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PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S ROUNDTABLE HONORS HOMELESS SERVICES PIONEER, GLORIA GUARD, AT SEPT. 16 ANNUAL EVENT

PHILADELPHIA –  July 28, 2009 – Professional Women’s Roundtable (PWR) – a non-profit dedicated to networking, leadership and education for the region’s emerging women business leaders – presented its PoWeR Award to PEC's President Gloria M. Guard at its seventh anniversary event on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009.

            The PoWeR Award annually honors a woman in the greater Philadelphia region who has shown a commitment to helping junior women advance in their careers, as well as a dedication to her profession and community. Past honorees include Temple University President Dr. Ann Weaver Hart, Comcast Foundation Executive Vice President Charisse Lillie, Esq.,and Pennsylvania Commission for Women Executive Director Leslie Stiles.

             Guard’s relentless work on behalf of the city’s most vulnerable citizens earned her The Philadelphia Award, an honor reserved for the city’s most notable philanthropists, artists, political visionaries and social activists.  During her 26 years as head of PEC, Pennsylvania’s oldest and most comprehensive agency annually serving 400 homeless women and children, she has overseen $80 million in revenue and transformed the organization from a volunteer-run homeless shelter into a service-rich non-profit with a spinoff community development corporation and a workforce of 80. More than 90 percent of PEC’s shelter and transitional housing residents remain self-sufficient after “graduating” from the agency’s programs.

            Under Guard’s leadership, PEC has become a nationally recognized model. In addition to launching innovative initiatives, including the state’s first one-stop service center to help homeless parents move from welfare to work, PEC has pioneered community development programs bringing the benefits of new technologies to impoverished areas. A joint program with One Economy is giving 250-plus low-income households access to computers, training and internet service, and creating the city’s first neighborhood based wireless hotspot.

            Founded in 2002, PWR hosts monthly networking and leadership programs for participants to: acquire and hone business development and other professional skills; expand and strengthen their professional network, including their referral base; and meet and cultivate new business prospects and resources. For more information, visit pwroundtable.com.