Newsroom - Achieveability

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Volunteers needed to pick up text books

Live or work in the Radnor area? Have a large truck or vehicle? Or want to help give single parents the tools they need to reach self-sufficiency? Due to limited resources, ACHIEVEability is in need of a volunteer to help us pick up 200 text books in Radnor, PA by the end of February. The text books will be used by our clients seeking help with their college course work. If you are interested and want to learn more, please contact Stephani Peters at 215-748-8804.

Join us for a night in Marrakech: a Special night to Benefit ACHIEVEability!

Come to our spring gala on MARCH 13, at URBN at the Navy Yard for a live auction, gala dinner, and kasbah after hours lounge.  For more information conact Sue Jacquette at 215-748-8830, or email sue.jacquette@achieveability.org.  Hope to see you there!

TUTORS NEEDED!

This Spring, ACHIEVEability is looking for tutors to help single-parents with GED preparation and college assignments. All subject specialties are welcomed, including, homework help for children. Volunteers must complete a volunteer application and attend a tutoring training session, which will be held once a month.

Please note that we ask all volunteers to submit a Pennsylvania State Criminal Record Check and Child Abuse Clearance (for those working with children) to ensure the safety of our clients and staff.

For more information, please contact Stephani Peters at 215-748-8804 or stephani.peters@achieveability.org.

A Special Ribbon Cutting for PROJECT PHOENIX

[Photo Tiger Productions, courtesy Philadelphia OHCD]

Friends, neigbors and supporters came out to participate in a dedication ceremony for Project Phoenix, a joint venture between ACHIEVEability, Urban Outfitters and a coalition of area churches including Mt. Carmel Baptist Church to increase the supply of affordable housing while improving housing stock in West Philadelphia. 

Completely rehabilitated homes that were once blights in the neigborhood as abandoned homes, are now targeted to low- to moderate-income Philadelphians as first time homebuyers.  These three-bedroom homes listed for sale at $60,000 to $119,000 feature central air, hardwood floors, new windows and modern kitchens with ceramic tile. One of the homes also has a garage.

"We are proud to introduce four new affordable homes into our community," said Marcus Allen, CEO, ACHIEVEability. “Since our inception ACHIEVEability has developed hundreds of units of affordable housing. The creation of Project Phoenix enables us to continue helping Philadelphia families break the cycle of poverty and achieve upward mobility and self-sufficiency.”

Project Phoenix is the first of the three-phase West Philadelphia Urban Housing Project. The second phase will provide 10 more affordable homes in 2010 and the third will result in a 24-unit-affordable-housing development by 2012. The project was funded by a combination of federal and private funds.

Wyeth Employees go above and beyond for ACHIEVEability

Wyeth’s Meeting Planning & Travel Team started a relationship with ACHIEVEability by painting the inside of an ACHIEVEability home. When Wyeth painters learned that the homes were furnished through donations, they immediately volunteered to collect items. While their goal was to furnish only one room, they were able to collect items for every room on the ACHIEVEability checklist (click here to download checklist). The team presented the items to a new ACHIEVEability homeowner, Michele Wesley, and her three daughters on August 12, 2009.

ACHIEVEability families have a day they won't soon forget

Some of our ACHIEVEability client families attended World Team Tennis in King of Prussia on Monday, July 20th to watch some tennis and meet tennis great Billie Jean King.  Thanks to Fidelity Investments King of Prussia Investor Center, each child recieved a new tennis racket, which will come in handy when the ACHIEVEability youth tennis camp starts up next week!  Kids aged 5 to 18 will be participating in a week long camp to learn, practice and play tennis.