Disability Rights Pennsylvania, known as DRP, is part of a national network of disability rights non-profit organizations that protect and advocate for the rights of children and adults with disabilities so that they may live the lives they choose, free from abuse, neglect, discrimination, and segregation.
Glenn Bergman is the executive director of Philabundance, the region’s largest hunger-relief organization, acquiring, rescuing and distributing food to help feed those in need, and advocating for policies that increase food access. Philabundance’s mission is to drive hunger from our communities today and end hunger forever.
Numbers don’t lie. Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the country. Nearly 40-percent of the city’s students are not graduating high school and only 30-percent of eighth grade kids are reading and writing at grade level.
That’s why in 2009, Mighty Writers was launched with a five-word elevator pitch: To teach kids to write.
They do this through four-day-a-week writing academies at their six neighborhood locations in Philadelphia, at their Kennett site in West Grove, and at their site in Camden, New Jersey.
Over the course of a year—including summers—they take students through every genre of writing but always with the same goal: to get kids to think clearly and write with clarity.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president & CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the U.S. Constitution. Located steps from Independence Hall in historic Philadelphia, the Center engages millions of citizens as an interactive museum, national town hall and provider of nonpartisan resources for civic education.
In Philadelphia, Knight Foundation focuses on the power of public spaces to unite and strengthen the city. In partnership with the city and other funders, they piloted Reimagining the Civic Commons, an initiative to connect and reinvigorate public spaces such as parks, trails, recreation centers and libraries. Their goal is to bring together people from all backgrounds, develop new local leaders and foster a more vibrant, engaged community.
Dr. William Valerio serves as the director and CEO of Woodmere Art Museum. As a result of Dr. Valerio’s leadership, Woodmere has become an increasingly vital presence in the cultural life of the region with steady growth in attendance, membership, and community involvement. By organizing almost one hundred exhibitions and enlarging and digitizing the Museum’s collection, Dr. Valerio has elevated the visibility of Philadelphia’s artists.