Bridging Philly

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact reporter Racquel Williams spotlights the Philadelphia Lullaby Project, which is now entering its 4th year. The project pairs new parents with local musicians to craft lullabies for their little ones. It’s presented by World Café Live in Partnership with Carnegie Hall. 

The newsmaker of the week is Erica Hawkins, award winning documentary film maker, who talks with KYW's Shara Dae Howard about the work and recently winning an Edward R. Murrow award.

The Philly Rising changemaker of the week is DadLab Director Dr. Jay Cherney, who talks with KYW's Antionette Lee about the work DadLab is doing to support new dads and dads-to-be.

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams talks with members of The Elevation Project of Philadelphia. The Elevation Project offers a supportive space for the formerly incarcerated and those at risk of incarceration.

This week's Newsmaker has been named one of Philadelphia's cultural treasures by the Ford Foundation. Vashti Dubois, founder of the Colored Girls Museum, talks with KYW's Shara Dae Howard.

Our Philly Rising Changemaker is Ryan Harris, who talks with KYW's Antionette Lee about his work heading up a local non-profit dedicated to gun violence prevention.

Today on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams talks with the authors of the book, "White Fragility: Why Understanding Racism Can Be So Hard For White People." It's written by Robin D'Angelo and adapted by Toni Graves Williamson, the director of equity and inclusion at Friends select School in Philadelphia, and Ali Michael.

Today's News Maker is Haneef Hill, founder of Urban Youth Kings and Queens. Born and raised in Philly, he founded Urban Youth Kings and Queens as a safe haven for neighborhood kids in Germantown and Mount Airy. Now the organization serves hundreds of kids all over the city through education and sports programs

Our Philly Rising Changemaker is Nikki Bagby from the nonprofit A Humbled Heart.

The School District of Philadelphia recently announced its commitment to invest an additional $1.7M to support District paraprofessionals to become teachers. In collaboration with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the Paraprofessional Grow Your Own program covers the full cost of tuition and provides additional support so participants graduate debt-free and earn a bachelor’s degree and a teaching role in the District. We're joined by Philadelphia schools superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington and Larisa Shambaugh, Chief Talent Officer for the School District of Philadelphia.

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams speaks with Care Not Control, a Philly nonprofit working to end juvenile incarceration. They just released a new project that puts their message to music.

For the Newsmaker of the Week, KYW's Shara Dae Howard introduces us to Imperfect Gallery, an artist run gallery opened in 2012 in Germantown. They welcome the community to connect and grow together through conversations around art and well as civic engagement. This election season, they doubled down on that mission.

The Philly Rising Changemaker is David Evans, a father, realtor, part-time coach with Philadelphia Youth Basketball, and concerned citizen. Local politics first piqued his interest with a question: How could he get speed bumps installed in his North Philadelphia neighborhood for the safety of his 11-year-old son who plays outside? KYW's Antionette Lee follows his story.

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams speaks with Mazzie Casher and Steven Pickens of Philly Truce, a violence prevention group working tirelessly to stave the gun violence in Philadelphia.

The newsmaker this week is Beyond Literacy, a group in Philadelphia working to raise the literacy levels in the city. KYW's Shara Dae Howard learned how the organization aims to increase good outcomes for Philadelphia children by improving literacy in the home and in schools.

The Philly Rising Changemaker of the week is eight-year-old Gideon Ansah, who goes by the stage name “Star Jr.”. He's been DJing for most of his life, and KYW's Antionette Lee explains how he fulfilled his civic duty this past Election Day by using his love for music to bring beats to a West Philly polling location. 

This week on Bridging Philly, KYW community impact reporter Racquel Williams speaks with Rachel Honore and Anne Kennan of Literacy and More. Literacy and More is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide access to community resources for the empowerment of Philadelphia families living in resource-scarce areas.

Our newsmaker this week is Christine Brunson, founder of Purple House Project PA, a local nonprofit focused on strengthening women fallen victim to domestic violence. She tells KYW's Shara Dae Howard that her approach is one of connection and expansion with an emphasis on holistic healing.

This week's Philly Rising changemaker is 8-year-old Addie Auth, a leukemia survivor who made a video to cheer on the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

LUCY Camden (or Lifting Up Camden's Youth) is a comprehensive after-school and summer youth mentoring program. KYW Community Impact reporter Racquel Williams visited their state of the art, renovated space to find out more about the work they're doing and what's in store for the organization.

The Newsmaker of the week is Joss Duncan Asé, the founder of a new multimedia platform that focuses on lifting up communities across the city. She’s recently been recognized by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists as a trailblazer for her new take on reporting local news, and she talks with KYW's Shara Dae Howard.

This week's Philly Rising Changemaker is Maureen Carreno. During the pandemic, Maureen Carreno of Delaware County became known as “Souper Mummum,” sharing her soup recipes on Facebook and meals with the community. The weekly soup drive-bys have ended, but the giving hasn’t. Lately, Carreno has been using her passion and talent for cooking to help families fleeing abuse at the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County, as KYW's Antionette Lee reports.

This week on Bridging Philly, Racquel Williams talks with Kathy Rafter, Cara Gimble and Cait Pringle from Abington Senior High School. The school has two programs for young adults, ages 18-21, with IEPs, or Individualized Education Programs. ACTIVE academy and STRIVE utilizes the classroom and community to teach students vocational, travel training, and independent living skills. Students are given opportunities to practice these skills in the classroom, at their job site, and in the community.

Our newsmaker this week is Nile Livingston, a public muralist with deep Philly roots. She uses her community connections to inform her work while also using her art as a form of representation for those same communities. Recently she’s gotten a lot of attention for two high profile mural commissions at both the children’s hospital of Philadelphia and another in the Gayborhood.

This week's Philly Rising Changemaker is Dr. Bernadette Wheeler. By day, she is a gynecologist at the University of Pennsylvania. But Wheeler says her passion is the nonprofit store named in honor of her son Eric, who has Down syndrome. You can find Something Different by Eric at 814 W. Lancaster Ave., where the goal is not to make a profit, but to create a community.

Today on Bridging Philly, Racquel Williams talks with two Philadelphia women who decided to take a DNA test to trace their ancestry and they got way more than they bargained for. Lisa Swyer and Donna Garey learned their true identities and reached out to Right To Know, a national support group founded by Kara Rubinstein Deyerin and Alecia Weiss. The group helps individuals who learn their true identity after using popular DNA testing kits.

The Newsmaker of the week is Dr. Monique Gary, a breast cancer surgeon and local LGBTQ activist of color. Dr. Gary recently established a foundation to encourage healing in a more wholistic way, through farming. She talks with Shara Dae Howard about the foundation. Find out more at https://www.stillrisefarms.com.

The Philly Rising Changemaker is YEAH Philly, the Youth Empowerment Advancement Hangout. Antionette Lee speaks with Kendra Van De Water, executive director and co-founder of YEAH Philly.