Highlights from the 2024 Neighborhood Literacy Fund Celebration
The Neighborhood Literacy Fund Celebration was an evening filled with inspiration and community power. Held at The Study at University City, the event brought together education advocates, civic leaders, and Read by 4th partners to honor the awardees and the funders who make this initiative possible.
The Neighborhood Literacy Fund helps address the early literacy crisis in Philadelphia by awarding up to $2,000 for community-driven projects. This vital support is made possible by the generous contributions of Vanguard Strong Start for Kids, The Allen Hilles Fund, and the Vert Field of Interest Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation.
Abby Thaker from Read by 4th kicked off the evening with a warm welcome, emphasizing the collaborative spirit that underpins the organization's mission. "Our greatest strength here in this work is each other," she said, highlighting the collective effort that fuels the fund.
The Neighborhood Literacy Fund was born from community conversations and the recognition that we cannot justly mobilize the community to support early literacy without providing adequate funding. While many community leaders have made do with very little, often using their own resources to transform lives, this is neither fair nor equitable. To date, the fund has awarded $81,040 to support 44 community-driven projects aimed at improving early literacy across Philadelphia.
“What you did by accepting my application was the best thing ever. It was like gold. You listened to what I had to say and gave me an opportunity. I was thinking I couldn’t make a difference and you stood behind me.”
Deb Colter
Neighborhood Literacy Fund Awardee
Here’s what sets the Neighborhood Literacy Fund apart:
Collaboration and Community: The fund's participatory grant-making process positions community leaders to design the fund from planning to selection. Leading with trust and a value of lived experience along the way.
Supportive Application Process: We've worked to build an accessible equitable funding process that removes barriers to eligibility and provides additional support along different stages of the application process. Always centering applicants with less access to traditional grant funds.
Multi-Funder Support: The fund has successfully pooled resources from multiple funders who truly see the value of this community-driven approach.
Denise Henry, a long-time West and Southwest Philadelphia Reading Captain, shared her experience on the planning and selection committees. Her involvement over the past three years has been marked by continuous improvement of the fund and a deep appreciation for the creativity and dedication of early literacy advocates across the city.
Awardees Safiyyah Islam and Zulma Guzmán also took the stage to share their impactful projects. Safiyyah, a former kindergarten teacher, created a family literacy program that provides hands-on support and resources to families. Safiyyah saw families inundated and overwhelmed with all of the information being sent home from schools, and designed a hands-on program to review practice learning activities together. Zulma, a community leader in Southwest Philly, developed a learning program for recently arrived children that integrates cultural traditions to ensure children and families feel welcomed in the learning experience.
Chinwe Onyekere from Vanguard spoke on behalf of the funders, expressing admiration for the community-centered solutions and collaboration fostered by the Neighborhood Literacy Fund. "The work that's happening really centers love for our community and our children," she noted, emphasizing the fund's role in cultivating a vibrant early childhood ecosystem.
“Philanthropy means the love of people. When we hear about the work that's happening in each of the programs that have been funded [through the Neighborhood Literacy Fund], it really centers love. It centers the love for our community centers, love for our children, and provides a north star for us to think about how we can galvanize all of the solutions and the energy and the commitment to our young people and create a vibrant, lasting early childhood ecosystem that centers our young people.”
Chinwe Onyekere
Vanguard
As the event wrapped up, guests were encouraged to connect and exchange contact information. Partners from the Philly Book Bank and Tree House Books were on hand to provide information about free books. And guests were invited to take home books and thank you gifts symbolizing the ongoing commitment to fostering literacy and community in Philadelphia.
With plans for the next round of funding already underway for early 2025, the night ended on a high note of anticipation of continued collaboration and a shared vision for a literate future.
