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Survey
shows Americans have high trust in nonprofits
A new survey released by American Express shows that 70 percent of
Americans trust nonprofit organizations more than the trust the
government or the business community to solve social problems, and most
recognize that nonprofit groups face severe financial problems that put
their effectiveness at risk.
The survey was conducted
online over two days last month. More than 1,000 adults responded to
the five-question poll.
Only 5 percent of the people
who responded said they currently work for a nonprofit group, but an
additional 50 percent said they were at least somewhat interested in
such employment. Among those interested in working at a nonprofit
organization, 67 percent said such work could be more rewarding than
other kinds of employment, though 41 percent said it would mean earning
lower pay.
About four out of five Americans also said
they agreed that nonprofit groups do not have “the resources to invest
in the growth and development of their employees.”
Timothy J. McClimon, president of the company’s charitable foundation,
that the survey results “indicate a clear need
for increased investment
in nonprofit leadership, and support why we have been committed to
dedicating our resources—both financial and intellectual—to address
this important and critical issue.”
The Amex foundation
this month is sponsoring its fifth leadership academy, a free weeklong
training program for roughly 50 nonprofit leaders.
Meanwhile, while the results of the Amex survey showed faith in the
nonprofit sector, a new Harris Poll shows that more and more Americans
have stopped donating to charities because of the bad economy, and many
do not feel any personal responsibility to be
involved with
efforts to make the world a better place.
The
percentage of people who said they are not making any charitable
donations doubled to 12 percent this year, up from 6 percent in 2009,
according to the survey, which was conducted online by Harris
Interactive of 2,620 adults in September.
A third
of Americans said they were willing to get “extremely involved” or
“give generously” to charities, but 13 percent said
they give
neither time nor money.
Many of those who do
give said they are contributing smaller amounts (31
percent)
and to fewer organizations (19 percent) this year. Eleven percent said
they are volunteering more this year than last year, when only 9
percent volunteered.
Just a quarter of those surveyed
said they felt some responsibility to improve the world they live in,
versus 31 percent who felt the same way in 2007, when the
question
was last asked.
Nearly four out of ten surveyed use
social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to follow a
cause online and take action. A majority in this group, 54 percent,
said they have talked to a friend or a family member about an
organization after following it on a social network, and a
third
have contacted an elected official. In addition, three out of ten have
donated to such an organization, while 23 percent have donated to a
cause the organization supports or have attended one of
its events.
For more details on the survey, go here.
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Event offers resources for OST
programs
The 2nd
Annual Philadelphia Out of School Time Resource Fair will
take
place on Monday, November 8th from 10am to 1pm at the Free Library of
Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street. Dozens of vendors will be
present
sharing OST resources, and the event will fe ature
raffles, workshops
and refreshments.
Raffle items include a one-month
group yoga membership at Balance Health Center, 4 complimentary tickets
to the Pearl Movie theatre, 4 complimentary tickets to Franklin
Institute. A $100 gift card to Whole Foods, complimentary passes to the
Philadelphia Zoo, and more.
To register for the Resource Fair, go here.
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Mayor’s volunteer office holds
open house
The Mayor’s Office of Civic
Engagement and Volunteer Service and the Greater
Philadelphia AmeriCorps Alumni Chapter will hold
a Thanksgiving
Open House on Monday, November 15th from 5-6:30pm in Room
112 of Philadelphia City Hall.
The event is planned as a celebration of the
spirit of service during the holiday season and throughout the year.
At the Open House, the office hosts a collection drive for the African
Daughters of Fine Lineage’s annual Thanksgiving event. For some twenty
yea rs,
the African Daughters of Fine Lineage have served homeless
individuals in Philadelphia by organizing meal services and
distributing care packages with basic necessity items.
Open House
attendees are encouraged to bring donations to be distributed to guests
who attend their Thanksgiving Luncheon outside the Municipal
Services Building immediately following the
Thanksgiving
Day Parade. Types of donations needed include
toiletries
(soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and other personal hygiene
items), winter clothing (socks, gloves, hats, sneakers, boots, and
jackets), snacks (Capri Sun juices (juice boxes cannot be accepted
because they leak), cans of soda, and individually wrapped candy,
cookies, crackers, etc.),
Those interested in hosting a
collection in their organization or community to support the
Thanksgiving event can email Lauren
Walker or call 215-686-2193.
At the open house, light refreshments donated by
Giant, Chipotle and Au Bon Pain will be served.
For more information on the Mayor’s
Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service, visit here.
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New website for parenting
education program launched
Educating Communities for
Parenting,
which provides parenting education and youth development programs,
has
launched a new website providing more infor mation
about its programs
and services for youth, teen
parents, and families in Philadelphia.
In an effort to build a stronger coalition to support youth and
increase communication across numerous channels, ECP has also begun
publication of an e-newsletter
for its communication network that includes Philadelphia schools,
nonprofits, health centers, universities,
family court, DHS, and many
others.
For more information, email here.
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BEST offers intensive youth
development training
The Federation of
Neighborhood Centers and United Way’s Center for Youth
Development will sponsor a three-day Advancing
Youth Development training, which will be held on three
consecutive Tuesdays, November 23rd, 30th and December 7th from 9am to
4:30pm.
The training is part of Greater
Philadelphia BEST – Building Exemplary
Systems Training – a p rofessional
development initiative focused on
helping youth build competencies; strengthening and
supporting
local systems that build youth development infrastructure; promoting
positive youth development by training individuals in theoretical and
practical approaches, and strengthening the field of youth development.
Download a registration form here.
For additional information, call Arte Verbrugghe at 215-989-3566 ext
1109 or email him here.
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Sister Party offers info on
breast health
On Wednesday November 10th from 5-7pm at the Free Library of
Philadelphia, 5543 Haverford Avenue in West Philadelphia, women of West
and Southwest Philadelphia are invited to the Breast Project Sister
Party, an opportunity for women to learn about breast
health, hear
inspirational stories and fello wship
with women who have battled breast
cancer and are living their lives to the fullest.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women
and the second leading cause of death. African American women have the
highest breast cancer death rate of any racial or ethnic group. Women
in the West and Southwest Philadelphia areas experience greater
difficulty in obtaining mammography screening services for a variety of
reasons.
Sponsored by a grant from the Philadelphia
affiliate of Susan G.
Komen for the Cure, the Sister Party is for women
primarily living in West and Southwest Philadelphia who are between the
ages of 40 and 64.
For more information, call
Constance Rivera at 215-985-2610 or email her
here.
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SJU sponsors presentation on new
strategies for unions
The Comey
Institute, St. Joseph’s University’s Labor Education Program,
will sponsor a presentation by labor journalist and author Steve Early
on New
Strategies for Labor: Bargaining, Organizing and Strikes in
Challenging Times, on Sunday, November 14th at 7pm at the
District
1199C Union Hall, 1319 Locust St. in Philadelphia.
Early is the author of the recent volume entitled Embedded with
Organized Labor and contributor to various
national journals.
The program is free and open to the public. For more
information,
call Paul Gottlieb at 610-513-5395 or email him
here.
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Registration for 2011 Reading
Olympics opens
The Philadelphia
Reading Olympics is a city-wide collaborative reading
competition coordinated by Philadelphia
READS,
the Free Library of Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia,
and the City of Philadelphia that engages fourth through eighth graders
from Philadelphia’s public, parochial, charter, independent and after
school programs in a reading competition.
Teams of up
to 12 students collectively read the books on the Philadelphia Reading
Olympics booklist a nd
practice working together as a team to answer
questions about those books.
The teams come together in
May at an assigned college campus location to answer questions about
the books. The teams accumulate points for every correct answer during
three rounds of competition earning each team member a blue, red, or
green ribbon based on the number of points their team has earned.
Volunteers from area businesses join with members of the community to
ask questions and keep score.
For more information or the register, visit here.
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Taller PR seeks donations for
Thanksgiving dinner
Every
year Taller
Puertoriqqueno
sponsors a Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless, organizing a warm
dinner and providing clothing and canned groceries to over 300 people
in need.
The group is asking for donations of canned
goods and clothing so that more area families have something to be
thankful for this year.
Donations can be dropped off at
the Julia de Burgos Book and Crafts Store at 2721 N. 5th St. in
Philadelphia. Cash donations are also welcome.
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Journey’s Way sponsors retirement
planning series
Journey's
Way, a program of Intercommunity
Action, will present
the first seminar in a free series, Dollars and Sense for a
Smart Retirement, on Saturday, November 13th from 9am to
noon at 403
Rector Street in Philadelphia’s Roxborough section.
The
purpose of the workshop is to give older adults and family members the
vital financial information they need to plan for
their
financial futures. Experts in consumer affairs will
address the impact of upcoming changes in the new
health care
legislation, Medicare, "medigap," and Social
Security. There will also be resource materials from other
community organizations that provide assistance and information to
older adults.
To RSVP or for further information,
please call 215-487-1750.
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Bilingual teen magazine features
young writers
Young writers, aspiring poets, illustrators and photographers express
themselves through Motivos Magazine,
a bilingual magazine “that
harnesse s
the power of the press to explore hard-hitting topics, open
doors of opportunity to college and careers, and motivate our community
through messages of inspiration and courage.”
The
magazine will hold a Meet the Author event on Saturday, November 20th
at 3pm at the Julia de Burgos Book and Crafts Store at 2721 N. 5th St.
in Philadelphia. The free event will provide information
about
how youth can become involved in the magazine.
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IRS tax advocate service helps
resolve tax problems
The Tax Advocate Service
is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist
taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in
resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal
channels, or who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working
as it should.
The service is free, confidential,
tailored to meet the client’s needs, and is available for businesses as
well as individuals.
To contact the TAS, call 877-777-4778. or TTY/TTD
1-800-829-4059,
To download a tax toolkit for taxpayers, go here.
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Mission Service
launches website to support vets
Marking
Veteran’s Day on November 11th, Mission Serve
has launched a new website and several new activities to make it
easier for citizens to serve alongside and on behalf of military
communities.
Among those activities is a volunteer
network to locate and post online service projects that benefit and
engage military
communities. The volunteer project can be found here.
The group is also coordinating 20 coast-to-coast signature service
projects with leaders from across the country that will celebrate and
honor military communities on November 11th, and has posted
do-it-yourself "Serve and Celebrate" toolkits to help individuals
volunteer on behalf of military communities. Toolkits can be downloaded
here.
For more details, go here.
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Foundations presents autism,
ethics workshops
Foundations Community
Partnership,
a private non-profit operating foundation benefiting youth in Bucks
County, is inviting educators, counselors, parents, and mental health
professionals to attend its Wednesday, December 1st workshops,
featuring experts in autism, and ethics.
The workshops
include Early
Signs of A utism Spectrum Disorder: Infants
and Toddlers
from
8:30am to noon, and Ethical
and Legal Issues with Children and
Adolescents in Schools and Clinical Settings from 1-4pm.
The cost is $50 for each workshop or $95 for the full day, which
includes refreshments. Workshops will be held at the Health &
Wellness Center Auditorium, 847 Easton Rd./Rt. 611, in Warrington.
For more information or to register, call
267-247-5584 or visit here.
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Visioning event set for Eastern
North Philadelphia
SCI-Eastern
North Philadelphia is hosting a planning meeting for
neighbors to brainstorm and share ideas on improving the community’s
quality of life.
All residents are invited to attend
to discuss the
creation of jobs, recreational centers for children,
land use and more.
The event will take place on
Saturday, November 13th from noon to 4pm at the New Kensington CAPA
High School, 1901 N. Front St. in Philadelphia. Free lunch,
childcare and family activities will be offered.
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Homeownership Conference scheduled
The Homeownership Counseling
Association of the Delaware Valley
will hold its annual conference on Tuesday, November 23rd at Temple
University Center City, Conference Center, 1515 Market Street in
Philadelphia, from 9:30am to 4pm.
The day’s events
include workshops on a variety of issues related to rules and
regulations, management and best practices.
For details, download the conference announcement here.
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Deadline approaches for Inglis
award nominations
Each year, awards of up to $20,000 honor not-for-profit organizations
in the Philadelphia area that provide direct services, products and/or
advocacy to enhance the quality of life and increase opportunities for
independence for people with physical disabilities.
Organizations serving adults or children with multiple disabilities
that include physical or mobility disabilities in the Bucks, Chester,
Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties are eligible to
be considered for a 2011 Award. Organizations serving people
with
only sensory or intellectual disabilities are not eligible to apply.
The deadline to apply is November 22nd.
For more details, go here.
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Federal health official to speak
on health reform
The College of
Physicians of Philadelphia will host a talk by Howard
Koh, MD, MPH, assistant secretary for health for the US Dept. of Health
and Human Services, who will speak on how the Affordable
Care Act
strengthens communities in promoting prevention on Friday, November
12th from 11am to 2pm.
Dr. Koh and a panel of reactors
will discuss access to prevention, community prevention, and
making prevention a national priority.?? The reactor panel
includes Vanessa Briggs, MBA, RD, LDN, Executive Director, Health
Promotion Council; Natalie Levkovich, Executive Director, Health
Federation of Philadelphia; and Giridhar Mallya, MD, MSHP, Director of
Policy and Planning, Philadelphia Department of Health.
The free event takes place at 19 South 22nd Street
in Philadelphia. Go here
to register.
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Home heating assistance program
now open
Pennsylvania's Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program has opened for the
winter season.
LIHEAP provides cash grants of $300 or more that can be used to help
pay regular monthly heating bills. The grants do not have to be paid
back, and no lien will be placed on the home of those who receive
assistance through LIHEAP. Recipients don't have to miss a
heating payment to qualify.
Individuals with an
income of up to $17,328 can qualify for LIHEAP assistance; a family of
four can qualify with an income of up to $35,280.
Complete income qualification guidelines and other
information are available here.
Information and applications for LIHEAP are
available by calling 1-866-857-7095 and online here.
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African and Caribbean health
forum set
The African Family Health
Organization
will host its 1st annual African & Caribbean Health Forum on
Sunday, November 14th at 12 noon at the African Cultural Center, 5000
Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143.
At the
forum, health professionals will provide education on various health
issues as well as HIV testing, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol,
dental, eye and Hepatitis B screenings. Community members will be able
to discuss their concerns with staff and volunteers in English, French,
Haitian Creole and several African languages. Free flu shots will be
offered.
For more information, call 215-546-1232 or email here.
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