PathWays PA Policy Blog

The Adopt-a-Family program provides the opportunity for PathWays PA client families to experience the many joys of the holiday season that they otherwise may not have been able to afford. Thanks to the generous contributions of local donors, families have been able to create their own special holiday memories over the years. In fact, thousands of client families have benefited from the Adopt-a-Family program since its inception! Please help us continue this success by adopting a family or signing up to donate a Welcome Kit today ! Interested in PathWays PA posts on similar topics? 9/3/15 - Do You Need Access to Food? PathWays PA Can Help 9/1/15 - PathWays PA's Basic Center Program Helps Homeless Teen Girls Go Back to School 10/22/13 - Adopt a Family for the Holidays

Job openings as of October 22, 2014. To submit your resume online, click here . Please remember to indicate the position you’re applying for with your resume. Life Skills Counselor (Delaware County) The Chester TLP Life Skill Counselor will have a BSW or a Bachelors degree in a related field with at least two years experience providing direct services to individuals and/or families. The Life Skills Counselor will be responsible for delivering direct face to face services to clients both in an in home setting as well as in the office and/or commercial/community space. The Life Skills Coordinator will provide weekly self esteem groups and life skills enhancement groups as well as weekly individual case management sessions. The Life Skills Counselor will attend appointments with clients sporadically as needed or as directed. The life skills counselor must be available by cell phone at all times and be available to work weekends and evenings as necessary. This is a full time, exempt ...

Our Adopt-A-Family yearly holiday drive allows those who want to provide gifts to families and children in need the opportunity to be matched with our clients. Many of our clients are working toward self-sufficiency and family well-being, but at this time, can not afford gifts for their children. With your help, we can make this holiday and wonderful time of the year! For information on how to get started-click here or contact Kelsey Dodds at kdodds@pathwayspa.org

It's that time of year again - PathWays PA's Adopt-a-Family Holiday Campaign! On behalf of our clients, staff and board, we would like to personally thank you for your incredible kindness. Last year, 280 families were adopted and over 150 welcome kits were donated! The generosity our supporters show each year is truly incredible and we are so grateful to have such wonderful friends in the community. You can find the 2013 donor registration form and 2013 welcome kit registration form and checklist right here on our blog, as well as this year's Adopt-a-Family info flyer . This program is a source of happiness, joy and satisfaction, as much for those who give as for those who receive. With your help, it will once again be a huge success! If you would like to share your holiday this year with a low-income family, please mail or fax your completed forms to Kelsey Dodds once you're ready. A friendly reminder - the name you list under "Company/Organization/Gr...

And they brought our favorite furry green creature from the Galapagos with them. Thanks so much to the Phillies for adopting PathWays PA families this holiday season!

From The Delaware County Daily Times RIDLEY TOWNSHIP — Volunteers gathered at the office of Pathways PA on Saturday to wrap gifts for needy families as part of the organization’s Adopt-A-Family holiday program. “The goal of the program is to have our families — clients in our programs — adopted so they have a Christmas for themselves and their children,” said Fran Franchi, director of development at Pathways PA. Pathways, headquartered in Holmes, Ridley Township, has offices throughout southeastern Pennsylvania and provides advocacy services on behalf of low-wage workers statewide, in addition to programs committed to the development of client self-sufficiency. About 154 donors, including individuals and corporations, adopted 314 families this year through the program, according to Franchi. Bull Market Toys brought a donation of 200 toys to PathWays PA on Saturday, and PECO adopted 37 families this year. Thanks to everyone who donated even one toy, one dollar, or one gif...

Photo from left to right: Jen Boyett, Emcee, Comcast; Carol Goertzel, Executive Director, PathWays PA; Trailblazer Honoree QVC (accepting Suzanne Quigley, Director of Community Relations); Trailblazer Delaware County Daily Times  (accepting Phil Heron, Editor); Trailblazer Honoree, Julie Welker, President, Coldwell Bank Welker Real Estate;Trailblazer Honoree, Laney Vogt; Trailblazer Honoree, Yvonne Norris, Founder, CEO LimNorris; Trailblazer Honoree, Kyra McGrath, Executive Vice President & COO, WHYY, Inc.; Bruce Oestreich, System Engineering and Integration, Boeing On November 1st, PathWays PA celebrated its 33rd Anniversary, by hosting an evening “PathWays to the Stars” and honoring Trailblazers in the community whose lives and leadership make an impact in our community. In commemorating over three decades of helping low-income women, children and families in the Greater Philadelphia region achieve self-sufficiency, PathWays PA honored six local community leaders and o...

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING 33 YEARS OF PATHWAYS PA! Please join us on November 1 as we celebrate the Adopt-A-Family program and honor the 2011 Trailblazers: Juliet Welker-President, Coldwell Banker Welker Real Estate Kyra McGrath-Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, WHYY Laney Vogt, Adopt-A-Family Advocate QVC The Delaware County Daily Times Yvonne Norris-Former Chairperson, PathWays PA Board of Directors Enjoy complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres as well as a live and silent auction. All proceeds from the event will help over 6,000 low-income families in the Greater Philadelphia Region! Please consider sponsoring the event or purchasing an ad in our program - click here for more details . Tickets can be purchased online . FEDERAL UPDATES USDA SEEKING INPUT ON FREE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM The USDA is accepting comments on the Direct Certification and Certification of Homeless, Migrant and Runaway Children for Free School Meals. The tempor...

FEDERAL URGE THE “SUPER COMMITTEE” TO CONSIDER FAMILIES WHEN MAKING CUTS As a result of the debt ceiling deal in August, Congress agreed to $1 trillion in cuts to federal spending. Now, a Congressional "Super Committee" is working to find ways to reduce the deficit by an additional $1.5 billion dollars and must submit their recommendations by November 23rd. The Super Committee is meeting right now to decide what its recommendations will be. It is critically important for our nation's families to weigh in! Send a letter to your members of Congress telling them that it's unacceptable to balance the budget on the backs of children and families on Main Street. The decisions that are being made right now will define the direction of our country for years to come. Deficit solutions must create jobs and protect vital programs for children and families. EVENT SEEKS TO DISPEL SOCIAL SECURITY MYTHS The Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans will be hosting a...

Please join us on November 1 as we celebrate the Adopt-A-Family program and honor the 2011 Trailblazers: Juliet Welker-President, Coldwell Banker Welker Real Estate Kyra McGrath-Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, WHYY Laney Vogt, Adopt-A-Family Advocate QVC The Delaware County Daily Times Yvonne Norris-Former Chairperson, PathWays PA Board of Directors Enjoy complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres as well as a live and silent auction. All proceeds from the event will help over 6,000 low-income families in the Greater Philadelphia Region! Please consider purchasing a sponsorship in the event - click here for more details . Tickets can be purchased online .

(reprinted from the PWDC Newsletter) by Roxanna Green, Case Manager EYPtE PathWays PA EARN Center, December 23, 2010 The PathWays PA Empowering Young Parents through Education Program (EYPtE) and EARN Center hosted their annual Adopt-a-Family project during the holiday season. This past December, the event was truly a season of giving and caring. In addition to the Adopt-a-Family project, customers received a visit from Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, Ellis Hobbs . For years, PathWays PA has sponsored their Adopt-a-Family project during the Christmas holiday season to match participants and their families with generous donors. This year, over 300 families were adopted within PathWays EARN system, including all active and some transitioned EYPtE students. It took over five days to distribute thousands of beautifully wrapped presents to participants. Each EYPtE student averaged three large bags of individualized gifts from their list. The gifts ranged from microwaves and Bed...

This Holiday Season has been busy for PathWays PA and the 6,000 families we serve in the Greater Philadelphia area. With your help, we can continue to serve those families in the coming year. Thanks to the generous help of our donors, friends, and staff during the 2010 Holiday Season, we have seen: over 300 families adopted during our annual Adopt-A-Family Program over 200 children celebrate at a holiday party sponsored by The Ramada Philadelphia Airport Hotel over 50 children and their families meet Philadelphia Eagle Ellis Hobbs and his family at a party he hosted and catered Yet during this season of thanks, we continue to face difficult choices due to budget shortfalls. We will face these challenges with energy and determination, and, with your help, we will continue to succeed in serving families as they move from poverty to self-sufficiency. As we continue to serve families, we ask for you to dig a little deeper than usual and provide us with a special monetary gift ...

Special Event ENJOY FREE COFFEE WHILE URGING LEGISLATORS TO ENSURE ALL WORKERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO EARN PAID SICK DAYS - PLEASE RSVP TODAY! Join the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces for a Letter Writing Party. In addition to networking, free coffee, and an opportunity to learn more about earned sick time, we will be asking each person to put pen to paper and let their members of City Council know why earning paid sick days is important. WHEN: Tuesday, December 7th - 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM WHERE: United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA PLEASE RSVP, EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST STOPPING BY: http://letterwriting.eventbrite.com Come for the entire event or just stop in to send a letter. Free coffee and a light breakfast will be provided. Even if you have paid sick days it is likely that people you come into contact with every day do not. Did you know that 41% of workers in Philadelphia are forced to choose between going to...

Federal Policy Update SENATE PASSES EXTENSION OF THE TANF BLOCK GRANT Right before heading out of town for Thanksgiving, the Senate took care of some important unfinished business, passing by unanimous consent a bill that included a one year extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, through September 30, 2011. The House is expected to approve this bill after it returns to session. The extension includes two new reporting requirements for states. Unfortunately, this extension does not include the TANF Emergency Fund , which assisted states that increased spending on subsidized jobs, basic assistance and short-term benefits during fiscal years 2009 and 2010. There is hope that Congress will add funding for the TANF Emergency Fund during the "lame duck" session. Please contact your Senators and thank them for taking action on such an important bill. Also, contact your Representative and urge him or her to move this bill forward as...

PATHWAYS PA ADOPT-A-FAMILY PROGRAM With the holidays right around the corner, it is time for PathWays PA's Adopt-a-Family. The Adopt-a-Family program offers the families who receive PathWays PA services many of the joys of the holiday season they may otherwise be without. Thanks to the generous contributions of local donors, special memories of holidays past have been created for the families we serve. Thousands of client families have benefited from this program through the years! This year, client families will again be partnered with donors based on their size and the ages of their children. After being paired up with a client family, a wish list will be sent to the donors with the receiving family's genders, ages, clothing sizes and their holiday wishes. The donor family chooses to purchase any or all of the items on the clients' list, or substitute items that they feel the client may enjoy. Non-perishable food baskets are also welcomed. This program is a source...