grants. Mary Klein and Sandi Slap have put together two very informative panels for January and February that will inform you about the status of children’s literacy in Philadelphia and the best practices for helping kids become proficient readers. Both programs will be available via Zoom and as recordings available for your convenience. The first will take place on January 23, 2024 from 3:30 pm -5:00 pm. Please save the date and watch for details about registering. We strongly urge you to participate so that you can be well-informed about how best to improve children’s literacy.

Volunteers on our Grants Committee will start their work in January and make recommendations for grantee finalists to present to you for evaluation. All Giving Circle Voting Donors should plan now to attend the Voting Meeting available via Zoom on May 16, 2024 from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. That meeting is where YOU will be voting on the nonprofit organizations recommended to receive our 2024 grants. Please save the date now.

The strength of collective giving is in your hands. Phyllis and I look forward to working with each you in 2024.

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Attention all . . . . Registration is now open!

Once again, our program committee has put together an impactful program for our Giving Circle community and beyond entitled Philadelphia’s Early Literacy Crisis: Why Children Can’t Read. In May we will be selecting nonprofits whose mission is to help our children in Philadelphia learn basic reading skills. Therefore, as funders, it is important for us to glean information from experts as to what some of the hurdles are that our young people are facing when it comes to reading at grade level.  And, more importantly, what changes are happening in the field of literacy to help overcome these hurdles.

Our panel is made up of experts in the field of early literacy education. We have gathered educational leaders, teachers and visionaries in the field. 

The statistics are troubling. For example, 71% of our fourth graders in Philadelphia are not reading at grade level. Our panelists, most of whom are educators in Pennsylvania, see the systemic issues impacting many of our children every day. Poverty (and everything associated with it) is part of the problem. When you factor in health issues, high absenteeism, drug infested neighborhoods, lack of employment, poor housing conditions and food insecurity to name a few, the complexity of the problem is more apparent. And many of our children have to contend with overcrowded classrooms, understaffed and unsafe schools, overwhelmed teachers and limited access to pre-K programs.  And, finally, about 20 per cent of kids going to school in the US children have dyslexia, a reading disability that requires systematic phonics instruction to learn to read.

But there is hope on the horizon. The basic premise of literacy experts today is that 95% of students (nearly every child), regardless of their background, can learn to read with explicit, systematic instruction. While cultural, economic and educational circumstances obviously affect children’s progress, they are not the “defining” factors as to whether a child will learn how to read at grade level. 

Our panel will not only delve into the issues facing our children but will also give us a window into some of the more successful teaching methods now being used in schools. We will learn about such terms as “Whole Language” vs. the “Science of Reading,” and how teaching children how to read has evolved through trial-and-error over the years. And, finally, we will get a sneak peek into what we will hear more about in the second educational program in February entitled Philadelphia’s Early Literacy Crisis: Reasons to be Optimistic. So, please join us!

Periodically, in 2024 we will be highlighting a Giving Circle member helping out either a prior grantee or a nonprofit to which we have built bridges. If you have any stories or suggestions, please let us know. The section will be called "Beyond the Check." This month we are highlighting the power of pillowcases. See below.

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During the pandemic, Ann was Chair of the Grants Committee, and one of our grant awardees in 2021 was Why Not Prosper. Why Not Prosper is a nonprofit, based in the Germantown area of Philadelphia, committed to providing programs and services that support women in their re-entry efforts from prison to community. It offers a continuum of programs which include pre-release mentoring for incarcerated women, residential services, housing and community services at its Philadelphia resource center. To learn more about all the services that Why Not Prosper provides,  click here.

The woman behind this organization is Reverend Dr. Michelle Simmons. She herself had been incarcerated, had lost custody of her children and had few life skills upon her release from prison. However, through her faith and her determination to turn her life around, she started on a new path and that path led her to wanting to help other women in similar situations. With assistance from her church she founded Why Not Prosper in 2001 and, for more than twenty years, has been the driving force behind its success. And what a success it has been . . . having helped over 1,000 women thus far.

Through our grantee process, Ann Lipshutz developed a close relationship with Reverend Michelle. Realizing that the residents of Why Not Prosper would benefit from a “big hug,” Ann, who is a highly talented textile artist, wanted to do something personal for the women in the Why Not Prosper program. The idea turned into creating personalized pillowcases for each female resident. In 2021 that meant 25 personalized pillowcases needed to be made. Ann Lipshutz, with the help of other Giving Circle members, embraced the task and inside every pillowcase was a resident’s name.

Every December, Ann contacts Reverend Michelle for the names of the newly admitted women. In 2022, there were six new women. Six new personalized pillowcases were needed. Then on December 20, 2023, Ann delivered 17 personalized pillowcases! Maintaining a relationship with a former Giving Circle grant awardee, Ann continues to provide thoughtful, encouraging hugs.