Philly's Salvation Army gets $100,000 donation
The Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia is getting a $100,000 donation from the Walmart Foundation to help fight hunger and poverty.
A spokesman for the human-services agency said the gift will be presented next Thursday.
The agency will use the money to support its new Peer Mentoring Program, which is based on Witnesses to Hunger, part of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at Drexel University's School of Public Health.
Witnesses to Hunger, created by Drexel professor Mariana Chilton, began as a program in which Chilton gave cameras to 40 low-income North Philadelphia women and asked them to photograph details of their lives.
A spokesman for the human-services agency said the gift will be presented next Thursday.
The agency will use the money to support its new Peer Mentoring Program, which is based on Witnesses to Hunger, part of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at Drexel University's School of Public Health.
Witnesses to Hunger, created by Drexel professor Mariana Chilton, began as a program in which Chilton gave cameras to 40 low-income North Philadelphia women and asked them to photograph details of their lives.
The program evolved from there, and many of the Witnesses were trained to be mentors for other low-income women facing the same difficulties of hunger, violence, and other poverty-related problems.
As the Witnesses to Hunger program grew to include women in other cities, The Salvation Army was inspired to expand into similar work, said Ingrid Broadnax, director of foundation and government relations.
With the help of the Walmart money, The Salvation Army will lead its so-called SELF Groups. SELF stands for safety, emotions, loss, and future, and is part of the Peer Mentoring Program, according to the agency's spokesman.
Much of peer mentoring will focus on parents who are raising small children and struggling with hunger, Broadnax said.
Women will hear from other mothers who have struggled with hunger. They will also receive on-site training for computer usage, as well as for financial literacy.
"We see people in despair and children not excelling," Broadnax said. "What The Salvation Army is about is helping people's needs and helping them lead empowered lives."
Source: Alfred Lubrano, PhillyNews.com
As the Witnesses to Hunger program grew to include women in other cities, The Salvation Army was inspired to expand into similar work, said Ingrid Broadnax, director of foundation and government relations.
With the help of the Walmart money, The Salvation Army will lead its so-called SELF Groups. SELF stands for safety, emotions, loss, and future, and is part of the Peer Mentoring Program, according to the agency's spokesman.
Much of peer mentoring will focus on parents who are raising small children and struggling with hunger, Broadnax said.
Women will hear from other mothers who have struggled with hunger. They will also receive on-site training for computer usage, as well as for financial literacy.
"We see people in despair and children not excelling," Broadnax said. "What The Salvation Army is about is helping people's needs and helping them lead empowered lives."
Source: Alfred Lubrano, PhillyNews.com
