This past month, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting staff and volunteers worked hard to support and uplift our Quaker community. Here are just a few of their stories. [Read more…] about This Past Spring Around the Yearly Meeting
Aging Services
Gatherings for Business-Minded Friends
About Friends in Business
Whether it was John Cadbury and the Cadbury chocolate company, Paul Cuffe and his merchant enterprises, or Abraham Darby with his cast iron business, there is no shortage of notable Quakers throughout history who have had faithful service in commerce and industry.
While business leaders like these and countless other Friends practiced integrity, simplicity, peace, and other Quaker values in their professional lives due to their spiritual convictions, they soon found that faithfulness leads to trust and good order, helping them influence many of the business practices and movements we take for granted today. Notable contributions include being often associated with the early adoption of fixed prices and playing a key role in the Industrial Revolution due to their conviction to treat everyone they work with or employ with honesty, fairness, and quality. [Read more…] about Gatherings for Business-Minded Friends
Aging Support Coordinator for PYM Featured on Honestly Aging Podcast
Sheila Sorkin, Aging Support Coordinator for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, recently joined the Honestly Aging podcast by Friends Life Care VigR®. Speaking with host Cheryl Proska, she shared that she grew up in a three-generation household and learned from an early age to hold respect and value for older persons. That early experience continues to connect to her care for others. [Read more…] about Aging Support Coordinator for PYM Featured on Honestly Aging Podcast
A Brief History of the Aging Assistance Granting Group
Over the course of the 20th Century, Friends became aware that they were living longer and needing more care. Several of them established endowed funds to support those who did not have sufficient resources themselves. [Read more…] about A Brief History of the Aging Assistance Granting Group
Greenleaf Fund | Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting | A Short History
Authorship Attributed to Fred Melroy, Clerk of Greenleaf Granting Group
The Greenleaf Boarding Home began in 1896 with a generous gift of money from Anna Thomas Jeanes to Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting along with a gift of property in Moorestown NJ from the Paul Family. Daughter, the famous suffragette Alice Paul, became a resident and passed away there in 1977. The Legal name is the Friends Boarding Home of the Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting but became known as “The Greenleaf” in 1930 due to the bucolic campus sporting many gardens including those for growing their own fruits and vegetables.
Over the years Greenleaf expanded to include a skilled nursing facility, and many members of the Quarter volunteered at the home or donated gifts of money and food. However, across the country smaller retirement homes suffered from lack of occupancy in the 1990’s and ultimately The Greenleaf Building was sold to Moorestown Friends School 2008. Proceeds from the sale along with the Greenleaf endowment were transferred to Friends Fiduciary under the care of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Currently the corpus of the fund is more than $13 million. A granting group was established and income from the fund is distributed to needy elderly Quaker’s with priority given to those from the Haddonfield Quarter. The current granting group is clerked by a member of Haddonfield Quarter and made up of members from both the Quarter and greater PYM. The recipients of Greenleaf Grants receive collectively approximately $400,000 a year. Demand is currently outpacing income so approvals in the future will be limited, with Haddonfield Quarter getting top priority.
For more information visit the Aging Grants Web Page or contact grants@pym.org.
Care for the Needs of PYM Friends 60 Years and older!
Aging Grants at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting support the needs of Friends 60 years and older and in financial need to age in place or in communities. [Read more…] about Care for the Needs of PYM Friends 60 Years and older!
This April with the Programs and Religious Life Team and Grant Opportunities to Know
The Programs and Religious Life Team has an abundant month of gatherings ahead, and they invite all to participate this April! [Read more…] about This April with the Programs and Religious Life Team and Grant Opportunities to Know
Financial Education Available Through Everence and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Partnership
Everence, a faith-based and member-owned financial group, partners with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to provide financial resources and support. [Read more…] about Financial Education Available Through Everence and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Partnership
New Case Management Services for PYM Friends
A new resource is available for Friends in our yearly meeting!
Thanks to a generous need-based grant, members and regular attenders of PYM may be eligible to receive up to 10 hours of professional case management services through Living Care Home Services (LCHS). Eligibility is determined by individual need. LCHS, though based in Pennsylvania, serves the entire PYM region.
Case management can connect Friends with long term care, health care referrals, mental health resources, debt management and debt consolidation counseling, support with housing, help applying for social services, and help securing in-home care.
[Read more…] about New Case Management Services for PYM Friends
Aging Assistance For PYM Friends: What is Available and a Family Thank You
How to Apply: Aging Funds Available at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
AAGG and Greenleaf Granting Group clerks sat down Aging Support Coordinator, Sheila Sorkin, and Director of Grantmaking and Data, Joey Leroux to discuss the application process for funds to support Friends in need of financial assistance with their basic needs or to make it possible to live in retirement facilities, or to remain in their own homes.
[Read more…] about Aging Assistance For PYM Friends: What is Available and a Family Thank You
