May 2018 News and Updates from Philadelphia Chapter

We are introducing new events for the first time which we are sure are going to be blockbusters. Our committee members have done a great job planning, organizing and putting on those programs for your enjoyment. I would like to mention two such events.

On Saturday, May 5th The Philadelphia Chapter's Giving Circle, Forever Fabulous Fashion Show and Silent Auction at Joan Shepp Women's Clothing.

On Saturday June 2nd The Philadelphia Chapter celebrates our 10-Year Anniversary . The Celebration planning committees put together a wonderful list of reasons for everyone to join us.

Let's make this the best celebration ever ...

Here are 10 good reasons to CELEBRATE(S):

C	COME join the party as we COMMEMORATE a decade of TTN CONNECTIONS and help us CREATE a bright future for our CHAPTER.
E	ENJOY a delicious Saturday morning brunch an d signature drinks on the famed Moshulu Tall Ship, an EXCITING venue.
L	LAUGH out LOUD with old and new friends you've met along your TTN journey.
E	EXPERIENCE a TTN social interaction that will get you out of the house and stimulate your physical and mental health!
B	BRING your Peer Group or SIG or other TTN neighborhood friends. Or someone you think would be interested in TTN as your guest.
R	REMOVE any obstacles on your calendar for June 2nd and REGISTER right away.
A	AWESOME AUTHOR of "I Dare Me", Lu Ann Cahn, will delight and inspire you as our Keynote Speaker.
T	TRANSITIONS for all Members are easier to get through when shared and lead to new growth.
E	EMBRACE the friendships, connections and EXPERIENCES that you have with TTN.

We can't do this without YOU! Don't miss the opportunity to celebrate this TTN milestone.

I look forward to greeting you soon...

Warm Regards,

Fatima Class

Chair, TTN Philadelphia

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Giving Circle: Fashion Show & Silent Auction May 5

Come and bring your friends to the Forever Fabulous Fashion Show and Silent Auction at Joan Shepp Women's Clothing, May 5. Come any time between 12 and 3. The store is at 1811 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

This is a free event and refreshments will be served. You'll watch TTN members model Joan's beautiful clothes and meet John Wind, jewelry designer. All guests are welcome! This event is to benefit TTN's Giving Circle.

Read this article in this past Sunday's Inquirer about our 2016 grantee, New Leash on Life, to see an example of the great work our Giving Circle does.

SILENT AUCTION NEWS: This is a great opportunity to find a great gift - at a great price. Maybe a Mother's Day gift for yourself or someone you love!

Here are some silent auction items you can bid on:

Many Philadelphia restaurant gift certificates
Hair Salon items and services
Tickets to music events
An original oil painting by our own Joan Zylkin
Three separate vacations stays: One in Cape Cod, one at a luxury resort in Utah and one at a Marriott of your choice for one week.

Click here to find out more.

Come prepared to bid, bring your friends and plan on having a fun afternoon at this exquisite store. The bidding on most items will close 2:30 so you'll want to hang around and get in that last bid. You do not have to be present to win.

Hope to see you at this afternoon of fun, fashion and giving back!

Contact Giving Circle Chair Susan Vineberg to get involved with The Giving Circle.

Giving Together Makes A Difference!

Transition Peer Groups: An Appreciation

Women often ask "Why join a Peer Group?'

We enter each other's lives, connect, talk, laugh, share and impact each other in so many ways. And when we lose someone, we can reflect on what they brought into our lives and the life of our group.

An Appreciation

-- Linda Hart Scatton

Founder and Liaison,

Mercer-Bucks TTN Peer Group

Our TTN Peer Group lost one of its founding members and a resident spark plug in April.

Members contribute in many ways, but Donna Garcia, who helped start our Mercer-Bucks Peer Group in September 2011, was a special case.

I met her at a TTN Philadelphia Chapter event in the fall of 2011, when I was thinking about forming a peer group in our area along the Delaware River (covering Bucks County PA and Mercer County NJ). Donna immediately warmed to the idea, suggested several women she could add to my list of potential invitees, and offered to host our first meeting at her home.

From that time forward, her impact on our group was considerable. She had a questioning mind, she challenged assumptions without offending, and was always a source of new ideas.

Donna was kind and caring. She was the one who suggested our service project, made the inquiries and figured out how we could do it. We now regularly prepare, pack and transport lunch bags to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK). A committed vegan, Donna had many funny meat-centric family stories to tell during our discussions: she raised our awareness, but never preached.

During a period when her financial situation made her examine more closely what she was spending her money on, she dropped out of TTN. She returned a year or so later because she missed the friendship and stimulation of our peer group. In the interim she'd given a lot of thought to the relationship between a Peer Group and its parent chapter, and this was something our group discussed in depth when she returned.

Donna was a fierce spirit. She fought her cancer with everything she had, and when she could no longer fight, our group members responded with the kindness and care that she had always extended to us. We were lucky to have her.

More information about Peer Groups.

SIG Corner:
New SIGs This Month

Ah, May at last! And two new SIGS are getting off the ground this month.

Film Fans, the second movie group based at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, held its organizational meeting on April 19th and will see its first film in May. If you'd like to join this group that meets the third Monday of the month at BMFI, please contact Rebecca Clement at [email protected].

Photography Walk, a group that will gather to shoot pictures and talk photography, is holding its organizational meeting on May 8th. This is your chance to get in on the ground floor of a new type of SIG. No photography experience necessary. To participate, contact Joanne Bowes at [email protected].

See all our SIGs!

Contact Joanne Bowes if you have SIG questions or suggestions for new groups. Join us!

Volunteer Opportunties: Read by 4th Discussion Panelists Selected

Join us June 4, 2018, at a panel sponsored by TTN to meet Jenny Bogoni, Executive Director of Read by 4th, and learn about the strategy and partnerships that have contributed to their success.

Representatives from organizations that have successfully taught Philadelphia children to read and write will describe their accomplishments and the challenges they currently face.

Our lively discussion will provide great ideas to them and community members who want to become involved.

Panelists will represent:

Philadelphia Reading Coaches: Part of the new Out of School Time (OST) Initiative, this program pairs trained volunteers with students in grades K - 3 to offer fun and child-guided reading experiences, as well as 25 free books, to each student.

Mighty Writers : Located in four neighborhoods throughout the city, Mighty Writers offers daily afterschool academies, long- and short-term writing classes, teen scholar programs, mentorships, College Prep courses and college essay writing classes.

Historic Fair Hill: Uses the burial ground of human rights activists to carry forward their work for justice and peace through greening and community events. Forming school partnerships, they donate books and send literacy volunteers to neighborhood schools.

West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC): WePAC's mission is to promote childhood literacy by engaging volunteers in Philadelphia public schools through re-opening and staffing libraries and academic mentoring.

This is the first of several TTN programs that will explore the issues resulting in Philadelphia having the highest percentage of people living in poverty among all major US cities.

Read by 4th is a citywide effort of over 90 organizations, public and private, convened by the Free Library of Philadelphia. The goal of this initiative is to significantly increase the number of students in Philadelphia who read on grade level at the end of 3rd grade.