On November 15th, Pennoni President and CEO Anthony Bartolomeo was honored at the 8th Annual Fall Fest to benefit Uplift Center for Grieving Children at Vie in Philadelphia, PA. Uplift is based in Philadelphia, PA and helps children heal and grow through their grief while strengthening families, communities and professionals’ understanding of how best to respond to their needs.
Tony is a proud supporter of Uplift and gave a speech at the event on the power of helping others. He said, “I believe significance is when you add value to the life of others. Uplift provides critical services to young people in need in our community, making caring and compassion the centerpieces of their mission. Whatever change we desire in this world, creating that change in our own communities is something we should strive to do.
Last year, Uplift provided free grief support to more than 1,100 children and youth directly in grief groups and post-crisis response. 40% of these youths lost a loved one to homicide, suicide, or overdose. Uplift is providing a critical resource in the City of Philadelphia for these children. This year’s Fall Fest raised more than $250,000.
Darcy Krause, Executive Director of Uplift Center for Grieving Children explained the significance of the money raised, saying, “One in seven children in the Philadelphia Metro area will lose a parent or sibling by the time they reach age 25. Looking at this from a snapshot perspective over the course of a decade, this is more than 190,000 children, or 60,000 more people than could be seated in the Wells Fargo Center, Lincoln Financial Filed, and Citizens Bank Park, combined. And this staggering number doesn’t even take into consideration the loss of non-parent caregivers and other meaningful adults and friends in children’s lives.”
She went on to thank Tony, saying, “Tony embodies what it means to be a Philadelphia philanthropist. He gives his time and resources to make a difference for non-profits like Uplift. While Tony has endured his own losses, he is using these experiences to bring hope and support to others. We are so privileged to call Tony a friend of our organization and are so thankful for his assistance in making this our most successful Fall Fest to date.”
Please consider joining us in support of Uplift and making a donation this Giving Tuesday. Your donation will directly support Philadelphia’s grieving youth. To make a donation please visit https://grievingchildren.org/donate/.