VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH
March 2010:
Volunteer since 1998
February 2010: Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
January 2010: |
AVAILABLE CASES
Please click here for a list of available cases that offer you an opportunity to help low income Philadelphians with critical
legal issues.
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ANNUAL REPORT
Philadelphia VIP's 2008/2009 Annual Report is now available online. Read about the impact of VIP's supporters on low-income Philadelphians in the past two years here!
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STAFF NOTE
Case Status Reports
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Tanya Rambert, our CSI (Case Status Investigator), calls on all volunteers to complete their case status reports so VIP can: - Track client outcomes
- Provide high-quality technical support
- Collect data for funding & statistical purposes
- Prepare training programs
- Develop more resources & in-kind services
- Monitor legal strategies on cases to assist volunteers
These things are vitally important in achieving excellence in our work. We spend an enormous amount of time following up with volunteers who do not respond. When you receive your NEXT status report, please remember you are helping to further our mission by reporting your case outcome.
Help CSI Tanya crack these cases! To complete your status report, click here!
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SAY YES!
Take advantage of this opportunity to invest in Philadelphia VIP. VIP
can in turn say YES to clients to help them break the cycle of
poverty or exploitation, overcome obstacles, and navigate complex
issues.
Give to VIP!
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Letter from Executive Director
Margaret Mead said to "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
With over 1,200 volunteers helping VIP clients, we are changing the world.
On March 10th, VIP honored its outstanding volunteers from 2009 in a lovely ceremony at City Hall attended by over 150 friends. The annual awards ceremony is our chance to say thank you to those outstanding firms, individuals and corporations who provided extraordinary service in 2009. It is always a difficult decision to determine the award winners because we have so many eligible candidates.
All of VIP's volunteers deserve awards-we are so grateful for your service! Recently, a VIP client said of her experience "My lawyer put herself in my shoes about the hard time I was having. She did her best and she saved my home for me and my children." Our volunteers are making a daily impact on our clients' lives.
Every volunteer plays a critically important part in achieving access to justice for low-income Philadelphians. Thank you for saying yes.
Sincerely,
Sara Woods
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Standing Up for Seniors:
Leonard's Success Story
When the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association committed to take 100 VIP cases a year, Robert L. Sachs, Jr. enlisted his firm Schrager,
Spivey & Sachs to help fulfill the commitment. For the past two years, Schrager,
Spivey & Sachs has represented some of VIP's older clients in nursing home collections cases. Robert relates to the clients because he remembers the pressure of the admissions process when his father was admitted to a nursing home. "Even as a lawyer, there was no way I could review the large stack of paperwork...I understand that at no time do [the clients] dream or even consider that they are signing over their rights, allowing the nursing home to collect on their personal assets."
 Chad J. Galvin, an associate at Schrager,
Spivey & Sachs, shares Robert's compassion for low-income Philadelphians in nursing home collections cases. Chad says, "VIP clients are the most thankful and the most appreciative clients that I've ever met. They are also the ones with the most need." He steps up to fulfill those needs by researching medical records, verifying statutes of limitations, attending arbitration hearings, coordinating with the Department of Welfare, and ultimately ensuring that every VIP client is helped. Shrager, Spivey and Sachs' relentless pursuit of justice for VIP's clients has helped many people like Leonard Wilcox.* Leonard is a double amputee who was injured at work in a factory. When Leonard's Worker's Compensation was reduced, the nursing home did not lower the amount he paid each month. The nursing home sued Leonard, and his family paid $4,000 out of their own limited income to try to make sure Leonard continued to receive the medical care he desperately needed. However, the nursing home continued with the suit. Chad volunteered to represent Leonard. After hours of litigation, he ensured that the nursing home dismissed the case against Leonard and Belinda without prejudice. Robert says, "We cannot, as lawyers, allow the system that we are trained in to take advantage of people in our community."
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Saving homes, saving families: Spotlight on TD Bank
VIP is proud to highlight the great work of its signature corporate partner, TD Bank. The partnership between VIP and TD Bank arose out of a mutual commitment to prevent homelessness by helping low-income Philadelphians remain in their homes.
TD Bank, one of the 15 largest
commercial banking organizations in the United States, has made over
$53 million in charitable donations. The TD Charitable Foundation hosts the "Housing for Everyone" Grant Competition that draws hundred of proposals from nonprofits from Maine to Florida that produce projects that
help to stabilize the housing environment in communities where TD Bank
does business. VIP won the competition two years in a row. In 2008, VIP received a $50,000 grant to further its mortgage foreclosure efforts. In 2009, VIP won the top prize, and TD Bank invested $100,000 in VIP's work to save homes in Philadelphia.
"Now more than ever there is a need to help families stay in their
houses and protect our neighborhoods from the effects of foreclosure
and abandonment," said Elizabeth K. Warn, President of the TD
Charitable Foundation and Executive Vice President of Community
Development for TD Bank.
VIP is at the forefront of mitigating the housing crisis in Philadelphia by securing pro bono legal representation for hundreds of low-income homeowners facing homelessness and foreclosure. VIP is a key partner in Philadelphia's historic Residential Mortgage Diversion Program, where approximately 1,400 homes have been saved since the Spring of 2008. VIP volunteer attorneys achieved an outstanding 81% success rate in keeping people in their homes in 2009. With the grant from our corporate partner TD Bank, VIP will continue its successful efforts to prevent homelessness and secure housing for low-income Philadelphians.
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| QUARTERLY STATISTICS |
January - March 2010
New Clients Receiving Assistance: 239
Volunteers Providing Service: 271
Requests for Assistance: 422
Volunteers Needed for Open Cases: 151
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*Clients'
names have been change to protect their anonymity. Stock photography was also used.
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