This past weekend was a busy one for the Philadelphia Chapter as we competed in two races.

A small group of members—Claudell “Fiddy” Edwards, Ronald Randolph, Shannon Patterson, Joe Lynch, Austin Gee and Katie Pfeifer—ran the Burlington River Run in Burlington, NJ. The beautiful 5k race along the river was hosted by Doane Academy.  Randolph completed his first race ever with BOMF and finished high in his age group. We offer a very special thank you to Doane Academy for including us in the race!

Read more…

For each of our chapters, our Program Coordinator is often the first face that new members see.

Those coordinators visit our facilities, check in on all our teams to see that all is well and help coordinate the transition of our new members to the Next Steps program, where they enter education, jobs training, housing and other programs.

Recently, Austin Gee, one of the first five staff members of Back on My Feet left his role as Philadelphia Program Coordinator to return to teaching. While it was sad to see him go, we’ve been blessed to welcome a new passionate person with lots of enthusiasm for Back on My Feet.

This week, we welcomed on our new Philadelphia Program Coordinator Katie Pfeifer, who, like Gee, was a Ridge Team Leader.

Read more…

Lots of photos, media coverage, tweets, Facebook mentions and conversation circled around the Third Annual Stroehmann Back on My Feet 20in24.

We also found a smattering of video clips that we didn’t put anywhere else. So below, find a roundup of some video extras of the weekend.

Read more…

Austin Gee, Program Coordinator, Shoe Size, 9

Austin started running in college when he was too small for the soccer team and ended up falling in love with the sport!

He learned about BOMF while living in Delaware, and was excited to join the team upon moving to Philadelphia to teach in 2008. From team member to team leader to full-time employee, Austin lives and breathes BOMF!

He joined Back on My Feet in summer 2009.

“I cannot stress enough just how successful this organization is at building relationships across all societal barriers – We are all runners. I am continually inspired by our members’ dedication to moving themselves forward- one step at a time!”

More than 125 members, volunteers, staff and friends of Back on My Feet Philadelphia met outside City Hall for a birthday team relay race event this Friday, July 2, 2010 morning.

All eight Philadelphia teams were represented, cheering loudly and wearing birthday hats at 5:30 a.m. just a short subway ride away from where the organization first launched two years and 364 days ago. The highlight of the morning was a relay race around City Hall, in which members had to hand off a birthday hat to tag the next member in their five-person team. See video of the relay race start here and running here and here.

The runners from the Outley House team claimed victory, retaining the crown from last year’s relay race fun. Below, watch Outley House team members celebrate, in addition to other videos.

Read more…

Former St. John's Team Leader Lucia Michel warming up with other Back on My Feet members before the Goodwill Fun Run on Sat. June 26, 2010.

More than 40 Philadelphia members and volunteers took part in the Back on My Feet Goodwill Fun Run Saturday morning.

Supporters brought in more than 300 pounds of clothes, computer equipment and books for the regional chapter of the organization that puts to work people overcoming past incarceration or addiction issues. Goodwill’s Outsourcing and Fulfillment Center on 7th Street below Spring Garden, from which the fun run launched, employs nearly a half dozen Back on My Feet members to date.

All told, 30 people work at the warehouse facility — all of whom are placed by the Mayor’s Office of Reintegration Services for Ex-Offenders, with which Back on My Feet has a partnership — taking in donations and preparing them to be shipped or filing contracts, like refurbishing remote controls for Comcast or making packets for conferences.  Goodwill also has retail stores through which secondhand products are sold, giving needed retail and other private sector work experience.

Saturday’s fun run was an effort to bring in donations, raise awareness for Goodwill’s facilities and to thank the nonprofit for partnering with Back on My Feet. See photos of the day here.

Below, watch Rob Bell, the manager of the warehouse facility, talk about Goodwill’s partnership with Back on My Feet.

Read more…

Last Saturday, June 5th, 2010, 28 Philadelphia chapter members participated in the 26th Annual Scott Coffee Moorestown Rotary 8k.

Despite the hot and humid weather, Back on My Feet had a strong showing at the race on Saturday. Six of the eight Philadelphia teams were represented and the participants stuck it out despite the hot and humid weather.

Non-residential member, Phil Gause, was the first of Back on My Feet to finish with a time of 28:40. The first residential member to finish was St. John’s team member, Eric F., with 34 min. He was followed by New Jerusalem member, David B., who finished in 36 min.

Staff member Austin Gee and intern Kyle Bruccoliere also were among the Back on My Feet participants.

Back on My Feet extends congratulations to all who ran!

See photos here.

At the 6th annual Battle of Broad Street inside the Wachovia Center, from left to right, Philadelphia members Oscar, Derrick H., James S. and Carlos L. (Photo by Christopher Wink)

Four Philadelphia members contended in the 6th annual Battle on Broad Street basketball shooting competition, benefiting Junior Achievement and presented by Accenture at the Wachovia Center on Friday, March 26th, 2010.

Philadelphia Members Derrick H., James S., Carlos L., and Oscar lost in the first round to a teenage team.

“This is all those kids probably do,” James said with a laugh, walking off the home court of the 76ers breathing heavily. “Not me, I’m too old.”

See other photos here and video below.

Read more…

Under clear skies and cool winds, 60 Back on My Feet members joined arms in an over-sized circle and took a moment to prepare as a group for the Frostbite Five Miler in Ambler, Pa. on Sat. Feb. 20.

Twenty-six residential members, two alumni — Kevin J. from New Jerusalem Now and Kenny H. from Ridge Avenue — and more than 30 non-residential members trekked to Montgomery County outside Philadelphia for the hilly path, most with Back on My Feet gear on their backs and a goal or two on their minds.

With seven of eight Philly teams represented, Back on My Feet was one of the largest groups represented at the race, said Program Coordinator Austin Gee. More than 1,100 runners ran the course around the small town of Ambler, which hosted the race for the 11th year.

In his second race, Eric F. from st. John’s was the first finisher from Back on My Feet, crossing the finish line at about 36 minutes. Not far behind was James “Ozzy” from Outley who finished his first race ever in 37 minutes. He was one of five first-time racers, not including our Vice President of Special Events and Corporate Communications Maureen O’Toole, who also finished her first race ever.

See photos of the race here.

In January, members of Back on My Feet – Philadelphia braved chilly temperatures to take part in the Pickle Run in Ridley Creek State Park.

Back on My Feet members raced the hilly 5k race with some great results! Non-residents Drew and Steve were 3rd and 5th overall respectively and residential member Eric placed 16th overall in under 22 minutes for his first 5k race. Overall, Back on My Feet had close to 50 members participate in this staple of the wintertime race calendar!

“Everyone ran really well, we had so much fun. Eight of our residential members ran their first race today which is always inspiring to see” said Program Coordinator Austin Gee.

Back on My Feet would like to thank Frank Durso and Tim Krueger with Run the Day race management for their support! Next up on the Back on My Feet race calendar will be the Frostbite 5-Miler on February 20th in Ambler, we hope to see you out there!