| Our History & Mission |
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Founder & Executive Director John Bannan formed the Philadelphia Children's Foundation (PCF) in July of 2006. It was John’s involvement with sports and the mentoring relationships he had with his coaches that helped him become a successful Olympic Rowing Coach, business person, and leader of PCF.
John was motivated by three things: his passion to provide young people with the support they need to excel in life; the understanding that resources in the city are abundant, but do not connect fully with the community they aim to serve; and the educational inequality that many students in Philadelphia face.
Today, PCF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational support organization that serves disadvantaged students and families in Philadelphia, PA. Our mission is to help children of all ages find their passion, develop needed skills, and make positive career and life decisions to achieve a successful future.
Our programs and initiatives provide K-12 students with the knowledge and resources to build better lives. We take a career-centered approach to help spark a curiosity to explore a world of opportunities. Our goals are to increase high school graduation rates, boost post-secondary education enrollment, and expand career opportunities for young people.
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| The Facts: |
| Over 50% of ninth graders in the Philadelphia public schools between 2000-2005 did not graduate in four years (40% of ninth graders had not received a diploma after six years).1 |
| In any one year, about 8,000 students officially dropped out and an additional 5,000 spent so little time in school that researchers called them “near dropouts.”2 |
| One third of all drop-outs were in grade nine or below.3 |
| Over 100,000 students in the Philadelphia area are waiting for a mentor.4 |
| Over 90,000 students and families in the Philadelphia School District have no computer at home.5 |
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The Philadelphia Children's Connection Website:
Our philly-connect.org resource website is a central clearinghouse for educational, career and enrichment resources for students and families. We have highlighted the many and varied Philadelphia local sites, but have also included some informative web-based resources. We have organized this site to make it easy for you to find the information most helpful to your needs. We provide:
- Age-specific pages for students from kindergarten to college
- Separate home pages for parents, teachers, mentors and service professionals
- Categories and descriptions of local organizations to help families find the services they need
- And much more... click here to see!
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1Ruth Neild and Robert Balfanz, “Unfulfilled Promise: The Dimensions and Characteristics of Philadelphia’s Dropout Crisis, 2000-2005.” (October 2006)
2Neild and Balfanz
3Neild and Balfanz,
4United Way of South East Pennsylvania, www.mentoring.org/sepa/news/campaign_for_mentors.php.
5Philadelphia Inquirer, (June 6, 2006)
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