March 2015 e-Newsletter - Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network

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Visit the PIHN website at www.philashelter.org
PIHN E-Newsletter: " Neighbors Helping
Neighbors One Family at a Time"
March 2015
See What's Going On at PIHN!
Come celebrate PIHN Empty Plate Dinner
2015
Click here to make a onetime or monthly online
pledge to PIHN. We thank
you for your support!
Make a Donation
You can make financial
donations online to PIHN
without spending an extra
penny. Do your online
shopping through
iGive.com. It's as easy as
1, 2, 3...
We invite you to get a taste of Northeast Philadelphia, featuring
cuisine from a variety of local and Philadelphia-area restaurants.
Join us for the 2015 Empty Plate Dinner, our signature Northeast
Philadelphia event.
Held at St. Dominic Parish’s Marian Hall and co-hosted by
Holy Family University, the Empty Plate Dinner is a crowdpleasing event that draws over 300 members of the Northeast
Philadelphia community. This year’s event will take place
on Saturday April 18th, 2015 beginning at 5:00p.m. Dinner will
be served until 8:00p.m.
1. Visit this link:
http://www.igive.com /Q x51lcq.
It will take you the iGive
hom epage with Philadelphia
Interfaith Hospitality Network
selected as your cause. Here,
you can register to be a PIHN
supporter (it’s easy and free).
2. After you sign up, you’ll get
an em ail telling you to install
the iGive button with
instructions on how to do so.
You can download this onto
any com puter or phone you
use to shop online. The button
will show up on the top of
your internet browser
window.
3. Press the iGive button, and
browse 1,300+ stores that
The Empty Plate Dinner combines the warmth of community and a
hearty meal for the purpose of raising support for PIHN’s
congregation-based emergency shelter program. PIHN expanded
its services to Northeast Philadelphia two years ago.
This is a family-friendly event, suitable for all ages with fun
activities for children and raffles and prizes for all. For a modest
donation, attendees are treated to fresh foods and desserts from
over 40 area restaurants.
browse 1,300+ stores that
participate and select one.
You’ll see what percentage of
your purchase will go to PIHN.
Your purchase/donation will
autom atically be registered
with iGive. You’ll receive an
em ail confirm ation after you
visit your first store, just to
m ake sure the donation
tracking system is working.
Learn More
At the start of their meal, attendees choose a complimentary handpainted plate donated by local artists, Holy Family University
students, local congregations, and school children. After the meal,
guests take their plates with them as a reminder that every night
many of our neighbors, even working parents and their children,
have only an empty plate.
Join us on this delicious occasion and savor all Northeast
Philadelphia has to offer! To learn more, visit the News and Events
sections of our website.
New Developments
Many corporations m atch
em ployee donations to our
organization. If you volunteer
with us, your em ployer m ay
also provide us with a grant as
a way to recognize your
ongoing support. To find out if
your com pany offers one of
these m atching program s,
visit our Double the Donation
page. Sim ply enter your
com pany nam e and find out
what type of corporate
m atching program s are
offered to you as an
em ployee.
Learn More
Our board is hard at work on its strategic plan for the future of
PIHN. The first meeting was held on February 15th (shown above) at
the Northwest Day Center.
There are many new exciting developments for the board to
discuss as we look ahead to the year ahead:
We are very grateful to the two foundations- the Fourjay
Foundation and the Tabitha Foundation who, upon closing
operations, made very generous donations to PIHN. Both
foundations have supported our work for many years. The Tabitha
Foundation's gift will go towards sustaining our art therapy
program for children. The Fourjay Foundation's gift will be used to
support a variety of projects including the jump start of our new
"Housing Fast" program providing rental assistance for working
families. It also provided new computers for a our family room and
new beds.
We also received a $60,000 grant from the Emergency Food and
Shelter Program administered through the local United Way of
SEPA + Southern NJ.
Vroom Vroom!: PIHN in Motion
Vroom Vroom!: PIHN in Motion
Pictured above, PIHN alumna, Theresa, meets her new Honda
Accord. The biggest and most determined saver we've ever seen,
Theresa was traveling an hour and a half EACH WAY to her job in
Horsham as a forklift operator. Now with this car, she has two
additional hours a day to her self. Her children are able to attend
after school programs and she can see them all off to school in the
morning. The car has been transformation for her and her family!
The car was donated as part of the Recycled Rides program, a
unique program in which insurers, collision repairers, paint
suppliers, parts vendors and others collaborate to repair and
donate vehicles to deserving individuals and service organizations
in local communities throughout the country. To date, four PIHN
families have been matched with repaired vehicles through this
wonderful program! This year, we thank Service King in
Huntington Valley, Technical College High School (TCHS)
Brandywine, Geico, Allstate and the 15 other vendors who
contributed to the repair of the vehicles donated to our families. We
also thank Board of Directors member Laverne Jones for her
support in the recipient selection process.
PIHN also has new wheels to celebrate as we have been gifted
with two working vehicles pictured above, a 2010 Honda minivan
and a 1999 Ford truck, both in excellent shape. The vehicles are
used to transport families and their belongings, as well as pick up
and deliver furniture donations. We extend many thanks to the
McLean Contributionship for its grant which allowed us to
purchase these vehicles.
Advocacy Corner
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
Steven Smith ('14) PIHN teen alum, pictured with Board of
Directors member Joe Willard and members of Senator Casey's
staff, went to Washington D.C. to meet with Pennsylvania Senators
and Legislators about the Homeless Children and Youth Act (HCYA)
and asking for support for McKinney Vento funding providing
services for homeless students and youth. Steven is completing
his last year of high school in the Mastery/Community College
accelerated program, where he is getting a jump on college
credits. We are so proud of all of his accomplishments and that he
is willing to speak up for homeless youth!
I Now Pronounce You PIHN Supporters!
Courtney McMeans and Ross Becker are both school teachers in
Philadelphia and on May 23rd will become husband and wife. PIHN
was pleasantly surprised when Courtney reached out to us to ask
if, in lieu of bridal shower gifts, her shower attendees could send
donations to PIHN. "[We] have come to understand how a solid and
stable home can impact a family," says McMeans. "We wanted to
try to contribute toward the future of families that need help
establishing a stable home because it is the right thing to do. We
chose PIHN because we like the interfaith aspect and also that it
does not just offer temporary solutions to homelessness but tries
to prevent homelessness by promoting long-term relationships and
education."
We wish Courtney and Ross all the happiness in the world and
thank them and their friends and family for their generosity.
If you have an upcoming wedding or ceremony and would like to
list PIHN as a beneficiary, please contact our office at
Rachel@philashelter.org or 215-247-4663 ext. 136.
You TOO can share your concern about
students experiencing homelessness...
Action Alert: Support HCYA!
The numbers of homeless children and youth in our nation’s
schools are growing. The funds to support them in being full
participants in school needs to grow too! Add your voice in making
our Senators and Representatives aware that we want them to
support the Homeless Children and Youth Act (HCYA). Click on this
link to visit our website. You will find:
1) A sample letter to your senator and representative
2) An email address list for sending your letters
It takes a minute to add your voice. Thanks for all you do!
Alumni Updates
Dolly is bringing back her fabulous pop-up thrift store to the PIHN
Day Center! On Saturday April 4th, the grand re-opening of Eye
of the Doll pop-up thrift store will take place from 10a-5p at
7047 Germantown Avenue. The re-opening will feature a $1 rack
and the latest spring fashions in children's and women's apparel.
The rain day event is scheduled for Sunday April 5th.
For more information, visit www.faceboook.com/eyeofthedoll or
follow Dolly her self on Instagram @eyeofthedoll. You can also learn
more about Dolly's journey in this Hype TV article featuring our very
own fashionista!
Nany new house 1
Congratulations are in order! Tanisha ('15) just started a new fulltime job in counseling and she and her three sons will be signing a
lease soon! We are so happy for them. Nancy and Aubrey ('15)
(pictured above) will also be moving to new housing very soon. So
exciting! We also congratulate Fatima ('15) and her children on
their move to new housing! So many wonderful additions to our
alumni group!
We wish Adia ('07) luck in settling into her new apartment! And we
are thrilled for Quanda ('06), who is graduating with her B.A. from
Eastern University in May and starts her new job with the City of
Philadelphia at the end of this month.
We also congratulate John ('06) on the success of his new nonprofit NueDae Foundation, which focuses on bringing sports and
after school activities to children. Keep up the great work, John!
Finally, we thank Boguswava ('06) for her help in the office
providing clerical and administrative support. She has been such a
helpful addition to the PIHN office and we are so excited to have
her back at our Day Center.
Contact Us | Phone: 215-247-4663 | Elis ha@philas helter.org
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Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network
7047 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19119
US
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