Metropolitan Philadelphia

METROPOLITAN PHILADELPHIA AREA CHAPTER,
CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES, INC.

Continental Societies Inc. is an international philanthropic and public service organization. It was founded in 1956 and incorporated nationally in 1972.  Our mission is to foster, develop and promote the health, education, socio-economic and cultural welfare of disadvantaged and underprivileged children and youth.  Composed of over 42 chapters in 17 states and the District of Colombia and Bermuda we have served over one million children and youth in the last five years.

The Five Point Programmatic Thrust, HEER (Health, Education, Economics, Recreation) + Arts and Humanities is the core and foundation of our organizational mission.

In 1996, inspired by the example of hands-on, caring, dedicated and service oriented women in Continental chapters locally and nationwide, a group of 18 like-minded women, under the direction of Linda Wormley Meade and Barbara Stallworth, formed the Diamond Cluster Interest Group of the Philadelphia Suburban Community to seek membership into the Continental Societies Inc.  As an interest group their efforts bore fruit immediately and benefited the Eisenhower Middle School library in Norristown, Pa with a gift of computer software and minority literature. Scholastic book awards were also given to college bound students.

On October 25, 1997, The Diamond Cluster Interest Group was officially installed as the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Continental Societies Incorporated with Linda Wormley Meade serving as Chapter President. On March 15, 1998, the dynamic new chapter installed sixteen additional members into its fold, and they adopted the same passion towards the implementation of the Five Point Programmatic Thrust with awe inspiring enthusiasm, innovation and creativity. Their efforts greatly benefited the children and youth served and laid the foundation for successful programs and projects, some of which continue today.  Our next President was Patricia Holmes followed by Victoria Johnson and our immediate Past President was Dr. Ann Adderley. In 2003 our name was changed to the Metropolitan Philadelphia Area Chapter, Continental Societies, Inc.

Today as we celebrate the anniversary of our Tenth Program Year, led by our President Joanne Nichols, our work on HEER committees is still the foundation of our commitment to this great organization.  In review we have sponsored, participated in or partnered with other organizations in programs and projects to serve children and youth in our community, both nationally and internationally.  Some of these programmatic initiatives are:  Read Across America, TV 10 Homework Helpline, Eugenia House mentoring, Rubye's Kids, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation Children's Christmas Party, Food Drives, Walk -a- Thons ( Sickle Cell and  Birth Defects ), Health Fairs, Youth Employment Readiness Seminars, Project Warm, a Christmas hat, gloves and scarf drive, College Scholarships and Book Awards.  In March 2008 we collected books, as part of our participation in Pennsylvania's Neighbor to Neighbor CDC, that were sent to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology in New Orleans, LA. The school’s library also serves as the public library and had been totally lost due to Katrina. Two of our members, as part of an educational contingent from Pennsylvania, toured the school, took the opportunity to read to the children and evaluated other needs of the school.

We are proud to have sponsored, in January of 2008, THE SOLIVITA-POLK COUNTY, Florida CHAPTER, Continental Societies, Incorporated.  This chapter was organized by Continental Pamela Sykes who was initiated in the Metropolitan Philadelphia Area Chapter.

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