Key Dates in the Federation's History:

• April 1906 - The wholly volunteer Philadelphia Settlement and Mission Workers Union founded to combine ideas and resources among the established settlement houses
• June 1907 - Name changes to Philadelphia Neighborhood Workers Association
• 1909 - Mary Kemp becomes the association president and the focus shifts to poverty, labor, union and social justice issues
•           W.E.B DuBois addresses the group to discuss issues affecting African Americans
• 1918 - The names changes to the Philadelphia Association of Settlement Houses and Neighborhood Centers and forms a network six members: House of Industry, Reed Street Settlement, United Neighbors, Wharton Settlement, Southwark House, Eighth Ward House
• 1930 - The Depression - Settlement houses become involved in worker's rights, labor issues and advocate for support to combat poverty and unemployment (under the New Deal)
• 1935 - The passage of the 1935 Fair Labor Act forms through settlement worker assistance.  This creates a shift in funding from "community chests" to federal funding and the growth of United Way and the movement from volunteer, charity staff to professional social workers
• 1940 - Rosie the Riverter needs and child care gaps form the passage of the Federal Child Care Subsidy Act
• 1949 - Francis Bosworth becomes the president of the Federation and shifts the emphasis to training neighborhood leaders, promoting social action and improving living conditions in the city. The recognition of the Black and Brown citizenry pushes the settlements towards advocating for civil rights
• 1952 - Settlement action on the state level pushes for the passage of the PA Child Welfare legislation
• 1953- Name change to Philadelphia Association of Settlement and Neighborhood Centers
• 1954 - A new emphasis in the centers for culture, the arts and the supplemental and alternative learning
• 1955 - New leadership, Milton Brown is elected president and shifts the mission of the Federation to address urban renewal, juvenile delinquency, and social action in the neighborhoods
• 1955 - United Way is formed and led by business/industry

More to be added...

Roof-garden at the Philadelphia Settlement ~ 1900


A group of boys at the Friends Neighborhood Guild ~ 1906

Diversified Community Services
1920 South 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19145

Friends Neighborhood Guild
703 North 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123

Grace United Methodist Church
7107 North 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19138

Legacy Christian Academy
6400 Haverford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19151

The Lighthouse
152 West Lehigh Aveue
Philadelphia, PA 19133

Lutheran Settlement House
1340 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19125

Methodist Services for
Children & Families
4300 Monument Road
Philadelphia, PA 19127

North Light Community Center
175-183 Green Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19127

Tomorrow's Promise Inc.
1528 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

United Communities of
Southeast Philadelphia
2029 South 8th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148

The Village of Arts and Humanities
2544 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19133