D+P Client News: Fall Highlights

This year, the Circuit Trails, Greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey’s multi-use trail network which includes more than 393 completed miles, secured $41.7 million in funding from federal, state and local sources for 19 trail development project across the region. Read more about the projects that were funded in VISTA.TODAY.

Firstrust

Now in it’s 55th year, the Green Family Foundation and Firstrust Bank opened applications for the Samuel A. Green Scholarship Program, which will award college-bound high school seniors with multi-year academic scholarships totaling $360,000 in May of 2024. Learn more about the scholarships and how to apply in a recent article from Lower Bucks Times. Applications are open until March 3, 2024.

FuelCell Energy

Following the recent COP28 summit which put virtually all nations in accord with transitioning away from fossil fuels, FuelCell Energy and ExxonMobil recently announced plans to build a pilot plant at ExxonMobil’s Rotterdam Manufacturing Complex to test carbon capture technology, which could significantly reduce CO2 emissions from key industries. Read more about the project from Bloomberg.

This news followed FCE’s announcement to work with IBM to boost the performance of its technology using Foundation Models, a form of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). FCE is also helping its home state, Connecticut, achieve its goal of a carbon-free power grid by 2040 by recently opening a major new fuel cell power plant in Derby. 

Gaudenzia

Dr. Patricia McKernan, Gaudenzia’s Chief of Staff, was named Social Worker of the Year by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers for her commitment to helping the organization provide evidence-based treatment for individuals with substance use disorder, as well as harm reduction services. Read more about her recognition in Montco Today.

Jon Gamble, Deputy Regional Director for Gaudenzia, appeared an Erie News Now special, “Erie’s Fentanyl Epidemic: A Lifeline of Hope,” to share with viewers the current state of the epidemic, as the as well as how organizations like Gaudenzia can help mitigate the crisis. Kevin Barber, Program Director for Gaudenzia Crossroads, discussed the importance ofa concerted effort to educate the community about fentanyl use and its implications in JET 24/FOX 66’s “What Every Family Needs to Know About Opioids” special.

MANNA

Nonprofit MANNA cooks and delivers medically tailored meals to its clients who are prescribed specific diets to treat serious diseases. And thanks to a new Medicaid waiver, more people in Pennsylvania may have access to these life-saving treatments. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Val Arkoosh visited MANNA last month to discuss these updates with healthcare payers. Read more about DHS’s visit in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Through MANNA’s research division, The MANNA Institute, the organization executes and funds research on food as medicine. MANNA recently granted a $400,000 award to Jefferson Health’s Clinician Investigator Kristin Rising, M.D., M.S.H.P.

Dr. Rising, MANNA’s CEO Sue Daugherty, R.D.N., L.D.N. and MANNA client Kevin Kilmartin joined KYW’s Bridging Philly to discuss the importance of food as medicine and what research is needed in the field to impact policy change. Listen to Bridging Philly now.

National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center

The National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center has been hard at work with engaging communities across the country in discussion about the Medal of Honor’s core values – Courage, Integrity, Commitment, Sacrifice, Citizenship, and Patriotism — and how those values can help shape the leaders of tomorrow. They launched a series of panel discussions this year, the first one encouraging leaders in all walks of life to meet their moment in October at The Citadel in Charleston, followed by their “Worthy Rivals” panel discussion around the Army-Navy Game in December at The Seaport Hotel in Boston.

Check out this commentary piece on the Army-Navy game’s role in instilling the values of the MOH in everyday life, which was placed in FOX News and the Military Times.

Reach Cyber

Reach Cyber Charter School is bringing career exploration into the homes of more than 5,000 students in grades K-8 across Pennsylvania. The STEM-focused online public charter school has partnered with Oyster, a STEAM Career kit service for kids, to encourage purposeful career exploration in its youngest learners and beyond by providing them hands-on STEM career kits for 37 careers, called Oysterkits. Read more about the partnership and career opportunities at Reach Cyber in the Central Penn Business Journal.

Saint John’s Hospice

Every year, Saint John’s Hospice serves 3,500 unique individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia though its residential and day services. Recently they’ve been helping this population gear up for the cold temperatures through a variety of clothing drives, most notably their annual “Boot Up Philly” drive which raised $80,000 to provide 1,000 sets of cold-weather essentials such as coats, footwear, socks, and undergarments. Donations were provided by community members, sponsors and church parishes such as the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Philadelphia.

‘Tis the season for SJH’s choral group, The Good Shepherd Singers, who have been singing messages of hope and holiday cheer to the community. Led by SJH Program Director Barry Martin, the group was formed in 2018 and sings R&B, ballads, traditional, gospel, holiday songs, and original music written by Martin himself.

Select Greater Philadephia

Greater Philadelphia’s business community thrived in 2023, bringing in more than $1.78 billion in investment funding for the year’s first three quarters, earning two new federal Hub designations, and growing and retaining a young, educated workforce. We were excited to share these positive stories in Select Greater Philadelphia’s (a council of The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia) Momentum newsletter. Read the Year-In-Review here.

In the newly opened museum at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, hangs an 18th-century painting owned by Mother Seton’s religious community of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the world’s most recognizable and reproduced images of the Blessed Mother. The museum display was recently featured in the National Catholic Register after experts said the image owned by Mother Seton was likely the first U.S. image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Salvation Army Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Division launched its 2024 Red Kettle Campaign. In preparation for its annual fundraising campaign, the Corps in Northeastern Pennsylvania teamed up with WBRE/WYOU Eyewitness News for its second annual Coats for Kids Drive in October to collect used and new coats. The Corps’ coat distributions have been underway for the past few months. According to Corps Officer Major Wheeler, when temperatures dropped in November, The Salvation Army East Stroudsburg Corps was prepped and ready to distribute coats to local families struggling to make ends meet.

The festivities continued with a generous $269,970 donation from ACME Markets to the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Division, along with the New Jersey and Greater New York Divisions. The check presentation was held at The Salvation Army Norristown Corps with the Divisional Commander Lt. Col. Larry Ashcraft. The gift helped the Salvation Army purchase and distribute 3,000 Thanksgiving meals to those in need.

Over the past month, it has been all about The Salvation Army’s iconic red kettles. Two local bell ringers were recently featured on The Salvation Army’s website and in the news, including Danny Ockenhouse in East Stroudsburg and Mary Bean in Lebanon.