For Immediate Release
February 16, 2022
BRIAN DAWKINS IS TEAMING UP WITH CARING PEOPLE ALLIANCE TO CHAMPION PHILADELPHIA CHILDREN FROM SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES
In a Step Toward Breaking the Cycle of Immobility & Poverty, New Grant Will Help Single Parents Provide their Tweens and Teens with Extracurricular Programs
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia Eagles legend and NFL Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins grew up in a stable home in a community filled with instability. He began and ended his career in Philadelphia, and maintains that the city was important to his development as a leader and team player. Now, Dawkins is showing his gratitude and affection for his adoptive city by helping to level the playing field for disadvantaged Philly youth–opening the door for them to succeed and lead. This week, the Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation (BDIF) and Caring People Alliance (CPA), a Philadelphia non-profit dedicated to reducing poverty and injustice, will launch the Single Parent Families Program. Funded by a restricted donation from BDIF, and solely administered by CPA, the program will offer grants of up to $1,000 for enrichment activities to children ages 8-18 from single parent families in CPA’s network.
CPA serves families in three Philadelphia neighborhoods that are hardest hit by poverty and violence–North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia and South/Southwest Philadelphia—and in which children are most at risk. The organization provides families with free and subsidized childcare and preschool, after school care, teen programming, summer camp, and elder programming, through Boys & Girls Clubs in these neighborhoods. Dawkins’ experiences growing up in an underserved community inspired his desire to take action to help strengthen families. Both the Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation and Caring People Alliance believe that to help a child, you must support the system in which they live.
“Single parent families face an additional set of challenges as they support a household–often, on one income–which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Through this program, we want to support parents who are working hard to help their children get ahead in life, but could use additional financial resources to do so,” said BDIF founder and president Brian Dawkins. “Youth enrichment and education opportunities are a vital means of helping families break generational cycles of poverty and the Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation is proud to launch the program in Philadelphia.”
BDIF is providing an initial restricted donation of $15,000 to fund up to 30 grants. CPA will administer the grants, which will allow low-income single parents to provide increased opportunity for their children. Parents can apply for up to $1,000 per child for an activity they believe will directly benefit their child’s wellbeing and attainment. This gives families the agency to align the grant to their child’s individual needs and interests, be it academics, athletics, or the arts. Grants can also support vocational pursuits and mental wellness needs.
“Eighty-two percent of the children we serve live in poverty, which can adversely affect their mental health, self-efficacy, self-image, and motivation, as well as their access to resources for social mobility,” said Jerry Macdonald, PhD, president and CEO of Caring People Alliance. “Sixty-two percent of our school-age children come from single-parent families. These children are missing out on numerous opportunities to explore their interests and build their skills because their families simply can’t afford it. We are excited by the opportunities the Single Parent Families Program will open up for these children.”
“We chose to partner with Caring People Alliance, because it is already a trusted community resource for marginalized children and families in Philadelphia,” said Dawkins. “This alliance will help us reach the children most in need of these grants.”
About The Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation
Launched in 2019, the Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation (BDIF) was created with the mission to provide inspiration, education and resources to youth, families and communities in need. Leveraging the values and knowledge Dawkins gained over his lifetime–as a person and an NFL Hall of Fame player–the Foundation seeks to help disadvantaged young people while also promoting spiritual, cerebral and physical wellness. Grounded with a belief in community, education, family and wellness, its holistic programs align with the values of: Communication and Self-Awareness, Drive and Passion, Discipline, Education and Accountability. BDIF beneficiaries have experienced hardship and possess unrealized potential, but have the desire to make positive decisions in life and just need hope and support to make it happen.
About Caring People Alliance
For 90 years, Caring People Alliance has been committed to ensuring Philadelphia’s most marginalized youth can achieve academic success and prepare for college or a career. Dedicated to reducing poverty and injustice, Caring People Alliance nurtures positive child and youth development and encourages family stability. With centers in three of Philadelphia’s most impoverished neighborhoods, the organization empowers children to become positive citizens, decision-makers, and leaders by providing them, their families, and their elders with high quality, community-based programs and services that promote character building, educational achievement, healthy lifestyles and teamwork. In 1937, Caring People Alliance was granted a charter for the first Philadelphia chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The organization now operates three Boys & Girls Clubs, as well as child care, preschool, afterschool and teen programs, summer camps, and older adult programs.
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