Philadelphia Children’s Foundation: Giving Children a Chance

Tia Diggs, Associate Director, Philadelphia Children’s Foundation

The Philadelphia Children's Foundation (PCF) is an educational support, nonprofit organization that serves children and families in the Greater Philadelphia area. Its mission is to inspire children of all ages and backgrounds to pursue the passions and skills they need to build brighter futures. Through innovative programs and initiatives, PCF aims to reengage students, increase Philadelphia's high school graduation rate, boost postsecondary education enrollment, and expand career opportunities for young people.

PCF was founded in July 2006 by Executive Director John Bannan. It was John’s involvement in sports and the mentoring relationships he had with his coaches that enabled him to become a successful Olympic rowing coach, business person, and founder of PCF.

In establishing PCF, John was motivated by three things: his passion to provide young people with the support they need to succeed in life; the understanding that resources in the city are abundant but unknown by the community at large; and the educational inequality that many students in Philadelphia face.

Today this not-for-profit is committed to providing education, career and enrichment resources for children and families so that they may better serve their communities in the future. PCF has developed a unique web initiative called the Philadelphia Children’s Connection (www.philly-connect.org), which offers one-step access to thousands of local and web-based resources for K-12 students, parents, mentors, educators, and service providers.

PCF’s recent accomplishments include a section on the website for parents and caretakers of special needs students, as well as an interactive career exploration component for children and young adults. To complement the career section of the website, PCF is developing a series of career workshops to be launched at West Philadelphia High School and Germantown High School in the spring of 2010.

To support or learn more about the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation, please visit www.philadelphiachildrensfoundation.org.

*If you know of a for-profit member involved with a community initiative or non-profit organization that is looking to gain a little extra exposure, please have them send a two-paragraph overview of the program and their level of participation to sfriedman@greaterphilachamber.com.