Who We Are
The Support Center for Child Advocates provides legal and social
services to our most vulnerable children. It is our mission to
advocate for victims of child abuse and neglect with the goal of securing safety, justice,
well-being and a permanent, nurturing environment for every child.
Donor Choice #535
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Board of Directors
Mark Gittelman, President
PNC Bank
Matthew Siegel, Vice President
Cozen O'Connor
Nicole Friant, Secretary
Duane Morris
Beth Hanssens, Treasurer
Sprout
Board Members
Jeffrey Bagley
Deborah Baird
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Toy Drive 2014!
Our annual Toy Drive is right around the corner! Our site (location TBD) will open on #GivingTuesday (December 2, 2014), and we will be accepting toys and gifts until Wednesday, December 17th. Below are the different ways that you can get involved!
1. Coordinate a toy drive among your family, friends or colleagues. We will send labels for everyone in your group. Each label contains the name, gender and age of an individual child. Your donor shops for one or more kids, affixes the label to the new toys, and you collect the gifts for us. We will arrange a time for you to drop off the gifts at our Toy Drive headquarters. Just let us know how many children you would like!
2. Volunteer at the Toy Drive headquarters to help sort toys during the weeks preceding Delivery Day. We need volunteers to help sort from 12/2-12/19, 9am-5pm (location TBD).
3. Sponsor a family or teen. Make a bigger impact by providing clothing, household items, furniture and other basic needs, along with toys for our more needy families and youth.
4. Help deliver toys to children's homes on 12/20 Delivery Day. Cars begin to line up at 8:00 am at 1900 Cherry Street in Philadelphia. Drivers must register in advance.
Click HERE or contact us at [email protected] or at 267-546-9216 to learn more about all the ways to help.
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Frank Speaks Out Against Child Abuse, Corporal Punishment And Child Trafficking
Over the last month, Frank has been busy writing important op-eds and appearing on television to speak out on corporal punishment in light of the recent Adrian Peters case, and to comment on the impact of child sex trafficking. In case you missed any of these informative pieces, make sure click on the links below.
| Frank with ME TV - October 11, 2014 |
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Meet the Volunteer Attorney: Karen Pohlmann
Karen Pohlmann always had an interest in pro bono work and helping children, so when, as a new attorney at Morgan Lewis, she learned about Child Advocates through her firm, she jumped at the chance to become a Volunteer Child Advocate Attorney, serving abused and neglected children.
At Morgan Lewis, Karen focuses on securities and shareholder litigation and corporate governance issues, including defense of shareholder class actions brought under the federal securities law and derivative suits.
Twenty-three years later, Karen has helped serve the interests of over 17 children and 6 families with Child Advocates. The memories that come with some of those cases still stand out like they happened yesterday. Recalling a particularly touching memory from an adoption hearing, Karen said, "I remember one child who made his adoptive mother wear an outfit that matched his own to show off that they were a family. After the adoption hearing he said, 'Are you my mom now, and they can never take me away? And I'm going to be your son now and forever and ever!' Times like that make the work meaningful."
Karen's advice to lawyers thinking about volunteering with Child Advocates is simple: "Being a good advocate and being persistent can make a huge difference in a child's life. With you to speak for them, the children's odds of ending up somewhere safe and good for them just improved enormously. Nothing else gives you the same reward."
Karen is married with two children. The family also has two mixed-breed dogs that bring them much joy. Karen enjoys yoga, reading and traveling with her family, especially to the beach. In 2006, she was honored as a Distinguished Advocate by Child Advocates and by the Pennsylvania Bar Association for her pro bono work with children. She has been a member of the Child Advocates Volunteer Committee since 2008.
Thank you, Karen, for all your hard work!
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On Wednesday, October 22, Child Advocates' Center for Excellence in Advocacy hosted our full-day training "How to Handle a Child Abuse Case" at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Attendees gained valuable insight and skills from hearing Child Advocates staff and community partners present on critical information, tools, and resources needed to effectively serve children and families involved in the court system.Volunteers are crucial to our mission, and these newly trained Volunteer Child Advocate Attorneys will allow us to change the story for victims of abuse and neglect throughout Philadelphia.
Mark your calendars! The next training is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, 2015..
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Upcoming Events!
Wednesday, December 10th - "Vicarious Trauma and Attorney Burnout" training
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Our Appreciation
Thank you for reading our monthly newsletter. Stay connected on a regular basis through our social media (just click any of the buttons below!) Like us, follow us, and feel free to direct any questions or feedback to Tracy Buchholz. Thanks again for helping us change the story!
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-The Child Advocates Team
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