There are three different camps running through August 30th, but they are all half-day and online. Different camps run at different weeks and times so choose the one that works for you. Learn more and register here! The normal price for these great experiences is $275 but PCCY offering these online camps for only $25!

Scholarships are available too.  Contact stevenf@pccy.org for details.

Fun activities include arts & crafts, bean bag toss, horseshoes, giant checkers, giant dominoes, football and basketball toss, Minecraft stations, and much more! The event is free for everyone.

Volunteers are needed for lots of different activities – click here for more info and to sign up. It’ll be a super fun day!

Interested in bring your early learning center or school group or recreation center? Contact stevenf@pccy.org today for more information.

The event will also include a press conference at 2pm that will feature a very special announcement about how PCCY is preparing for the future of advocacy on behalf of children in our region!

We need about 100 volunteers to help with this event!  Can you spend sometime with us in the late morning or late afternoon helping with set up or break down?  Would you like to help run some of the fun kids games and help the kids along with the games? Can you stay all day and just pitch in wherever we may need you?  We make it easy for you to sign up and lend your time and talents!

Click here to volunteer.

Please pass this email along to your friends, family, colleagues, etc.! For more information contact Steven Fynes at 215-563-5848 x11 or stevenf@pccy.org.

PS: The event is taking place right next to one of the biggest outdoor swimming pools in the city. Bring a bathing suit or swin trunks and take a dip in the (free) pool after your volunteer shift is over!

Where can children and youth get the vaccine?

• Contact your child’s primary care provider and schedule an appointment to get the vaccine.
• Check out the county information below for links to vaccination sites. Some sites require an appointment and others are walk in. Be sure the Pfizer vaccine is being given at your location because it is the only currently authorized vaccine for children ages 12 to 17 in the United States. And be sure to check what age children the location is serving.

Learn more about availability in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, and Bucks counties, and other resources.

• Bucks County
• Chester County
• Delaware County
• Philadelphia

Full job description.

How to Apply: Email cover letter and resume to info@pccy.org with job title in subject line.

The Health Advocacy Associate is an experienced, persistent, can-do champion for children. This fast-paced position will help supplement PCCY’s current efforts to substantially grow two statewide health initiatives for which the Health Advocacy Associate will apply their expertise in building coalitions, engaging community stakeholders, developing communication strategies, interacting with and educating policymakers, and conducting research and persuasive writing. The first initiative is focused on childhood lead poisoning prevention – the Lead-Free Promise Project – primarily aimed at securing state funds to remove lead hazards from children’s homes and increase the number of children screened for lead. This work is part of a larger initiative, the PA Prenatal to Age Three Collaborative, for which PCCY leads the lead poisoning component. The second initiative is a PCCY-led effort to change state law to permit children who are undocumented individuals to qualify for public health insurance (CHIP or Medicaid). This Dream Care initiative kicked off in 2015 and we have recruited 100 organizations to participate in the Dream Care Coalition.

Learn more.

How to Apply: Email cover letter and resume to info@pccy.org with job title in subject line.

Implemented in 1992, hold harmless is the policy that school districts cannot receive less funding than they did the year prior. Shrinking districts have lost a total of 167,000 students—a fifth of their student body—since 1991–92.   They now have $590 million tied to students they no longer educate. Growing districts have 204,000 more students today than in 1991–92, but they have largely been denied the additional funding needed to compensate for the increase in students.

Read more.

Helping Families
There are thousands of dollars of resources available to families: a tax credit of at least $3,000 per child, food and health insurance benefits, and child care assistance and reimbursement, to name a few. But if families don’t know that help is there for them, they don’t know to access it.  Be an advocate in your family and community by sharing this first-ever checklist of benefits available for families.

Improving Schools
Far too many schools in Southeast Pennsylvania are massively underfunded, leaving students—especially Black and Hispanic students—teachers, and staff without the resources they need. Governor Wolf has proposed significant funding increases to schools (see “Advocate and Serve”) but it’s not enough to fill the COVID costs.

The Rescue Act delivers billions of dollars to Pennsylvania schools to help students catch up after months of remote learning.  Schools now have the money to offer summer learning and enrichment programs, hire temporary teachers, staff, and social workers, purchase technology, and make building repairs, giving our schools the “shot in the arm” they need to recover from pandemic setbacks. Check out the PCCY Toolkit for Schools for more details and bring your suggestions to local leaders on how to best invest that money in education.

Repairing Communities
$6.5 billion is on the table for Pennsylvania counties and municipalities. That’s a lot of money that can be used to best meet the unique needs of local communities. This is another opportunity for advocates like you to make a difference.  There are tremendous opportunities to help child-serving organizations, boost the appallingly low pay of child care teachers, reduce lead poisoning, and help parents find jobs.

Be an advocate in your family and community by sharing this first-ever checklist of resources available for counties and municipalities and keep an eye on your email inbox for opportunities to speak out on behalf of children and families.

View the recent PCCY webinar on the Rescue Act.

Click here to join us for a virtual event on Friday, April 9th at Noon to learn how the Act can help more families access high-quality child care for their children. 

We will also touch on the many ways the nutrition, health and education funds can be best put to work for kids.

Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to
improving the lives and chances of children within the Philadelphia region through thoughtful
and informed advocacy.

Position Summary

PCCY is seeking an experienced journalist with an existing portfolio of insightful articles that present how public policies shape people’s lives. The Journalism Fellow will canvass the community collecting real-life stories to expose failings in public safety nets, education, and other public systems intended to create greater economic opportunity. The focus is on families of color in Norristown and Pottstown.

The Fellow is part of PCCY’s launch of Dis/parities, a new reporting initiative designed to illuminate the lives of parents and children of color living in Norristown and Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  Partners include the Urban League of Philadelphia and ACLAMO (Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County/or the Latin American Community Action of Montgomery County).

The Fellow must be a dynamic, self-motivated individual who can write and produce accurate, informative, and relevant community reporting and engage four residents as Community Liaisons. The ideal candidate will have a history of creating networks and building relationships to develop leads and contextualize news reporting. The position also requires social media acumen.

Learn more and apply.

Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to
improving the lives and chances of children within the Philadelphia region through thoughtful
and informed advocacy.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced leader who will train and support early childhood sector stakeholders so that they can support and pressure candidates for state elected offices to speak to the need for greater access to affordable high-quality child-care and Pre-K as they campaign.

Learn more and apply.

Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to
improving the lives and chances of children within the Philadelphia region through thoughtful
and informed advocacy.

Position Summary

The Behavioral Health Policy Coordinator is a dynamic, seasoned and innovative leader. This position will help build and advance PCCY’s ability to increase child wellness in Philadelphia, particularly for children of color, through extensive collaboration and critical and substantial system change. The Behavioral Health Policy Coordinator will take the lead on building a highly functioning and smoothly operating system for children to gain easy access to quality behavioral health care in their public schools.

Learn more and apply.

“The time is now to address these inequities head on. Students who were struggling will keep struggling unless we take active measures to catch them up. Students of color will keep falling behind unless we eliminate the biases and practices that impacted their pre-COVID learning.” PCCY’s Tomea Sippio-Smith delivered this powerful message to the PA Legislative Black Caucus and the PA House Democratic Policy Committee last week.

The Black Lives Matter movement spurred frank conversations and calls to action about discrimination in schools and communities. The pandemic exposed the stark disparity between wealthy and low-income districts in education resources like home computers, high-speed internet, and academic supports. (Students of color are 466% more likely to attend a high poverty school than White kids.)

Young people of color are now bravely speaking out and demanding change because it is literally their futures on the line. Student after student spoke boldly at state Senator Tim Kearney’s Student Roundtable on Racism about experiences with racism in their school. Overwhelmingly they felt dismissed when they reported it to administration. But a few students told of their schools creating safe spaces for students of color or implementing Equity Officers or other intervention measures.

Should you think disparities are just a Philly problem, we’ve got some news for you. Tune in to PCCY’s webinar on Thursday, March 25 at 3:00pm to hear the findings of our groundbreaking research on the racial disparities in Philly’s suburban districts.

Join the conversation with a diverse panel of experts:

• Karen Farmer White, Chairperson, Pennsylvania State Board of Education
• Rev. Maxcine Collier, Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity
• Andrea Custis, President and CEO, The Urban League of Philadelphia
• Angelique Hinton, President, Greater Norristown NAACP
• Nelly Jimenez-Arevalo, Executive Director, CEO, ACLAMO
• Harold Jordan, Senior Policy Advocate, ACLU of Pennsylvania
• Steven Rodriguez, Superintendent of Schools, Pottstown School District
• Christopher Rogers, Black Lives Matter at School
• Tomea Sippio-Smith, K12 Education Policy Director, PCCY

Register here.

Learning disparities among Black and Hispanic students is an equity problem, not an “urban” problem. PCCY’s new research, for the first time ever, reveals the problems of and solutions to the entrenched racial problems in Philly’s suburban districts.

Nearly a quarter of all students in the 61 school districts in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties are Black or Hispanic, and they are less likely to be placed in rigorous classes and more likely to face harsh disciplinary action. They are less likely to have access to academic support services and more likely to be economically segregated. These factors all take a profound educational and emotional toll.

Join PCCY and a panel of experts to hear more about the problems facing Black and Hispanic students and learn some real world solutions.

Date and Time: March 25, 2021, 3:00 PM

Learn more and register.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is holding free information sessions for parents, tenants, landlords, and organizations to learn how to prevent children from being poisoned by the chipping and flaking lead paint in their homes.

Here’s how you can help spread the word:

1. Download and share the information flyer.
2. Share these Facebook and Twitter posts.
3. Print copies of the flyer and distribute them in the targeted zip codes.
4. Sign up online or call 215-298-2027 to schedule a free info session for your next virtual meeting with your neighborhood CDC, co-workers, or local landlords.

Brewerytown, Bridesburg, Center City West, Germantown, Manayunk, Mt. Airy, North Philly, Overbrook, Port Richmond, SW Philly, West Park, and West Philly are among the first neighborhoods to qualify for assistance. The full list of eligible zip codes is on the flyer.

Lead poisoning is a problem that many people thought went away when lead-based paint was banned back in the 1970s. But sadly, about 2,000 Philadelphia kids are poisoned by lead every year, most of them by chipping and flaking lead paint still in their homes or apartments.

Even the smallest amount of lead in the blood can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, leading to hearing, speech, and learning problems. Black and Hispanic children are disproportionately poisoned because they are more likely to live in older properties built before lead in paint was finally banned for residential use.

Researchers found that Pre-K Counts has higher standards than most other state-funded pre-k programs across the country, a point of pride for Pennsylvania. Children benefitted from Pre-K Counts across the commonwealth. Achievement was equal among urban, rural, and suburban children so it’s a formula that works statewide.

Read the press release.

Read the executive summary of the report and download the report here.

Healthy teeth are more than just a pretty smile. Good oral hygiene is essential to overall health, improving a person’s ability to speak, taste, chew, swallow, and make facial expressions to show feelings and emotions.

Help us spread the word about this incredible resource!

• Share the English and Spanish flyers with families in your community who might benefit from free dental care. The flyer will also be available in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Indonesian, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian and Vietnamese early next week on our website.
• Post about Give Kids A Smile on your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, especially after on or after March 15 so families can call to make appointments immediately. Follow PCCY’s social media accounts for posts that you can share.
• Include Give Kids A Smile Day in your email blasts and community calendars.
• Feature the event on your website.
• Forward this email to other organizations that work with families who would benefit from free dental care for their children.

Learn more.

Help schedule appointments. Our remote call center is all set up for volunteers to schedule appointments from the comfort of your home. Fuzzy slippers are allowed. Our brief training and flexible shifts make this life-changing project super easy. Sign up here.

Or help translate. Feeling cooped up at home and want to put your language skills to use? Socially-distanced and safe, of course. We need Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese translators during the appointments. Sign up here.

Or you can also distribute the flyer to friends and colleagues to let more families know about getting care.

Questions? Contact Beth Dougherty at 215-563-5848 x21 or gksd@pccy.org.

Are you ready to send your children back to child care, but have questions about COVID precautions? Know the facts so you can make the right decision for you and your family.

Join us for a free Zoom event and ask the experts. Register here.

Date and Time: February 11, 2021, 5:00-7:00 PM