The Harvard Business School Club of Philadelphia Announces 2009 Scholarship Recipients

PHILADELPHIA, May 28, 2009 — The Social Enterprise Initiative of the Harvard Business School Club of Philadelphia has awarded two scholarships to local nonprofit executives to attend the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program at the Harvard Business School in July 2009. This year’s recipients are Jay Spector, President and CEO of JEVS Human Services, and Gwen Bailey, Executive Director of Youth Service, Inc. Both of these recipients lead critical organizations in our region.

JEVS Human Services is a diverse human services organization that runs over 20 successful programs providing skills development, job readiness and career services, vocational rehabilitation, recovery services, adult and residential day services, and in-home personal assistance. Founded in 1941 by 25 Jewish concerned citizens, Jewish Employment and Vocational Service was established to help Jewish refugees adjust to life in Philadelphia. Today, JEVS Human Services is one of the largest, private nonprofit organizations in the Delaware Valley. The organization has substantially broadened its mission and serves more than 17,000 individuals each year, focusing on individuals with physical, developmental, and emotional challenges, as well as those facing adverse socio-economic conditions, including unemployment and underemployment.

Youth Service Inc., founded in 1951, offers a wide variety of community based care, shelter and counseling services to at risk children and their families. These services include child welfare placement services, such as foster family care, and group home placement for teen mothers and their babies. Importantly, Youth Service, Inc. runs a 30 day emergency shelter for run-aways and homeless teenagers, as well as a crisis nursery program designed to provide 24 hour emergency child care for children up to six years old. These programs are in addition to several home based and prevention programs whose focus is on maintaining the family unit within their community and diverting children and families from the formal child welfare system.