In our first Charity Nomination Contest, we asked you to nominate an organization you volunteer with that’s making a real difference in our community for the chance to receive a $10,000 donation from Temple Health. We were blown away by both the quality and the number (almost 300!) of nominations we received. The 10 organizations we chose represent our core Temple Health values: they’re committed to equity, to doing the hard work, and to empowering our neighbors.
We recently held an award ceremony to present the $10,000 donations to each of the winning charities, and invited representatives from the organizations and their nominators from Temple Health. Each group spoke about their mission, and what this donation from Temple would mean to them. This was a chance to affirm our commitment to our community partners, and an opportunity to work with them to make on-the-ground change that advances our goal of creating stronger, healthier communities.
Read on to learn more about each of the winning charities, and to see photos from the ceremony.
Action Wellness
Nominator: Whitney Strickland
Action Wellness is a Philadelphia-based organization with a long history of providing “holistic and trauma-informed health, prevention, and supportive services” to individuals with chronic illnesses. Founded in 1986 as ActionAids, the organization spent the last several decades caring for those with HIV/AIDs, but recently made the decision to expand its services to all chronic illnesses. Action Wellness provides a comprehensive slate of services, including housing support, case management services, linkage and engagement services for incarcerated and recently-released individuals, a perinatal program for pregnant women extending to 12 months post-partum, a parenting support group, and a buddy program.
Be Part of the Conversation
Nominator: Lisa Bailey (Fox Chase)
Be Part of the Conversation “equips families and communities in Pennsylvania with skills and resources to understand substance use addiction, and other related health issues.” Their community programs address topics from prevention and intervention to crisis management and lifelong recovery, and they are an essential source of support for families with children struggling with addiction. Be Part of the Conversation is currently expanding throughout the region, and $10,000 from Temple Health will allow them to provide services across Pennsylvania.
Bethesda Project
Nominators: Ann Watts (Fox Chase), Charlotte James (Episcopal Campus)
Bethesda Project has spent the last 44 years “providing shelter, housing and supportive services for thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia.” At their 15 locations across our city, they offer a “safe environment—and most importantly—a home” where residents and guests “can stabilize, regain their dignity and self-worth, and find community.” Their Housing First approach works to minimize the barriers many face when seeking care, and starts with giving people a home base from which they can begin their healing journey. Bethesda Project also offers individualized case management for its guests and residents.
Collective Success Network
Nominator: Tanya O’Neill (Temple Health Corporate)
Collective Success Network is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit working “to support and empower first generation and/or low-income college students to achieve their potential by providing mentoring, professional development, networking and leadership opportunities throughout their academic tenure.” They have a comprehensive list of services, including a holistic mentorship program; a professional mentorship program; an advocacy, belonging, and careers program; a STEM program; and a student leadership development training certificate program. They also offer one-on-one and small-group mentoring and coaching, as well as free professional development workshops.
Department of Recreation Houseman Advisory Council
Nominator: Edward Drayton (Main and Episcopal Campuses)
The Department of Recreation Houseman Advisory Council provides safe and structured activities and programs for youths, seniors, and community members in Philadelphia’s lower Northwest section. This includes the Philly Youth Collective, aimed at giving youths a safe place to discuss how to curb local violence; as well as a sports mentor program, assisting athletes with schoolwork, tutoring, and SAT prep; a summer camp that employs neighborhood children as counselors; and after-school programs.
Family Promise of Philadelphia
Nominator: Monica Kolb (Jeanes Campus)
Family Promise of Philadelphia began as a network of interfaith congregations that combined their resources to focus on housing homeless families in congressional spaces and helping them stabilize until they found more permanent housing. Since 2019, the organization has taken a more proactive approach towards preventative support, working to keep families from being evicted or becoming homeless. Its services include rent support and budgeting classes, and its staff—which include prevention specialists and social workers—build relationships with landlords and advocate for affordable housing in the city and across the state.
Lifecycles Health Center and Services
Nominators: Tanya Bronzell-Wynder (Main Campus) and Gilbert D’Alonzo (TFP)
Lifecycles Health Center and Services is a Camden-based organization that works “to provide high-quality healthcare to the underserved, underinsured population, no matter their ability to pay.” Over the past several years, they have collaborated with the Temple Lung Center to promote pulmonary health, and played an essential role in providing treatment for individuals in need during the pandemic. Lifecycles is funded entirely by Medicaid reimbursements and donations, and recently suffered a fire that damaged a large portion of their facility. With $10,000 from Temple Health, they will be able to fund their repairs.
Prevention Point
Nominators: Sam Stern (TFP), Megan Healy (TFP), Daniel Mueller (TFP), Calli McCormick (Jeanes Campus)
Prevention Point is a Philadelphia-based organization serving “thousands of people experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder every year.” It provides a variety of comprehensive services, including free medical care, syringe exchange, medications for opioid use disorder, HIV and Hepatitis C testing, case management, overdose prevention and reversal training, free meals, mail services, identification services, linkage to drug and alcohol treatment, a wound care clinic, housing services, and homeless outreach. They have been a long-time partner of Temple Health’s community education efforts, consistently accepting our resident and student volunteers and breaking down stigma and barriers to care for patients with substance use disorders.
Tioga United NAC
Nominator: Lakisha Sturgis (Population Health)
North Philadelphia-based Tioga United NAC takes a unique approach to violence prevention: targeting youths most likely to be a victim of, or commit, violence and giving them jobs cleaning up their neighborhood. Its Youth Same Day Work and Pay program targets heavily-littered intersections, vacant lots, and other neglected areas, and employs youths from high-risk areas to assist with the clean-up. Their coworkers include Tioga United staff and volunteers, who work with those youths to assess their needs and create individualized Success Plans.
Sunday LOVE Project
Nominator: Hector Perez (Main Campus)
Sunday LOVE Project is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit with a mission of sharing “food among those experiencing food insecurity in our community,” focusing particularly on the Kensington neighborhood. Their goal is “to ease the burden of choosing between paying bills and feeding families,” and while they have historically focused on those experiencing homelessness, they have now “shifted gears to ensure patients are able to feed their children.” They operate a free grocery store in the heart of Kensington, and provide food pantries to students at Frankford High School and Eliza B. Kirkbride Elementary School.