PathWays PA E-Newsletter: October 25, 2010

Special Announcements

Help Your Employees, Clients, and/or Constituents Meet Their Financial Goals

Please join us on October 26!

PathWays PA is pleased to present the First Annual Network for Strategic Asset Building Symposium to offer financial education and asset building in the workplace.

This free Symposium will help you offer your workers strategies and tools to build financial knowledge and resources-at no cost to you!

If any of these tools are right for you, PathWays PA will be happy to help you implement them in the workplace without charge.

Featured national and state experts include:
  • John Wancheck, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, EITC Expert
  • Holly Chase, PA Office of Financial Education
Topics will include:

  • How to find free tax preparation during tax season
  • How to improve credit
  • How to save money through banks/credit unions, prepaid debit cards, U.S. Savings Bonds, and Individual Development Accounts
  • How to access economic security programs such as SNAP, CHIP, and LIHEAP
  • How to plan ahead before buying a home

This FREE Symposium will be offered in two locations on October 26:

In Philadelphia:
In Delaware County:
  • At the Drexelbrook Corporate Events Center, 4700 Drexelbrook Drive, Drexel Hill, PA
  • 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
  • Register at http://delconsab.eventbrite.com/

For additional information, please call Ann DelCollo at 610-543-5022 x221 or email adelcollo@pathwayspa.org.

Join us in November for our PathWays to the Stars 32nd Anniversary Celebration Sports-tacular!

PathWays PA will celebrate 32 years of services to low-income women, children and families this year by hosting the PathWays to the Stars 32nd Anniversary Celebration Sports-tacular.

WHEN: Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 6:30 – 9:00PM
WHERE: Radisson King of Prussia’s Waterford Ballroom.

The silent auction will feature Phillies, Flyers, Eagles and Sixers tickets and memorabilia. Also, as part of the festivities, we will present this year's Trailblazer Awards to five inspiring individuals. To read about the 2010 Trailblazer Honorees, click here.

To bid on silent auction items, click here.

Tickets to the event are $50 and may be purchased online. Further information on corporate and individual sponsorships can be found here.

Federal

Help Extend the Unemployment Insurance Program

Nearly 8 million workers and their families have been kept afloat by the extension of the federal unemployment insurance program while they search for work in this tough economy. However, these benefits may expire on November 30th if Congress does not act.

Economists rank unemployment benefits among the most effective ways to boost the economy, and the U.S. Census Bureau data reports that 3.3 million more people would have fallen below the poverty line in 2009 without unemployment benefits.

Ways You Can Help:

If you would like more information, you can ask experts and read answers to frequently asked questions.

State

Thank Your Senator for Passing Industry Partnership Legislation 

Last week, legislation putting the Industry Partnership program into statute passed out of the Senate with a vote of 40-9. The last step for this important legislation is for it to be voted out of the House without amendment in the next few weeks. Please take a moment to thank your Senator if he or she voted for the bill. Below is a sample letter that you might want to use.

Dear Senator,


I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for voting for Senate Bill 1409, the Industry Partnership legislation. This program gives Pennsylvania the opportunity to increase productivity and competitiveness in our Commonwealth and is highly valued by employers statewide.


As you know, Industry Partnerships consist of groups of businesses with similar product markets and skill needs that identify and address their common workforce education and training issues. These partnerships currently include more than 6,300 employers in Pennsylvania and have trained more than 73,000 individuals. Industry Partnerships are unique in that they are employer-driven. They train workers for jobs that the industry needs, as opposed to traditional training that often trained for jobs that didn't exist.


We are so pleased to know that you support the Industry Partnership program, and thank you again for helping it to take another step forward.

For more facts on the Industry Partnership program and for ways that you can support it, please visit www.workforcepa.com. Also, please take a look at our video on how employers and workers in Delaware County have benefited from the Industry Partnership program.


Information/Events

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Help Ensure Workers Have the Time to Get Better By Sharing Your Story


On an average day, 33 women in Pennsylvania are diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of these women work full time jobs where they may be struggling to put food on the table every night. Fighting off a disease like breast cancer is physically, mentally, psychologically, and financially exhausting – even before survivors try to make time to get treatment. For those who work full-time, treatment opportunities may be even more difficult, since over 45 percent of workers in Pennsylvania do not have any paid sick time.


In a country where one in six workers has lost their job because they were caring for themselves or a loved one, it is no wonder that many women go with out the care they need. When having to choose between losing a job or seeking medical care, many women will choose work over their own health. The industries that are often women-dominated (such as child care, food service, and jobs that pay low wages) are among the least likely to offer paid sick days. For example, nearly three-quarters of child care workers (72 percent) and food service workers (73 percent) lack access to paid sick time. Women in these jobs often cannot take paid time off for treatment or even to get the checkup that might catch their disease before it has time to spread.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please take the time to share your story about either having paid sick time or needing that time to care for yourself or a loved one. To share your story, please contact Kate Scully at PathWays PA at kscully@pathwayspa.org. To view others’ stories please visit the Working Families Story Bank.

The Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplace is working to provide all of Pennsylvania’s workers with a minimum number of paid sick days that they can earn. The workers can use those days to care for themselves or for a loved one. The time can be used in increments of 15 minutes – allowing workers to make doctor’s appointments without having to lose a full day’s pay.


Vote for Homes! Coalition - Help Get out the Vote

The Vote for Homes! Coalition needs help to get out the vote for the November 2nd 2010 Pennsylvania General Election. The Coalition is holding a Voter Mobilization Training where volunteer as needed to be drivers, office help, and mobilize voters on the phone or out in the community.

WHEN: Monday, October 25, 3:00 – 5:00 (snacks will be provided)
WHERE: 1515 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia PA 19130

Participants will learn about voting rights and how to help voters get to the polls on Election Day.

Please RSVP to Jennine Miller (215-232-7272 x3042, jenninemiller@projecthome.org) or Anna Murphey (215-232-7272 x3106, annamurphey@projecthome.org)

The Vote for Homes! Coalition is a nonpartisan coalition registering thousands of people who are living on low incomes, including those who are homeless, living with disabilities, or ex-offenders.

Upcoming Meetings to Discuss Implementing Health Reform in Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth Health Reform Advisory Committee is working to identify the steps necessary to implement health reform in Pennsylvania and make recommendations to the new Governor and legislature. Join consumer members of the Committee in a discussion of strategies to ensure the health insurance exchanges and new insurance coverage options are consumer focused and consumer friendly.


In Harrisburg:
WHEN: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 1:00-3:30 p.m.
WHERE: PSEA, 400 North Third Street, Harrisburg

In Philadelphia:
WHEN: Friday, November 5, 2010, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
WHERE: Kennedy Behavioral Health Center, 112 North Broad Street, Philadelphia

Please RSVP by emailing Stephanie Frank.

Green Jobs Training: Funding, Implementing, and Collaborating Teleconference

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is pleased to host a series of teleconferences for workforce practitioners designed to offer information and an exchange of ideas to better connect women with green jobs and green jobs training. This area of workforce development is an important part of preparing our nation to be competitive in the new economy. The teleconferences are geared towards workforce professionals, career advisors, and educators, although interested women are welcome to participate as well.

The seventh and final teleconference in this series, “Green Jobs Training: Funding, Implementing, and Collaborating” will take place on October 28, 2010, from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EDT. In this teleconference, our speakers will present strategies for partnering and leveraging resources to build capacity and support for green jobs training programs, as well as tips on designing and delivering an effective program. In addition, there will be a review of federal funds invested in promoting green economy growth and green jobs.

Participation is limited, so register early! Please visit the Women's Bureau Web site for more information or register here.

Weathering Winter’s Worst - Resources for Philadelphia’s Elderly

The Emergency Fund Coalition for Philadelphia’s Elderly and the Pennsylvania Aging, Utilities and Economic Education Consortium will present Weathering Winter’s Worst…Resources for Philadelphia’s Elderly.

WHEN: Wednesday, November 17th from 1:30-4:30pm
WHERE: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, 642 N. Broad St. in the 2nd Floor Auditorium

Learn About:

  • Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) and Crisis Programs
  • Energy Coordinating Agency
  • The Utility Emergency Services Fund
  • Benefits Data Trust
  • Weatherization - Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation
  • Oil Co-op - Energy Cooperative Association of Philadelphia
  • Status of PCA Emergency Fund
  • Philabundance: Senior Food Box Program
  • Utility company programs for low-income consumers
  • Legal protections regarding utility issues

Registration is required as space is limited. For more information, call Lissette Ramos at 215-282-6582 or email here.

Images courtesy of http://www.cb2blogger.wordpress.com/.../09/pink-ribbon3.jpg, http://www.flickr.com/photos/24256351@N04/2701866516 //CC License

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