Pew Announces Grants Benefiting Philadelphia Region’s Low-Income Children and Families

PHILADELPHIA—The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that it will provide $8.12 million over the next three years to 43 Philadelphia-area organizations that work to improve the lives of the region’s low-income children, youth, and their families. The Pew grants will contribute to helping more than 25,000 local young people on an annual basis.   

Pew’s funding will help agencies that focus on five core areas: supporting high-quality early education and child care; providing effective prevention and early intervention services to reduce behavioral and academic issues; increasing access to mental health services; expanding quality after-school programs; and helping parents secure and retain public benefits and services to strengthen household stability.

“The physical, cognitive, social, and emotional consequences of living in poverty continue to threaten the well-being of too many children and young people in the Greater Philadelphia area,” said Kristin Romens, project director of the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia. “Pew is pleased to again partner with local nonprofits that are making a difference for these kids and their families every day through their commitment to evidence-based practices.”

The Pew Charitable Trusts has been assisting agencies serving some of the most vulnerable members of the community for over 25 years through the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia. Grants are awarded in three-year cycles to nonprofits that serve disadvantaged children, youth, and families and two other at-risk groups: adults with multiple complex issues, such as those related to homelessness and mental health; and low-income elderly. Over $225 million has been awarded to approximately 335 organizations in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties since the fund’s inception in 1991.

A list of the 2019 grants serving low-income children, youth, and their families follows. Awards are categorized by funding goal; all are a total over three years. For more information about the program, please visit pewtrusts.org/pewfund.

Goal 1: To increase the number of early child care and educational programs that are advancing toward Pennsylvania’s standards for quality, or that reflect best practices in instruction and curriculum to improve children’s language, math, and/or social and emotional skills.

Parent-Child Home Program—$185,000

To support quality improvement in family child care centers in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA—$205,000

For continued support to enhance the quality of early childhood care throughout the region.

Goal 2: To increase the availability of effective prevention and early intervention efforts that support the development of cognitive, social, emotional, or literacy skills in at-risk children and youth, thereby reducing the likelihood of long-term behavioral and academic problems.

AARP Foundation—$200,000

For continued support of Experience Corps Philadelphia to offer tutoring for children from kindergarten through third grade.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation—$150,000

For continued support of Preventing Aggression in Schools Everyday (PRAISE), a peer bullying-prevention program for young people in grades three through five in Southwest Philadelphia.

Children’s Literacy Initiative—$225,000

To support literacy instruction for students from prekindergarten through third grade in Philadelphia.

Children’s Village—$140,000

For continued support to provide developmental assessments, referrals, and follow-up for at-risk young children.

Drexel University—$150,000

For continued support to reduce behavioral problems in young children in North and West Philadelphia.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania—$175,000

For continued support of the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program for daughters of incarcerated women in Philadelphia.

Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia—$180,000

For continued support of the Parent Proud program for low-income families.

KenCrest Centers—$108,000

For continued support to reduce problem behaviors among children served by the organization’s six Philadelphia child care programs.

Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County—$225,000

For operating support to provide early intervention and prevention services to low-income families in Chester County.

Widener University—$175,000

For continued support of prevention, assessment, and treatment services, serving at-risk children living in Chester.

Goal 3: To expand effective approaches that enable especially vulnerable children and families to secure much-needed behavioral health services.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation—$183,000

For support of PriCARE to improve the ability of caregivers in the region to more effectively manage their children’s behavior.

Drexel University—$195,000

For continued support to provide behavioral health assessments and therapies to patients of St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

Esperanza Health Center—$185,000

To meet pediatric patients’ complex behavioral health needs.

Family Services—$180,000

For continued support of the Truancy Abatement Initiative in Montgomery County.

Philadelphia Children’s Alliance—$250,000

To ensure access to high-quality, timely mental health treatment for child victims of trauma in Philadelphia.

Support Center for Child Advocates—$250,000

For continued support to increase access to behavioral health services for abused and neglected children.

TheVillage Services—$185,000

To expand behavioral health services for children and families in Southwest Philadelphia.

Goal 4: To expand high-quality, effective out-of-school-time programs that strengthen academic achievement, successful engagement in school, and postsecondary success for disadvantaged youth.

After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP)—$200,000

For support of year-round debate programs to improve Philadelphia students’ communication skills and academic engagement.

BellXcel (formerly Building Educated Leaders for Life)—$180,000

To expand summer learning opportunities for children in Chester County.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region—$215,000

For continued support of the College Bigs program, which matches postsecondary student mentors with children in Philadelphia.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia—$180,000

For support of year-round academic programs for children and youth in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia—$135,000

For operating support to provide rigorous academic enrichment and college preparation services for middle school, high school, and postsecondary students in Philadelphia.

Chester County Futures—$160,000

For continued support to provide academic enrichment and mentoring services for low-income students in Chester County.

Chester Education Foundation—$170,000

For operating support to provide academic enrichment, postsecondary guidance, and career exploration services for low-income students in Chester County.

Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation—$190,000

For continued support of the After School Excellence Program in Philadelphia.

The Garage Community & Youth Center—$135,000

To provide operating support for after-school and summer programs serving disadvantaged youth in Chester County.

Horizons National—$200,000

To expand summer learning and school-year enrichment programs for low-income students in the Philadelphia region.

Mighty Writers—$165,000

For continued support to improve the writing abilities of young people in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods.

North Penn Valley Boys & Girls Club—$180,000

For support of after-school literacy programs for low-income students in Montgomery County.

Philadelphia Futures—$300,000

For continued support of academic enrichment, mentoring, and college preparation programs to help disadvantaged high school students in Philadelphia.

Mural Arts Philadelphia—$225,000

For continued support of after-school and summer arts education programs for low-income youth in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Youth Basketball—$200,000

To provide after-school basketball and academic enrichment activities for middle schoolers in Philadelphia.

Project HOME—$186,000

For continued support of year-round programs to improve the literacy and technology skills of young people from kindergarten through high school in North Philadelphia.

Springboard Collaborative—$200,000

To provide after-school and summer literacy programs for early elementary students in low-income Philadelphia schools.

SquashSmarts—$115,000

For support of year-round academic enrichment and physical fitness activities for economically disadvantaged students in Philadelphia.

Temple University—$201,000

For continued support of leadership development for disadvantaged youth in Philadelphia.

Women Against Abuse—$212,000

For continued support of after-school programs for children displaced from their homes due to domestic violence.

Goal 5: To increase effective approaches that improve the access of vulnerable children, youth, and families to public benefits and other critical services.

Community Legal Services of Philadelphia—$233,000

For continued support to provide legal services that help Philadelphia families secure key public benefits.

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania—$180,000

For continued support of legal assistance, which helps low-income families in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties secure public benefits.

Public Citizens for Children and Youth—$270,000

For continued support of the Child Health Watch Helpline to assist local families in securing health insurance.

Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition (SEAMAAC)—$142,000

For support of strategies to increase immigrant access to public benefits and critical services in Philadelphia.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Learn more at pewtrusts.org.