2024 - Recipients
BookSmiles Book Drive - September
BookSmiles, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, gives children in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs the opportunity to build personal libraries, starting at infancy. We focus on providing students and younger siblings with high-quality books, thereby laying the groundwork for academic success. They also provide educators, especially those serving Title I schools, with unlimited books for their classroom libraries as well as for their students' personal collections.
Family Promise - July and August
Family Promise of the Main Line, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to help families experiencing homelessness and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. Its website is https://fpmainline.org/about-us/. Family Promise (FP) was formerly known as IHN, the Interfaith Hospitality Network.
Eastern Pennsylvania Trans Equity Project (EPTEP) - June
The Eastern Pennsylvania Trans Equity Project (EPTEP) provides direct services to transgender and gender-diverse Pennsylvanians in a 33-county region in eastern Pennsylvania. These services include assistance with legal name change, peer-led support groups, trans-friendly resource listing, financial assistance for food and housing, and gender-affirming garments or prostheses. EPTEP continues to work to expand service offerings in the coming year.
The organization focuses its service on people who identify as transgender and gender expansive with no regard to race, economic status, or gender assigned at birth. In the eastern counties of Pennsylvania, it is the primary information reference for all trans Pennsylvanians.
T& E Care - May
The mission of T&E Care, is to provide short-term assistance to local people in need is fulfilled on the selfless contributions of neighbors just like you and me. Our support will help to pay for some critical resources, such as: Rent to keep families from facing evictions, Utility bills to keep the lights on, Car repairs so our neighbors can continue to get to work,Mental health counseling so those overcome with life challenges can better handle their despair, College assistance so select students can limit the loans needed to better their future, Food gift cards, so our neighbors don’t go hungry during these cold winter months.
CRC Watersheds - April
CRC Watersheds Association’s mission is to support, encourage and promote the enjoyment, restoration, conservation, protection and prudent management of the natural resources of the Chester, Ridley, and Crum Creek Watersheds. Our dedication to this task comes from many individual sources but ultimately derives from our understanding that all of life is connected through a complex web of interrelationships sustained by water.
The Phily Goat Project - March
The Philly Goat Project (PGP), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Its mission is to provide education, therapy, job training, wellness and engagement with the dynamic and delightful capacities of goats. PGP was created to provide opportunities for urban residents to connect to nature in a novel way by using goats. It is the first city-based multi-service goat program in the United States, providing animal-assisted therapy and wellness events, environmental and educational experiences, and community engagement. PGP's barn is on the grounds of Awbury Arboretum, a historic outdoor space in Philadelphia’s East Germantown neighborhood that is free and open to the public 365 days a year.
PALS (Pet Adoption and Lifecare Society) - February
Pet Adoption and Lifecare Society (PALS), a non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of animals. They place over 300 cats into loving homes every year. The animals are temporarily cared for in foster homes until they can be adopted into new homes. Pets receive veterinary care, including vaccinations and testing, and are spayed or neutered. PALS is a true no-kill organization. PALS is funded through donations and by the proceeds of the Black Cat Café in Devon which is mostly run by volunteers. MLUC’s donations will go towards the veterinary fund which provides care for the animals until they are adopted. The organization aligns with UU principle #7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. https://www.palscatrescue.org/
Upper Merion Area Community Cupboard (UMACC) - January
UMACC Is a food pantry open to anyone who lives within the Upper Merion School District and is hungry or food insufficient. The UMACC is a collaborative and empathetic community response of schools, municipalities, businesses, faith communities and caring neighbors. Their hope is to strengthen their most vulnerable neighbors through food supplementation. Their mission is two-fold: to meet the needs of the food insufficient within the community with compassion and hospitality and to instigate greater depths of awareness, compassion and connection within the community.
BookSmiles, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, gives children in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs the opportunity to build personal libraries, starting at infancy. We focus on providing students and younger siblings with high-quality books, thereby laying the groundwork for academic success. They also provide educators, especially those serving Title I schools, with unlimited books for their classroom libraries as well as for their students' personal collections.
Family Promise - July and August
Family Promise of the Main Line, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to help families experiencing homelessness and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. Its website is https://fpmainline.org/about-us/. Family Promise (FP) was formerly known as IHN, the Interfaith Hospitality Network.
Eastern Pennsylvania Trans Equity Project (EPTEP) - June
The Eastern Pennsylvania Trans Equity Project (EPTEP) provides direct services to transgender and gender-diverse Pennsylvanians in a 33-county region in eastern Pennsylvania. These services include assistance with legal name change, peer-led support groups, trans-friendly resource listing, financial assistance for food and housing, and gender-affirming garments or prostheses. EPTEP continues to work to expand service offerings in the coming year.
The organization focuses its service on people who identify as transgender and gender expansive with no regard to race, economic status, or gender assigned at birth. In the eastern counties of Pennsylvania, it is the primary information reference for all trans Pennsylvanians.
T& E Care - May
The mission of T&E Care, is to provide short-term assistance to local people in need is fulfilled on the selfless contributions of neighbors just like you and me. Our support will help to pay for some critical resources, such as: Rent to keep families from facing evictions, Utility bills to keep the lights on, Car repairs so our neighbors can continue to get to work,Mental health counseling so those overcome with life challenges can better handle their despair, College assistance so select students can limit the loans needed to better their future, Food gift cards, so our neighbors don’t go hungry during these cold winter months.
CRC Watersheds - April
CRC Watersheds Association’s mission is to support, encourage and promote the enjoyment, restoration, conservation, protection and prudent management of the natural resources of the Chester, Ridley, and Crum Creek Watersheds. Our dedication to this task comes from many individual sources but ultimately derives from our understanding that all of life is connected through a complex web of interrelationships sustained by water.
The Phily Goat Project - March
The Philly Goat Project (PGP), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Its mission is to provide education, therapy, job training, wellness and engagement with the dynamic and delightful capacities of goats. PGP was created to provide opportunities for urban residents to connect to nature in a novel way by using goats. It is the first city-based multi-service goat program in the United States, providing animal-assisted therapy and wellness events, environmental and educational experiences, and community engagement. PGP's barn is on the grounds of Awbury Arboretum, a historic outdoor space in Philadelphia’s East Germantown neighborhood that is free and open to the public 365 days a year.
PALS (Pet Adoption and Lifecare Society) - February
Pet Adoption and Lifecare Society (PALS), a non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of animals. They place over 300 cats into loving homes every year. The animals are temporarily cared for in foster homes until they can be adopted into new homes. Pets receive veterinary care, including vaccinations and testing, and are spayed or neutered. PALS is a true no-kill organization. PALS is funded through donations and by the proceeds of the Black Cat Café in Devon which is mostly run by volunteers. MLUC’s donations will go towards the veterinary fund which provides care for the animals until they are adopted. The organization aligns with UU principle #7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. https://www.palscatrescue.org/
Upper Merion Area Community Cupboard (UMACC) - January
UMACC Is a food pantry open to anyone who lives within the Upper Merion School District and is hungry or food insufficient. The UMACC is a collaborative and empathetic community response of schools, municipalities, businesses, faith communities and caring neighbors. Their hope is to strengthen their most vulnerable neighbors through food supplementation. Their mission is two-fold: to meet the needs of the food insufficient within the community with compassion and hospitality and to instigate greater depths of awareness, compassion and connection within the community.