This week, Paul Robeson High School students present Project with STEM Initiative on the opioid epidemic, a nonprofit wig bank helps people dealing with illness, and we learn about the earned income tax credit and free tax preparation sites in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Lyric Wise and Adrianna Downing, two tenth grade students from Paul Robeson High School in Philadelphia join us to highlight their project with the Science Center on how communities can help combat the opioid epidemic. Their teacher, Adam Durant is the Science Center FirstHand Program Manager. The final projects were presented to representatives of major companies and organizations including PECO and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Next on In Focus a wig store in Philadelphia that specializes in helping women and children who have an illness or disease such as cancer and are going through chemotherapy. Lois Arnold, the owner of nonprofit Hairs 2 U Wig Bank whose business of selling and providing wigs prides herself on helping to preserve a person’s dignity in the process. Her client, Mackenzie Brennan who has Alopecia Universalis, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss on a person’s scalp and body, shares her story with us, talks about meeting Lois Arnold – how she helped her, and the impact Ms. Arnold is making in the community.
And, we’re talking taxes. City of Philadelphia Revenue Commissioner Frank Breslin details the Earned Income Tax Credit and explains how over $130 million is left on the table due to almost 50 thousand people not applying for the EITC. Experts tell us it is worth up to $6400 per income tax return for individuals who are eligible and have low to moderate incomes. Mary Arthur, Campaign for Working Families, Incorporated President and CEO explains how the nonprofit she runs is helping federal workers impacted by the government shutdown by offering free tax preparation services on Saturday, February second. Campaign for Working Families sets up sites for the public who quality for their services, to get free tax preparation at one of over a dozen locations in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area. “In Focus” is broadcast Saturdays at 6:30 AM and 12:30 PM on PHL17.
For more information:
FirstHand: https://firsthandphilly.org/,
City of Philadelphia Revenue Department:
https://www.phila.gov/departments/department-of-revenue/
Paul Robeson High School: http://www.robesonhs.com/
Campaign for Working Families: https://cwfphilly.org/
