Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Grants

John Martin Trust: Grants for Friends with Financial Need

Written on:

Purpose and History of the Trust

The John Martin Trust (JMT) of the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia exists to aid financially needy Friends in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. It gives aid through the Monthly Meetings, not directly to individuals.

Elizabeth Simms, a seamstress and once a servant of William Penn, married John Martin, a Quaker tailor. Penn gave Simms the property at 320 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, on which she and her husband built a small stone cottage. John Martin inherited this property from his wife, and at his death in 1702, left it to the Monthly Meeting of Friends of Philadelphia (now at 4th and Arch Streets) to be used to assist poor and necessitous Friends.

[Read more…] about John Martin Trust: Grants for Friends with Financial Need

Willits Book Trust Participates in A Community Reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 4 Speech

Written on:

As a representative of the Willits Book Trust Committee, a grantmaking group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Lisa Stewart Garrison, a member of Greenwich Friends Meeting in Salem Quarter, was invited to take part in a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ “4th of July Speech” sponsored by the National Park Service and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

[Read more…] about Willits Book Trust Participates in A Community Reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 4 Speech

Travel and Witness Grant: Elom Tettey-Tamaklo’s Travel to Ramallah, Palestine

Written on:

PYM’s Travel and Witness Granting Group makes grants to support active service and witness by individuals following leadings of the Spirit. Recent grants help illustrate the types of travel and projects that bear witness to the overall granting mission of the Travel and Witness Granting Group. We write about one particular grant recipient today – to Elom Tettey-Tamaklo. Elom has been awarded two travel grants to visit the Isreal – Palestine region.

[Read more…] about Travel and Witness Grant: Elom Tettey-Tamaklo’s Travel to Ramallah, Palestine

Friends Emily and Julia Visit the Friends International Bilingual Center in La Paz, Bolivia

Written on:

The Friends International Bilingual Center (FIBC) is a Bolivian program that offers educational programs for children, young people, and adults in la Paz, Bolivia. Their programming is focused around human value and Quaker principles, and participants experience spiritual and intellectual growth centered in the belief that there is that of God in everyone.

[Read more…] about Friends Emily and Julia Visit the Friends International Bilingual Center in La Paz, Bolivia

Travel & Witness Grant Report: Friends Reflect on Travel in Ghana

Written on:

In August of 2019, Vanessa Julye of Central Philadelphia Meeting led a group of Quakers to Ghana to explore the histories of Ghana and the United States. The trip, part of Vanessa’s 25-year ministry to address White Supremacy within the Religious Society of Friends, provided people of all races an opportunity to have critical conversations about history.

[Read more…] about Travel & Witness Grant Report: Friends Reflect on Travel in Ghana

PYM’s Willits Book Trust Committee Honors Storytellers and Bridge Builders of the Underground Railroad

Written on:

The Willits Book Trust Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting presented books to a number of participants who attended “Crossings: Bridging the Authentic Underground Railroad Past to the Present,” a training event in Niagara, New York Sept. 11th – 14th, 2019, sponsored by the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State, the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, and the Association for the Study of African American Life. [Read more…] about PYM’s Willits Book Trust Committee Honors Storytellers and Bridge Builders of the Underground Railroad

Westfield MM Uses Membership Development Grant for Outreach and Quaker Community Building

Written on:

Westfield Meeting received a Membership Development Grant for the purchase of an 8X8 foot pop-up tent, 5-foot-long table, table weights, a tablecloth printed with the “SPICES”, and literature from PYM. The purpose was to attend public events and increase awareness of Quakerism and Westfield Meeting as well as other Meetings; develop cooperative outreach with other Meetings and organizations; and focus members of Westfield Meeting on the need for vigorous outreach. We were to attend six events during the first year of the grant, and keep a tally of direct encounters with members of the public.

[Read more…] about Westfield MM Uses Membership Development Grant for Outreach and Quaker Community Building

Between the Kola Forest and the Salty Sea: Willits Book Trust supports Stories to Heal Liberia

Written on:

In late October 2018, members of the Willits Book Trust of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Walton Burwell of Germantown Monthly Meeting and Lisa Stewart Garrison of Greenwich Monthly Meeting, visited with Dr. Carl Patrick Burrowes to prepare 250 copies of his book Between the Forest and the Salty Sea: A History of the Liberian People Before 1800 to be shipped to Monrovia. The committee enjoyed a delicious Liberian meal while enjoying their work. The boxes of books, a gift from the Willits Book Trust to people in Liberia, have been shipped abroad to coincide with the author’s return to his native land. Dr. Burrowes is visiting parts of Liberia within and beyond Monrovia to present copies of his book to thought leaders, educators, decision makers, and aspiring students. [Read more…] about Between the Kola Forest and the Salty Sea: Willits Book Trust supports Stories to Heal Liberia

The Willits Book Trust Committee presents Books to Cumberland County Students in partnership with the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives

Written on:

On Sept. 28th, 2018, the Willits Book Trust of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting presented copies of the Autobiography of an American Slave to a group of Cumberland County College Equal Opportunity Fund Students at Historic Bethel Othello African Methodist Church in Greenwich, New Jersey. The students were taking part in a Freedom Tour, Freedom Seekers, Free People of Color and Communities of Faith in the Greenwich Area to explore Underground Railroad sites near Delaware Bay. [Read more…] about The Willits Book Trust Committee presents Books to Cumberland County Students in partnership with the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Friends support arrestees at Demand the Ban action outside Senator Toomey’s office in Philadelphia

Written on:

On May 16, 2018, Fran Sheldon (Providence Meeting) and Paul Sheldon (Lansdowne Meeting) participated in a Demand the Ban action in Philadelphia to demand that Senator Toomey co-sponsor Senate Bill 2095 that bans the sale of assault weapons. [Read more…] about Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Friends support arrestees at Demand the Ban action outside Senator Toomey’s office in Philadelphia