1/10
Ed Kashi/Talking Eyes Media/VII
Volunteers like Amelia Morales Vargas spend time with — and entertain — children and parents in a weekly music and movement class at Educare of California at Silicon Valley.
2/10
Cliff Grassmick
Lucy Wallace, the co-founder of Dance to Be Free, incorporates jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop into her dance classes.
3/10
Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer
Mosiah Gravesande started riding at the Chamounix Equestrian Center when he was 5 years old. Now a freshman in high school, he plays on the center’s polo team.
4/10
Richard Termine/Sesame Workshop
Lily, a bilingual 7-year-old Muppet with no fixed address, is among the growing cast of characters Sesame Street features who represent children dealing with a variety of circumstances.
5/10
Courtney Smith/Art Enables
Egbert “Clem” Evans often paints portraits and narrative scenes of everyday life, drawing from his own experiences, in a palette of yellows and oranges.
6/10
Ed Kashi/Talking Eyes Media/VII
Volunteers like Amelia Morales Vargas spend time with — and entertain — children and parents in a weekly music and movement class at Educare of California at Silicon Valley.
7/10
Cliff Grassmick
Lucy Wallace, the co-founder of Dance to Be Free, incorporates jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop into her dance classes.
8/10
Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer
Mosiah Gravesande started riding at the Chamounix Equestrian Center when he was 5 years old. Now a freshman in high school, he plays on the center’s polo team.
9/10
Richard Termine/Sesame Workshop
Lily, a bilingual 7-year-old Muppet with no fixed address, is among the growing cast of characters Sesame Street features who represent children dealing with a variety of circumstances.
10/10
Courtney Smith/Art Enables
Egbert “Clem” Evans often paints portraits and narrative scenes of everyday life, drawing from his own experiences, in a palette of yellows and oranges.
Each month the Chronicle picks a nonprofit, often a small group, tackling a problem in an unusual way and highlights its work with a compelling photograph.
The “Face of Philanthropy” feature was championed by Chronicle founder Corbin Gwaltney, who died this year. Corbin believed that this feature, which has run in every issue of the Chronicle, would remind readers about the power of philanthropy to change lives.
Here are some of the nonprofits that inspired us this year.
Bridging a Gap ... and Finding a Friend
With the nation’s population aging, Generation to Generation, a program of Encore.org, works with local organizations to help children and young adults develop meaningful relationships with older people.
Many of the seniors involved in the program felt isolated, either geographically or by language barriers. Volunteers like Amelia Morales Vargas, who speaks only Spanish, says she felt lonely when she moved to America.
“So I started coming to the program, and they were everything to me,” she says. “There are people here who care about us.”
Taking the Healing Power of Dance to Prisons
Lucy Wallace, a founder of Dance to Be Free, travels the country teaching dance classes to incarcerated women to help them cope with depression, despair, PTSD, and complex trauma.
The program, which started in 2015, is in 13 correctional facilities in the South.
“They’re grateful to get programming, especially in rural areas that are so remote no one goes there to volunteer.”
Life Lessons — and Much More — From Polo
At Work to Ride, kids living in downtown Philadelphia learn how to care for horses, forming bonds with the horses and with other students as well. Some go on to compete in horse shows or to play for the center’s champion polo team.
“We want them to learn that there’s someplace outside of their six-block radius of home,” says the founder, Lezlie Hiner. “We preach that you’re not just responsible for yourself — your actions have an impact on everybody else.”
Homeless Muppet Has a Message of Hope for Kids
This year, Sesame Street expanded its reach with Lily, a bilingual 7-year-old Muppet with no fixed address. She’s among the growing cast of characters the program features who represent children dealing with a variety of circumstances.
She is embraced by her peers long before her family finds permanent housing. The actress Jasmine Romero’s character, a Spanish speaker, reminds Lily that she is “surrounded by love.”
Lily’s first run on television and her current comeback online are the work of Sesame Street in Communities, a program that was created with the help of a multimillion-dollar gift and challenge grant from Peter Peterson. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a key supporter.
Creativity for a Cause, and for a Living
The entrepreneurial model of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Art Enables gives people with disabilities the opportunity to make art, market it, and earn an income.
Egbert “Clem” Evans has been working at Art Enables for 15 years. He often paints portraits and narrative scenes of everyday life, in a palette of yellows and oranges.
The executive director, Tony Brunswick, says the nonprofit aims to help people use their creativity in an entrepreneurial way to create self-employment opportunities. “That’s different than just a job,” he says.
So far the group’s artists have sold over $1 million worth of art.
Know a group that should be featured in our Face of Philanthropy section? Send an email to nicole.wallace@philanthropy.com.
