Legislative Action Needed!
The Senate's Labor & Industry Committee has placed SB 552 on the agenda for a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, at 9:30 AM in the Senate's Majority Caucus Room.
Please contact the members of the Labor Committee and ask them to support SB 552 and vote to report it from committee WITHOUT AMENDMENT.
The PFWS website—www.workforcepa.com—has a template letter that you can personalize and send to Senators, as well as a link to the members of the Labor Committee. Please e-mail your letter so the Senators receive it before Wednesday's meeting.
It is important that the committee members hear from supporters of SB 552 so we can get this bill passed as quickly as possible.
Please also notify Don Kockler (and PathWays PA!) when you have sent your letter so we can track our contacts with the legislature. Thank you for your continued support of Industry Partnerships.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Guest Blog on the 2011 Hunger Conference!
Fran Alloway, R.D., a nutrition and health educator from the Penn State Cooperative Extension of Delaware County, is the head organizer for the Annual Delaware County Hunger Conference. Today she shares with us a guest blog on this year's conference!
On March 1, 2011, The Challenge of Feeding our Diverse Communities in Delaware County was held at Widener University. For the third year, a group of agency staff and individuals organized a conference to give those working with low income clients the tools to address many of the issues faced by those seeking food, food stamps and related services. Our speakers addressed the self sufficiency standard, health literacy, food related health issues faced across the lifespan, ethnic barriers and provided a template to help each client gain access to healthy food.
Many participants reported that it was the best conference yet and I agree. The next morning I was thinking about Captain Jose Santiago’s (Chester Salvation Army) comments about coming to New England in winter from Puerto Rico where life was bustling, food was spicy and church was noisy to a town where no one was seen after the sun went down. I also marveled when Lynn Kugel from PathwaysPA told us that a woman with one child needs to earn over $60,000 to live comfortably. No wonder many of our working poor struggle.
Dr. Mary Powell from Neumann talked about how only 10% of adults read proficiently at a 10th grade level. Many of our handouts and instructions need to account for the lower 30% who have basic or less than basic skills and have difficulty with charts, detailed instructions and too much information. As a health educator, this was important to hear.
A wonderful panel of two medical doctors, a PhD and Outreach director gave us information on nutrition over the lifespan from low birth weight and premature babies to the elderly. Anne Ayella from Nutrition Development Services talked about how the Archdiocese of Philadelphia started offering school lunches, after school snacks and now administers the summer meal program.
Amanda Archibald, who is a food consultant (Field to Plate) gave us a roadmap template to look at our clients (or groups of clients) and assess food resources they possess and what is missing to better meet their needs. This activity challenged our thinking about food resources. Many of our clients need more than a handout of food, although this helps. Can we teach them to mix those canned green beans into a casserole with the pasta and soup? Can we help our ethnic clients to keep the healthy items in their native diet when they adopt an American way of eating?
A good conference makes you think and challenges you to take action. 76% of our attendees listed an action that they plan to take as a result of the conference and 96% said that they would share the information with others. If you didn’t get to the Hunger conference this year, we’ll be sponsoring a 4th annual conference next March.
March is National Nutrition Month – celebrate how good food creates healthy bodies. Let’s help those with limited access to food eat healthy too. A food resource guide can be found at http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/humanservices/emgfood.html
On March 1, 2011, The Challenge of Feeding our Diverse Communities in Delaware County was held at Widener University. For the third year, a group of agency staff and individuals organized a conference to give those working with low income clients the tools to address many of the issues faced by those seeking food, food stamps and related services. Our speakers addressed the self sufficiency standard, health literacy, food related health issues faced across the lifespan, ethnic barriers and provided a template to help each client gain access to healthy food.
Many participants reported that it was the best conference yet and I agree. The next morning I was thinking about Captain Jose Santiago’s (Chester Salvation Army) comments about coming to New England in winter from Puerto Rico where life was bustling, food was spicy and church was noisy to a town where no one was seen after the sun went down. I also marveled when Lynn Kugel from PathwaysPA told us that a woman with one child needs to earn over $60,000 to live comfortably. No wonder many of our working poor struggle.
Dr. Mary Powell from Neumann talked about how only 10% of adults read proficiently at a 10th grade level. Many of our handouts and instructions need to account for the lower 30% who have basic or less than basic skills and have difficulty with charts, detailed instructions and too much information. As a health educator, this was important to hear.
A wonderful panel of two medical doctors, a PhD and Outreach director gave us information on nutrition over the lifespan from low birth weight and premature babies to the elderly. Anne Ayella from Nutrition Development Services talked about how the Archdiocese of Philadelphia started offering school lunches, after school snacks and now administers the summer meal program.
Amanda Archibald, who is a food consultant (Field to Plate) gave us a roadmap template to look at our clients (or groups of clients) and assess food resources they possess and what is missing to better meet their needs. This activity challenged our thinking about food resources. Many of our clients need more than a handout of food, although this helps. Can we teach them to mix those canned green beans into a casserole with the pasta and soup? Can we help our ethnic clients to keep the healthy items in their native diet when they adopt an American way of eating?
A good conference makes you think and challenges you to take action. 76% of our attendees listed an action that they plan to take as a result of the conference and 96% said that they would share the information with others. If you didn’t get to the Hunger conference this year, we’ll be sponsoring a 4th annual conference next March.
March is National Nutrition Month – celebrate how good food creates healthy bodies. Let’s help those with limited access to food eat healthy too. A food resource guide can be found at http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/humanservices/emgfood.html
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Women's History Month: Ethel Waters
As Women’s History Month comes to an end, United Way celebrates the memory of another Delaware County woman who made her mark on this community, Ethel Waters. Ethel was a blues, jazz, and gospel vocalist from Chester, Pennsylvania. At the start of her life she faced great hardship; she was the child of a rape victim and lived in impoverished conditions. She was married early in life but her husband abused her, so she decided to run away and pursue a singing career. Despite the tremendous challenges she encountered at the beginning of her life, she persevered and soon garnered success as a vaudeville performer. In the 1920s she performed during the Harlem Renaissance, and continued to act in musicals and sing the blues. Ethel then became the fifth African American woman ever to have a record, and continued to record hits such as “Dinah” which got her inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. She continued to achieve great success with her performances and recordings, and later became the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for her role in “Pinky”. In 1999, Ethel was inducted into the Delaware County Women’s Hall of Fame. Ethel Waters‘s memory still permeates throughout the community because of her fame and success. However, her significance in Women’s History stems from the fact she did not let her past dictate her future; she instead let her talent and drive make her a star.
To learn more about Ethel Waters, go here.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Discount Prescription Plan Available for All Delaware County Residents
In case you have not visited our website, United Way has partnered with Agelity to offer a great service to residents of Delaware County. Agelity provides a discount prescription plan which gives users discounts on many of their prescriptions at pharmacies throughout the County. Cards can be used by all family members and can help make pricey prescriptions more affordable. The card can easily be printed off of our website, and afterwards will be ready for immediate use. All you have to do is present your card when filling your prescription in order to receive the discount. Prescriptions can be a financial burden so let United Way and Agelity help ease that burden with our discount prescription plan. Also, please refer anyone you know whom may be in need of some help with paying for prescriptions.
Please go to our website to learn more about the discount rates, how to use it, and to find answers to any questions.
Please go to our website to learn more about the discount rates, how to use it, and to find answers to any questions.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Chester Economic Development Authority’s Project Plan for 2011
This month, the Chester Economic Development Authority released a draft for its 2011 fiscal action plan. The draft includes monetary provisions for $1.796 million in community development block grants and 499,000 to the “Homeworkers Organized for More Employment Investment Partnership” program.
The Delaware County Daily Times has a full report on how many funds were proposed to be allocated to which programs. You can access it here.
Remember, you have a voice in the allocation of funds! Citizens are encouraged to write letters or to communicate to the Chester Economic Development Authority where they would like to see these funds go. These funds are meant to increase the capacity of the community and give aid to those programs that provide services where there’s the most need. As a resident you have the ability to communicate whether or not you feel the funds are especially needed in certain programs. United Way of Southeast Delaware County encourages residents of the Chester area to pick up a copy of the action plan at the J. Lewis Crozer Library or City Hall. Familiarize yourself with the plan, its goals, and what direction you feel is appropriate for the plan. You have until April 8 to submit letters to CEDA, P.O. Box 407, 511 Welsh St., Third Floor, Chester, PA 19016.
The Delaware County Daily Times has a full report on how many funds were proposed to be allocated to which programs. You can access it here.
Remember, you have a voice in the allocation of funds! Citizens are encouraged to write letters or to communicate to the Chester Economic Development Authority where they would like to see these funds go. These funds are meant to increase the capacity of the community and give aid to those programs that provide services where there’s the most need. As a resident you have the ability to communicate whether or not you feel the funds are especially needed in certain programs. United Way of Southeast Delaware County encourages residents of the Chester area to pick up a copy of the action plan at the J. Lewis Crozer Library or City Hall. Familiarize yourself with the plan, its goals, and what direction you feel is appropriate for the plan. You have until April 8 to submit letters to CEDA, P.O. Box 407, 511 Welsh St., Third Floor, Chester, PA 19016.
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