Valentine Foundation

Richelle Phillips, the coordinator of the Grandfamily Resource Center for SOWN, calls them the “wisdom team.” They are the grandparents, usually grandmothers, taking care of grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the Philadelphia area. These women frequently come together in “Grandparent Caregiver Connections” where they discuss their struggles, their triumphs, and offer support to one another.

The Supportive Older Women’s Network, or SOWN, was founded in 1984 in Philadelphia by Merle Drake. SOWN offers help, support, and services to women as they age.

On March 5, 2010, I attended the Grandparent Conference: Kinship Raising the Next Generation, Keeping the Traditions.  The conference, “a celebration of grandparents,” was well attended by one hundred grandmothers and a few grandfathers from all parts of Philadelphia.  Many attendees are very involved in SOWN’s community groups, but some were new to the organization.

Information tables were staffed by the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health, PECO, and the Department of Human Services. Conference attendees were given the opportunity to speak with representatives at these tables and to look over brochures and pamphlets.

I sat at a table with a few women and was immediately welcomed into their circle. They explained that Philadelphia grandparents need SOWN’s programs, especially the community group for grandparents raising grandchildren, because “it’s harder to raise grandchildren than children…” Another woman explained, “We want to get together and vent!”

After a few brief introductions the conference began with four workshops: “Wonderful, Sassy and Loving Styles of Discipline”; “Child Custody Concerns”; “Easy Ways to lower your Energy Bill”; and, “Problem Solvers: Grandparent Panel.”

The “Child Custody Concerns” workshop was very well attended by grandmothers looking to apply for custody of their grandchildren, and also by supportive grandmothers who had already been through the custody process. Jennifer Russell from the Senior Law Center, also a Valentine Foundation 2009-2010 grantee, led the workshop. She introduced the workshop participants to the current child custody system in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, and also explained that the Senior Law Center provides free legal services to those over 60 years old. Ms. Russell’s project, the Fostering Kinship Care Legal Project, which was sponsored by the Valentine Foundation, will offer grandparents the free services and support they need in order to navigate the legal system in Philadelphia.

The women in attendance at the workshop were grateful for Ms. Russell’s help. One woman offered her story to the group as an example: She has been raising her granddaughter for twelve years and loves her like a daughter, however other family members are now interested in gaining custody of the girl. She sought out Ms. Russell’s help, and the help of the Senior Law Center, in order to learn about her rights in the situation, and how she could gain full custody of her granddaughter. Stories like hers were repeated throughout the workshop, and Ms. Russell explained the multiple ways the Senior Law Center could help them all. One woman told me that she was thankful for the chance to come to the SOWN conference and for the opportunity to speak with representatives from SOWN, Senior Law Center, PECO, and DHS.

Both the Supportive Older Women’s Network and the Senior Law Center are working tirelessly to advocate for grandparents in Philadelphia; but they are both also teaching grandparents how to advocate for themselves and for each other. One of the speakers of the day told the conference participants, “If you weren’t capable of this job, you wouldn’t have it,” to which the audience cheered. That is the success of SOWN and SLC.

You can find more information about the Supportive Older Women’s Network at www.sown.org, and about the Senior Law Center at www.seniorlawcenter.org.

We are offering two teleconference sessions for prospective grantees. The sessions will be conducted by trustees and are designed to assist grantees in preparation and submitting an initial letter of inquiry.  Prospective grantees are encouraged to participate in one of two sessions:  Tuesday, May 24, 9:30 to 10:30 am or Thursday, May 26, 3:30 to 4:30 pm.

Conference call access number: 1-866-244-8528; passcode: 750977

For more details about the application process please click here.

In 2010 a Valentine Foundation intern visited one of our grantees, Childspace Cooperative Development, Inc.  This is her report on the outstanding and necessary work of this organization.

Childspace CDI is dedicated to helping early education professionals to “become actively involved in policy efforts to improve compensation in the field by increasing state funding for early education, and helping to secure affordable health insurance for all low-income Pennsylvanians.” In honor of this mission, Childspace CDI has been actively pursuing coalitions with a variety of Philadelphia nonprofit organizations that support this shared mission.

On March 10, 2010, I attended the Earned Sick Time Conference co-sponsored by Childspace CDI, Women’s Way, (another recent grantees of the Valentine Foundation), PHAN (Philadelphia Health Access Network), and a number of other Philadelphia nonprofit organizations. These organizations are advocating that Pennsylvania employers, as well as national employers, pay their employees for sick days or time off, within an established limit.

The conference attendees argued that when a mother becomes sick she is faced with a very difficult decision: going to work sick in order to continue to make money, or to stay home and lose the money necessary for caring for her children. Similarly, because many women in Philadelphia, and in the United States, are single mothers, the policy of having no paid sick days unfairly burdens women.

In fact, Vicki Shabo the Director of Work and Family Programs of that National Partnership for Women and Families, explained that 1 in 5 families in the US are headed by a woman, while 4 out of 10 women are the primary breadwinners in their families.
Lori Davis, who owns a day care center in Philadelphia and is a member of Childspace CDI’s provider circles, stated that it is “extremely important to allow people to have time off,” in order to care for themselves, but also for their children. The Earned Sick Time Conference proved to be a successful event, and garnered attention as well as support from representatives from Joe Sestak’s office as well as Arlen Specter’s office.

In addition to the Earned Sick Time Conference, Childspace CDI has also had great success in empowering the early education professionals themselves through provider circles. The provider circles are a chance for providers of early education and early childhood care to come together to discuss issues, problems, and successes in their work. Childspace CDI has been able to create four circles thus far. Teresa Mansell, the Program Director, stated that the women in these circles “appreciate the fact that [by] joining the group they will be a stronger voice especially when it comes to advocacy efforts” The women have also helped each other to better understand advocacy techniques and strategies, which they are putting to good use: Ms. Mansell reported that one of the provider circles is working very diligently to get State Representatives who are up for reelection (in District 192) to attend their next provider circle. They hope to discuss health care insurance as well as earned sick time with the representatives.

Childspace CDI has plans to attend a national conference in Washington, DC in late April 2010. Ms. Mansell stated that their goal is to further empower their coalition in Philadelphia while also expanding their reach nationally.

These amazing women were part of Valentine’s 25th anniversary project.  I was honored to be part of this effort, and to meet so many women who are deeply committed to their communities.  We learned so much about the power of connections and educating and empowering others.  Many of these lessons will have a lifelong impact; many of the connections between these women will be permanent.