PHILADELPHIA — Penn Emblem Co., a 73-year-old textile manufacturing and brand decoration company, was forced to pivot abruptly in March 2020 along with the rest of the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While non-essential businesses were shut down, Penn Emblem says its main responsibility was to serve its essential customer base with products that they could deliver to life-sustaining industries such as hospitals, grocery stores and factories.
In addition, it quickly became apparent that Penn Emblem would need to shift gears again as the need for protective masks rose staggeringly. Reusable, adjustable masks and standard, disposable masks became the newest products to be sold by Penn Emblem, to offer aid during the pandemic.
OUR CLOSET
With masks available, Penn Emblem found a new way to give back and support the community. JFCS of Philadelphia, Jewish Children and Family Services, specifically a group under this umbrella called “Our Closet,” raises funds during challenging times through clothing drives. It is a 160-year social service organization that helps meet the needs of individuals and families throughout their lifetime.
The organization began as the first Jewish orphanage in the country that was committed to ensuring the safety and care of disadvantaged children. JFCS has progressed over the years into an association that provides adoption and foster care services, gearing families to go out into the community delivering clothing.
It also addresses the needs of the poor and disabled, instilling financial stability and providing safety and health for everyone in the community.
It’s a wonderful way to give back, and Penn Emblem donated 1,500 reusable masks to JFCS to support the needs of families and community members during this difficult time.
“We’ve already begun placing masks in all of our emergency clothing packages,” says JFCS. “The attached picture gives you a sense of just how many are going out each week. We know these masks are going to make such a difference in keeping the communities we serve safe from COVID. What a gift!”
WOODSIDE CHURCH
Community and giving back has always been an initiative of Penn Emblem. The company supports many nonprofits and groups its employees are actively involved with.
Michelle Burgess, a manager in the Philadelphia operation, belongs to a group that pays it forward. The congregation of Woodside Church (Yardley, Pennsylvania) gathers annually to assemble hygiene kits during the Advent season. The kits are distributed to the homeless throughout Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Mercer County, New Jersey.
In the past, more than 4,000 kits have been given to those in need, now they have added a mask to the kit.
Penn Emblem says it is proud to be able to contribute 1,500 masks to the Woodside Church and thankful to support the local area.
KENSINGTON
With one of the highest overdose rates of any most populous county in America, an estimated 75,000 residents addicted to heroin and other opioids and an estimated 700 homeless living in the Kensington area of Philadelphia, there is a growing need for protective masks.
Penn Emblem has partnered with the producers of the Telly- and Emmy-nominated documentary “Kensington in Crisis,” Jill Frechie, John Ricciutti and Jon Powell, to deliver masks to the Kensington area.
The documentary was developed to shed light on the issues, problems and solutions faced with opioid addiction and bring awareness and education to this profound difficult issue facing so many.
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