‘Giving Tuesday’ brings out the best in Delco
As one part of the bookend to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Giving Tuesday encouraged Americans, including those living in Delco, to reach into their pockets for charitable causes ranging from poverty to cancer and economic development and everything in between.
“For us, Giving Tuesday is a great way to remind our supporters that this holiday season is all about giving – giving to our families and to our community,” said Marianne Bellesorte, vice president of advocacy for PathWays PA.
Giving Tuesday started six years ago at the 92nd Street Y in New York City as a way to kick off the charitable giving season through celebrating and encouraging giving on the heels of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
Bellesorte spoke about what Giving Tuesday represents for her non-profit.
“At PathWays PA, Giving Tuesday kicks off a tremendous season of giving, which includes over 140 families receiving gifts from community members through our Adopt-A-Family program,” she said. “While all of our clients have been matched with donors for 2018, people can still give money or donate ‘Welcome and Holiday Kits’ that benefit PathWays PA families all year long.”
She herself was planning to donate to three causes this year: PathWays PA, Family Values @ Work and Friends of the Delaware County Women’s Commission.
Holmes-based PathWays PA assists about 5,000 low income women and children break the cycle of poverty, homelessness and abuse by achieving financial independence through a variety of services. In Pennsylvania, PathWays PA is the lead organization for Family Values @ Work, which is an advocacy movement for paid sick days.
Friends of the Delaware County Women’s Commission focuses on issues related to women and girls and hosts the annual WOMENomics Forum and the Women’s Wellness Day.
At the Delaware County courthouse in Media, police officers and victim advocates accepted a slew of teddy bears and stuffed animals from defense attorney Andrew J. Edelberg of Eddystone. These animals will be used to help comfort child victims of abuse and neglect.
Growing up in Philadelphia, Edelberg became friends with various FBI agents and four years ago, the attorney himself graduated from the FBI Philadelphia Citizens Academy Alumni Association.
Throughout his professional career, he learned of tough child abuse cases coming from Delaware County’s Special Victims Unit.
“I try to do a lot of stuff with charity every year,” Edelberg said.
This year, he said, “I purchased about four to five dozen stuffed animals from the FBI store.”
Then, he went out and about another $150-worth of teddy bears to add to those collected from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and the Delco chapter of Women Against Rape.
All of them were donated to be distributed to children victims to ease their stress of going through the criminal justice process.
“It was just an idea,” Edelberg said. “It was something nice to do for the holidays ... Even though I can be a tough advocate, it doesn’t take away your humanity.”
He likened it to donating to a response after a disaster such as a hurricane.
“It makes you feel good,” he said. “It changes how you feel as a person. It may just brighten some people’s lives ... I thought it was a nice idea to do something that might touch somebody.”
Many social service organizations were making their pleas Tuesday, including the HEADstrong Foundation, who has helped more than 14,000 battling cancer, honoring the wish of its founder, Nick Collelouri, to help those struggling with the disease and their loved ones. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Collelouri died Nov. 28, 2006.
On Tuesday, HEADstrong urged donors to give to help provide comfort kits, transportation to hospitals or free lodging for patients and their families traveling to Philadelphia for cancer treatment.
Another example of the day’s soliciting came from the Lansdowne Economic Development Corp.
There, they asked folks to think global, give local while giving snippets of their success.
“They’ve seen me through every step from solely vending at the Lansdowne Farmer’s Market to having my own location,” Zakiyyah McKelven, owner of Kia’s Cakes and Cafe, shared.
“The LEDC was an integral partner in helping us get established and integrated into the business community,” Jamey Reilly of Jamey’s House of Music said.
Music was also on the minds of some in Havertown where Kelly Music for Life was raising funds for the Kelly Center.
Spearheaded by Tom Kelly and his family, the Kelly Center is anticipated to be a community space for arts and education for adults, teens and families.
“Currently, the vast majority of performance spaces in Havertown are bars,” its website states. “This means that families, teens, and children don’t have a community performance space that meets their needs. The Kelly Center will be an indoor public gathering space where youth and families can participate in the arts in a drug and alcohol-free environment. At the Center, we will encourage young student artists to develop their skills and participate in performance opportunities… and seniors, adults, and families to enjoy the arts together.”