Junior League of Philadelphia Awards $135,000 in Community Grants to Combat Food Insecurity; Awards Presentation to Be Held on April 20

Ardmore, Pennsylvania , April 19, 2017 (Newswire.com) - The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc. (JLP) has awarded grants totaling $135,000 to five (5) non-profit community organizations.  The JLP Board of Directors invited nonprofit organizations working to improve food security and health in the Greater Philadelphia area to apply for Centennial Grants. More than 35 organizations requested a total of more than $1.3 million in funding. Grant funds were raised through donations to the JLP’s Centennial Capital Campaign, in celebration of 100 years of the Junior League of Philadelphia.

The Centennial Grant awardees follow:

Face-to-Face: $55,000 awarded

• Mission: To provide the Germantown, Philadelphia community with a safe environment and practical tools to promote health, well-being, and stability.
• Funding Request: To construct a kitchenette in their Children’s Center, enabling snack and meal service for children and their parents, as well as educational programming for meal preparation.

 Methodist Services’ Heritage Farms: $30,000 awarded

• Mission: To create a sustainable, community-based food system by growing and providing fresh produce and offering hands-on education and life skills to the families they serve in West Philadelphia.
• Funding Request: To refurbish their farm stand and hire a seasonal educator and to create a community garden with Methodist Services residents.

People’s Emergency Center: $20,000 awarded

• Mission: To nurture families, strengthen neighborhoods, and drive change in West Philadelphia.
• Funding Request: To reinstitute Eating Well Cooking Workshops, a six-week program of three-hour classes that teach adults healthy cooking with the goals of experiencing the connection between healthy eating and healthy living.

Community Center at Visitation: $15,000 awarded

• Mission: To provide a safe place for community outreach, continued education, and recreation among the diverse community of Kensington, Philadelphia.
• Funding Request: To stock their food pantry with a wide variety of typically out-of-budget healthy food items like chicken breast and fresh fish and to hire an hourly security guard, thereby extending pantry hours to include weeknights.

MANNA: $15,000 awarded

• Mission: To prepare and deliver nourishing meals and counsel to those battling life-threatening illnesses in the Philadelphia region, empowering individuals to battle illnesses and improve their quality of life.
• Funding Request: To assist funding space or equipment for the organization’s new facility.

Press Invitation to Centennial Grant Presentation Event on April 20:
Members of the press are invited to attend the Centennial Grant presentation event on April 20, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the Philadelphia Marriott West (111 Crawford Ave, Conshohocken, PA). For more details and to R.S.V.P., please contact Sara Grossman, JLP Vice President of Marketing and Communications, at [email protected].

About The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc (JLP):
Founded in 1912, the Junior League of Philadelphia is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The JLP is also a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), with 292 Leagues globally. 

About the JLP’s Apple a Day Health Living Initiative^TM
The Junior League of Philadelphia’s Apple a Day Healthy Living Initiative focuses on improving food security and health in Greater Philadelphia. Through partnerships with organizations such as Coalition Against Hunger, Face to Face, Greener Partners, Main Line Health System, MANNA, Philabundance, and Share Food Program, the JLP seeks to FEED the community: Facilitate increased access to fresh and healthy food; Educate individuals about the connection between healthy eating and healthy living; Empower individuals to become advocates for their own health; and Distribute fresh and healthy food in areas classified as food deserts.

JLP Public Relations / Media Contact:
Sara Grossman, VP of Marketing and Communications: [email protected]

Visit our website, and follow us on social media: @JuniorLeaguePHL on Twitter, JL_Philadelphia on Instagram and JuniorLeagueofPhiladelphia on Facebook.

Source: The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc. (JLP)