Our Mission:
PCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports Philadelphia public schools by installing internet-ready computers in classrooms and publicly accessible locations. We also help outfit school libraries with books, provide computers to low-income families that do not have them, and teach 3D printing and computer literacy classes.
Our mission is to help children of all ages find their passion, develop needed skills, and make positive career and life decisions for a successful future.
- Improving reading skills. 40% of Philadelphia students scored below proficient in reading & 22% of the city’s population is illiterate and 41% of Phila households do not have a computer.
- Decrease drop-out rates. 42% of students entering 9th grade in 2006 failed to graduate in 2010.
- And address youth unemployment. The unemployment rate is 22% for Philadelphia residents ages 20-24, and 76% of Philadelphia households are economically disadvantaged.
How P.C.F. Got Started/History
Founder John Bannan shown on the left along with other current and past Board members.
John Bannan formed the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation (PCF) in July of 2006. It was John’s involvement with sports and the mentoring relationships he had with his coaches that helped him become a successful Olympic Rowing Coach, business person, and leader of PCF.
John was motivated by three things: his passion to provide young people with the support they need to excel in life; the understanding that resources in the city are abundant, but do not connect fully with the community they aim to serve; and the educational inequality that many students in Philadelphia face.
In 2013, 4,500 students in grades K-12 in 20 area schools were touched by PCF’s programs. PCF started libraries in 12 elementary schools with over 16,500 donated books and provided more than 1,500 refurbished computers to low-income families.
PCF & Sponsors News:
A Word About How We Prep Computers For Deployment
Over the years, PCF has "refurbished" and "imaged" thousands of computers that were given away to schools, other programs/organizations and to families directly. In this post, we thought we'd describe what's involved in doing so. [...]
PCF Donates High-End Computers to Lankenau High School
Virtually all of the thousands of computers PCF has donated to families, schools and other programs over the years, were donated to us. And the process is fairly straightforward: individuals or companies donate the computers, [...]
XL Donation by Carpenter Tech. Funds 3D Printer Lab at Logan (and others)
PCF was very lucky to have been awarded a $10,000 donation by Carpenter Technologies. They donate every year as part of their annual Impact Awards and PCF was lucky to be recognized and win this [...]
PCF Support of Emlen’s Play Days and Parent’s Days
For years now, PCF has helped out Emlen Elementary during their Parent Orientation day at the beginning of the year and their Students Play Day held just before summer break. Both events involve cooking a [...]
PCF Revamps Houston’s Auditorium AV System
PCF has been a community partner of Houston Elementary School since we started working with schools directly many years ago. Over the years, we have spent a LOT of time and resources at Houston, installing [...]
On-Going Support for the Camden Dream Center
For many years now, PCF has supported the Camden Dream Center. Located just across the river in Camden, NJ, the Dream Center has long been a force in providing a variety of community-based services to [...]