It’s been a busy summer and fall promises to be even busier! Thought I’d share here a few articles I put together for The Philadelphia Citizen in recent months.
Here’s the most recent, about the Philadelphia’s Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) and its incredible growth as it builds a black teacher pipeline.
This article, from August, talks about the Pennsylvania Masons and the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and the baby showers they hold for military families who may be far from home as they await their babies.
Here’s the gist: It may seem strange, an all-male fraternity shrouded in mystery and dating to medieval times hosting events that are often considered female-centric, but it’s part of the Freemasons’ “Help for Our Heroes” program, which started in 2008 with the goal of giving phone cards to soldiers about to deploy and now provides multiple forms of support. Heroes is funded by donations from individual Freemasons, about $1.8 million to date. Organizers estimate they’ve held baby showers for hundreds of families so far.
Also in August: This article about love.futbol, a non-profit that builds mini soccer pitches. The organization has adopted Philly and has done some great work here. Here’s one example.
From June: This article about First Tee, another non-profit using a sport — golf in this case — to change the lives of young people. Here’s the lede:
n 2021, the leadership team of First Tee Greater Philadelphia, the regional branch of the national youth golfing and leadership nonprofit realized they had a problem. Their mission, to bring the sport (and lessons in life) to youth who were highly unlikely to have country club access, was serving only two students from Strawberry Mansion, a neighborhood in their target demographic. So, they fixed that.
In under two years — a blink of an eye in the nonprofit world — they launched Access to Golf, a free multi-week program that provides round-trip transportation, meals, mentorship, and lessons on life on the links at one of two First Tee-managed courses.
By 2024, Access to Golf had 371 participants ages 6 to 18, all from North and West Philadelphia — 325 students of color; 37 percent girls — including a respectable contingent from Strawberry Mansion.
The goal for 2026? Six hundred, and they’re confident they’ll make it.
It was a remarkably fast expansion, considering how these days, bureaucracy and personal conflicts often waylay good ideas. But those most familiar with First Tee — Greater Philadelphia and its leadership team — namely, CEO Bill Hyndman and Board Chairman Michael Brown — said the success was (forgive the pun) par for the course.
More to share, but that’s enough for now!