More than 50% of the children served by Wonderspring’s early childhood programs live in low-income households. To help our staff and partner organizations better understand and address the needs of families with limited resources, Wonderspring hosted a Poverty Simulation attended by approximately 60 representatives of organizations serving children and families. During this eye-opening event, funded by PNC, participants role-played the lives of low-income families trying to obtain basic necessities and shelter during the course of four “15-minute weeks.” In so doing, they interacted with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and others.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, 22 percent of Philadelphians live under the federal poverty rate and nearly 35% of all Philadelphia households bring in less than $35,000. “These are hard-working members of our community who are trying to survive and deserve equitable access to the same opportunities for their children everyone wants,” says Zakiyyah Boone, CEO of Wonderspring. “It’s critical that those of us who serve these families understand the challenges they face on a daily basis so we can not only be more patient and empathetic but also more effectively meet their needs.”

As a follow up to the event, Wonderspring is working with the Enterprise Hub to develop a web-based directory, to help connect families to services and resources they need. Wonderspring is also working to bring resources directly to families.

Wonderspring is committed to retaining qualified teachers and ensuring they have the resources and support they need to be effective and confident in their roles. One way we do this is through continuous professional development and training. This year, a featured part of our Spring In-service was a training on self-care to help our educators better cope with stress and care for their mental health. Other workshops focused on infant and toddler development and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics).

In January, as part of Wonderspring’s ongoing effort to embrace a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment in which all children, staff and families belong, our leadership team completed the year-long Racial Equity Learning Community. This cross-county, multi-sector initiative, brought together a host of nonprofit in Bucks and Montgomery Counties to learn, build relationships, and take action that deepens organizational and collective capacity to advance racial equity and justice. To further that work, we also held an Equitable Governance Workshop for Board Members and staff leadership, which focused on creating a workplace that affirms difference and is relevant to marginalized communities and changing community demographics. Led, by Lucria Ortiz, a longtime advocate for marginalized communities, the workshop covered a range of topics including: anti-racism, challenging the status quo, culture, belonging, achievement, and relationships.