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Since joining the Spruce board 18 months ago, I’ve learned a lot about giving – not just my own giving, but giving in general. I took a few moments to reflect on the top lessons I have learned from being involved and engaged with the Spruce Foundation as a young Philadelphia professional and board member….
12 Plus believes in empowering students to reach their full potential and continue their education past 12th grade. What began in 2010 as a pilot program at Kensington school, quickly grew into a multi-school initiative. Their first program only had 9 students. Now, 12 Plus works with 1500 students annually at partner schools throughout the…
1. How did you get started with music? What drew you to it? John: When you come from a town like Scranton, Pennsylvania, family is everything. Christmas is everything. I loved Christmas songs and fell in love with the piano listening to jazz records and hearing my aunt play songs on the piano around the holidays….
Talking to Jeaninne Kayembe, the Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of Urban Creators was one of those conversations where as soon as it was over I couldn’t wait to share what I had learned with everyone I talked to. Since that call, I’ve told co-workers, friends, other Sprucer’s and even the cashier at the grocery store about Urban…
Monica O’Donoghue is the kind of person who exudes passion. It’s in the tone of her voice. It’s in the words she uses when she talks about what she does and what she loves. And it’s also in the story of her life. Monica grew up in the Philadelphia area, attending high school at Merion…
MLK Day of Service is one of the most impactful days of the year in Philly. Citizens volunteer to help refurb schools by painting them, refurbing them, and making small projects like bookshelves. According to their website, MLK day of Service in Philly has completed over 1,800 projects, with over 145,000 volunteers, and 500,000 service…
From my very first interaction with the Center for Grieving Children, I could tell this was a special place. I had the opportunity to talk to Malia Neal the new Director of Development & Communications at the Center and Jack Small, their Development & Communications Associate last week to learn more about what the Center…
You don’t have to be from Philly to be making a difference in this city – Nick Thompson proves that. After graduating from Binghamton University in 2013, he moved to Philly and has been a force for good ever since. He came to Philadelphia to earn his Masters of Public Health at Drexel University. He…
By day, Joshua Schwartz is a project manager for TargetX, a higher education technology company; by night (at least some of them), he’s an adjunct professor at two different colleges. It probably won’t surprise you to hear that Joshua is passionate about education: “I am a huge believer in education and life-long learning,” he says….
On a Monday evening, I walked into The Attic Youth Center – and into a bustle of about 30 chatting teens, grabbing dinner and then sitting down to catch up with each other. There was a spirit of home and family here that exists throughout the Attic, which works to create “opportunities for LGBTQ youth…