Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
Helping new mothers with pregnancy, birth, and beyond!
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Doula By My side Program
Pettaway Pursuit Foundation’s primary program is the Doula by My Side (DBMS) Program. This program provides in-home (currently virtual) doula services to five counties in the state of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties) and the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The DBMS program offers non-medical, emotional, physical, and informational support to reach our mission and combat maternal and infant mortality and morbidity.
Doulas improve birth outcomes by preventing preterm births through education and intervention, reducing pregnancy-related complications, decreasing smoking, improving breastfeeding rates while simultaneously lowering the rates of postpartum depression.
PPF doulas support families at the point of referral, generally prenatal, attend the labor as birth coaches and continue to support families when they bring home their new babies up to two months. Families who have made the decision to breastfeed can also receive support from one of PPF’s Certified Lactation Counselors. This service includes 2 visits and can be extended if deemed necessary.
Pal for Parents Program
Our second program is our Pal for Parents Program which is designed to offer continuity of care for the community of families who may or may not qualify for our doula program. Pal was established to assist these families with alleviating the stress that often accompanies bringing home a new baby or adding an addition to the family. This program offers in-person (currently virtual) classes, groups, and workshops. Some of these are Basic & Prenatal Yoga, Mommy & Baby Yoga, Breastfeeding Group (Lactation Station) Mommy to Mommy Support Group, Daddy Support Group, Safe Sleep, Childbirth Education, NICU Support, Newborn Care, Childbirth Education, and Time and Money Management. PPF is also a Human Milk Bank depot and provides Child Passenger Safety checks for families.
Pal for Parents Program (Treasure Chest)
As an extension to our Pal for Parents Program, we created an initiative called PPF Treasure Chest. It is a garden shed transformed into a Mommy, Baby, and Daddy Boutique which provides maternity, newborn care, and special items for dads and families in exchange for their attendance at our Pal classes. This exchange allows us to continue our overall goal of equipping new families with the resources and education needed.
Harvest Food Program
Harvest Food Program (HFP) was birth out of our partnership with Nutritional Development Services (NDS). Pettaway Pursuit Foundation (PPF) was one of the many locations that distribute the NDS 7-day meal kit to school-aged children during the pandemic. The HFP's mission is to decrease food insecurity and malnutrition in our community. In 2021, the Foundation for Delaware County awarded PPF $25,000. The grant allowed PPF to distribute 1,800 food boxes to approximately 3,500 community members in Delaware county.
Pampering Parents Program
The Pampering Parents Program provides resources to the community. Every 4-6 weeks, we host a community baby shower where we give away diapers, formulas, baby clothes, books, toiletries, pads, adult clothes, and other essential items for the whole family.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of pregnant women receiving early and adequate prenatal care
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status
Related Program
Doula By My side Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Social and economic status
Related Program
Harvest Food Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Pettaway Pursuit Foundation (PPF) aims to provide crucial family services and resources to the community at little to no cost. These services include but are not limited to parenting classes and workshops, lactation consultations, child passenger safety checks, safe sleep education, perinatal mental health counseling, and doula services. Aside from educational resources, PPF also aims to provide nutritional security as well as access to essential items such as diapers, formula, clothing, and more! Providing these services and resources expands PPF's goal of birth equity by improving maternal health outcomes and child health and development.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Pettaway Pursuit Foundation aims to achieve our 2022 goals by the following:
1.Setting realistic goals and clear milestones.
2. Secure funding for our program and services.
3. Collaborate with other organizations that share the same vision as PPF.
4. Provide excellent services to socially and economically disadvantaged communities.
5. Implement Data Collection to track progress.
6. Evaluate success and identify areas of improvement to enhance program outcomes.
7. Share updates related to progress and celebrate our success with the community.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Mrs. Theresa Pettaway
Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
Term: 2001 -
Dr. Pamela Williams
Widener University
Term: 2021 -
Pamela Williams
Widener University
Shanna Williams
Social Work Counseling Services
Janine Woodard
The School District of Philadelphia
Tory Sammons
Merck Pharmaceutical
Rick Pettaway
Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
Wayvonna Chatman
ECFMG
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/09/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.