Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation

 

The Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation was the first local organization to address breast cancer as a serious and widespread disease threatening the lives of women living in the Delaware Valley. The Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation empowers women and their families to talk about breast cancer, learn about it, and take control of their health and their lives. Our motto is "We will be there...until breast cancer is not."

 

The Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation was founded in 1987 by a core of friends and family of Linda Creed, a Philadelphia songwriter who died at the age of 37 after waging a 10-year battle with breast cancer. Dedicated to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer, with the goal of reducing unnecessary suffering and death associated with this disease, the new organization immediately identified a strong, unmet community need: free mammography screenings for women who were uninsured or under-insured.

 

To date, more than 15 hospitals have participated in the program, which has screened over 8,000 women. As the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation grew, it engaged professional staff, and programs were created not only and to provide free mammography screening to uninsured women, but also to educate women about breast health.

 

For further information go to: www.lindacreed.org.

Main Line Animal Rescue

 

In the world of animal welfare, Main Line Animal Rescue continues to leave its mark. Every year our organization rescues and finds homes for hundreds of unwanted companion animals. All of our dogs and cats are spayed or neutered prior to placement and receive any and all necessary medical care. MLAR is also proud to be able to help so many animals with special needs. And once an animal passes through our adoption programs, we are responsible for them for life. In fact, we insist that if for any reason the adoptive family cannot keep their pet, he or she must be returned to us for re-homing.

 

We also are leading the fight to improve conditions for thousands of dogs in Pennsylvania's puppy factories. Four of our Anti-Puppy Mill billboards are now educating drivers along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and we also placed one outside St. Louis, Missouri, a state that harbors more Puppy Mills than any other state in the country. By raising public awareness to the plight of Puppy Mill dogs, we hope to inspire the changes needed to end their suffering.

 

It is also true that MLAR rescues and places many dogs from some of the worst Puppy Mills in Pennsylvania. We also accept pets from private surrenders and we re-home strays. But the majority of our animals come to us from other Rescues or SPCAs. We take them when other shelters become too overcrowded or if they have a dog or cat that requires special veterinary care and cannot afford their treatment.

 

As Main Line Animal Rescue approaches its ten year anniversary, we look back with warm memories of the thousands of animals we have been able to help. And we look ahead with excitement to the many opportunities offered to our volunteers. The work is difficult, but MLAR can't help but renew its commitment to our four-legged friends every time we look into the eyes of an animal in need.

 

For further information go to: www.mlar.org

 

Northern Children's Services

 

Since 1853, Northern Children's Services has continually provided a safe haven for children and a safety net for children and families facing extraordinary challenges.

 

Through the provision of family, school and community-based services and supports, Northern Home directly affects the lives of nearly 3,000 children a year, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds.

 

When a child in need surfaces in the courts, in school disciplinary actions, or in various city agencies, the traditional response has been intervention - saving the child from himself, or from the potential danger he poses to others.

 

Northern Children's Services chooses to see the child as a messenger of the extraordinary challenges facing today's children and families in the community. Northern Children's is dedicated, now, and as it perceives and plans its future initiatives, to providing, developing or accessing services that can support healthy, productive, and responsible lives for our neighbors throughout the Delaware Valley.

 

Our vision relies on clinical, educational and supportive services that enable the child to grow toward self-sufficient adulthood in a family that is strengthened and engaged, and in a school and community that offers resources for positive experiences. That vision always begins with the child.

 

Our treatment programs are customized for each individual's specific needs and are designed to help each child discover his own authentic abilities and strengths - the positive behaviors that we can support and reinforce. Apart from medical indications, we use behavior as the guideline for therapy, education, assistance, and guidance not only for these youth, but also for their families.

 

While our desire is to help our consumers achieve their potential, we seek shared responsibility for outcomes. We ask commitment from the child and, when possible, from the family, believing that if we trust people to become accountable individuals and give them the resources, education, and support to succeed, they very likely will.

 

For further information go to: www.northernchildren.org