Philadelphia Community Podcast

January is the month where we make our new year’s resolutions. Lose weight, exercise more, you know the drill. And how did that go this year? I’ll be talking with LuAnn Cahn who just might have a terrific way for you to jump start 2021. It’s “Big Wild Dare Workshop: Into the Light 2020 on January 10th https://www.eventbrite.com/e/big-wild-dare-workshop-into-the-light-2021-tickets-130569716537?aff=...

The death of George Floyd has triggered a reckoning in this country and the world around the deeply ingrained systemic racism that is woven into the very fabric of America. I’m always inspired by the scholar and intellectual activist Michael Eric Dyson. We speak about his new book “Long Time coming: Reckoning with Race in America – a passionate call to America to finally face it’s history of racis...

Vanesse Lloyd Sgambati of the Literary joins us for her once a month segment VLS Journeys. Vanesse speaks with award winning children’s book illustrator Gordon C. James. NBC 10 host of “Philly Live,” lifestyle and entertainment reporter Aunyea Lachelle joins Vanesse for the feature “What is Philadelphia Reading?”

You know with all we’ve been through in 2020 it might be easy to forget that we are a generous people. So many have stepped up to help others during this difficult time – We’ll tell you about a group called the 12 Days of Christmas who decided to channel their personal abundance to help make some kids very happy this holiday season. I spoke to Stephanie Mays Boyd, President, Philadelphia Chapter,...

Hope you had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. I missed our recent tradition of going over to my friend LuAnn’s house – who sets a delicious table. Phil I’m going to especially miss your mashed sweet potato casserole. But we are blessed. There are so many struggling during this holiday season because of the pandemic. We’re going to tell you about two ways you can help. A group called the 12 Days...

Thanksgiving is going to look every different this year. Science is telling us that one of the big drivers of COVID-19 infections are small family and social gatherings. So how do we make this Thanksgiving more meaningful in a time when some of us might feel challenged counting our blessings. The American Jewish Committee has a wonderful reader you can download called America’s Table. It’s a guide...

We’re just a few days away from Thanksgiving and wow how much has changed since last year. Most of us won’t be having our traditional family get togethers because of the COVID-19 pandemic and as hard as that is – it’s a good thing. We’ve discovered that most of the COVID-19 infections have been spreading through small family and social gatherings. So how do we make it special? The American Jewish...

It’s been an incredibly stressful six months but I’m here to tell you that what’s helped me navigate these trying times the most - meditation. And when I tell you that I have tried to find the time and patience to meditate for – ever – I finally discovered an app that’s got me into the regular practice of meditating. It’s call ten percent happier – and I speak to the producer of the ten percent ha...

Cheryl Wadlington is a force in the fashion industry but one of her most lasting accomplishments is the founding of Evoluer House a girl mentoring program that was honored by the Obama White House and now is receiving a huge recognition from L’Oréal Paris. https://www.evoluerhouse.org/ Signing up for Medicare can be a confusing process. We chat with Kortney Cruz, Vice President of Sales and Market...

Are you as exhausted as I am after this crazy election week. We’re going to take a break and focus on folks who are doing good in our community. Like Todd Franzen from Gift of Life who shares information on National Donor Sabbath which provides an opportunity to discuss the critical need for organ and tissue donors and encourage organ donor registration in your house of worship https://www.donors1...

Are you as exhausted as I am after this crazy election week. Hmm huh - so we’re going to take a break and focus on folks who are doing good in our community. Like Cheryl Wadlington who has founded a female mentoring program that is so successful she’s being honored by L’Oréal. https://www.evoluerhouse.org/ Or the volunteers who are raising awareness about Alzheimer's disease. https://act.alz.org/s...

Living with a chronic illness can be stressful and overwhelming. For those living with Crohn’s and Colitis it can get in the way of living a full life. We’ll talk with Saul Laurence, Chairman of the Board of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Philadelphia/ Delaware Chapter about the disease and how his organization is offering support and hope . www.philadelphia@crohnscolitisfoundation.org Did yo...

For Vanesse Lloyd Sgambati’s monthly feature “VLS Journeys” she interviews – Bryan Collier illustrator of Dave The Potter. Vanesse also interviews Anne Turner of Hair Du Jour for her segment “What is Philadelphia Reading?” Dawn Jones Roberts is a marathon runner and yet she discovered that she had a life-threatening heart condition that was found in the nick of time. We’ll tell you about her story...

Dawn Jones Roberts is a marathon runner and yet she discovered that she had a life-threatening heart condition that was found in the nick of time. We’ll tell you about her story and the upcoming American Heart Association Heart Walk November 2-6 which is virtual this year. I also also speak to 2020 Heart Walk Chair, Richard Snyder Executive Vice President, Facilitated Health Networks. https://www2...

The Family Practice and Counseling Network is opening a birth center in the Woodland Village Plaza next year and on October 30th they’re offering free services at the grab-n-go event including: health screenings, FREE COVID testing, FREE flu vaccines, give-aways, FREE haircuts and more 6120 Woodland Avenue from 11-3 pm. I speak with LaQuesha Garland, the Center Director of the impending Family Hea...

Are you running out of ideas for engaging your kids that are fun and educational? I speak with author Sharla Feldscher who has written a book called 400 Easy and Fun Ideas for Kids 2 to 8 Years Old. www.kidfunandmore.com Out of Love, a podcast exploring different perspectives on love and relationships, in partnership with Ian Farmer of bands Slaughter Beach, Dog and Modern Baseball has released of...

How do you lift families out of poverty? It’s not just about raising a salary. It’s about building assets. I speak Marquita Morris Lewis from Compass Working Capital which is helping families build assets and achieve financial security. https://www.compassworkingcapital.org/ Dr. John D. Carpten is an internationally recognized expert in cancer research and a member of the American Association for...

There’s so much that’s new for this November 3rd election and to help us sort out what we need to know we talk with Kelly Chambers from the nonpartisan group HeadCount. https://www.headcount.org/ The Barnes Foundation is sponsoring a series of virtual talks on Race and the first kicks off Monday October 12th on Colorism. Kathleen Ogilvie Green, Curator of Public Programs at the Barnes Foundation....

Vote like our nation depends on it because – it does. I speak with James Haynes, President and CEO of OIC of America about the work they are doing to get out the vote. https://www.oicofamerica.org/2020/08/24/ourvote/ We chat with Keisha Jordan, Executive Director of the Children’s Scholarships Fund of Philadelphia about how parents can apply for a scholarship to tuition based schools. https://www....

The COVID pandemic has created more challenges for people with substance use disorder. I speak with Jennifer King - Executive Director of the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania and Victor Scott - 61-year-old celebrating 10 years in recovery about the special challenges of individuals living with substance abuse disorder and clearing the path to recovery. Aids walk Philly is coming up October 18th a...

The show kicks off with our monthly segment with Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati’s VLS Journeys Vanesse interviews Sili Recio the author of If Dominican Were a Color and Sili Recio. For her feature “What is Philadelphia Reading? Vanesse speaks with children’s book author Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow who is an educator and writer who centers Black and Muslim children in her work. Her latest book is Your Name i...

This week I turn over the show to my producer Daija Moore-Evans. As a twenty something Daija was in the perfect position to gather four peers to discuss the issues facing their generation including careers, relationships and coping with a pandemic. Joining Moore-Evans are Alexis Beckett, Julien Carroll, Gabe Henry and Jasmine Daniels whose resilience, drive and creativity was inspiring.

This week I turn over the show to my producer Daija Moore-Evans. As a twenty something Daija was in the perfect position to gather four peers to discuss the issues facing their generation including careers, relationships and coping with a pandemic. Joining Moore-Evans are Alexis Beckett, Julien Carroll, Gabe Henry and Jasmine Daniels whose resilience, drive and creativity was inspiring.

We take public transportation for granted but it’s key to a vibrant economy and during this time of COVID – it’s been critical for transporting essential workers to their jobs. We talk with Leslie Richards, Septa’s General Manager about the future of the transit authority as we continue to navigate through the pandemic. http://septa.org/index.html First – November 11th marks the 17th Annual PA Con...

We take public transportation for granted but it’s key to a vibrant economy and during this time of COVID – it’s been critical for transporting essential workers to their jobs. We talk with Leslie Richards, Septa’s General Manager about the future of the transit authority as we continue to navigate through the pandemic. http://septa.org/index.html Black women are dying of breast cancer at higher n...