'A Better Chance' Gets Surpise Grant from Community Organization

When Janet Anderson and her husband were looking at communities in the area to move to from Connecticut, she said she only looked in towns that participated in the A Better Chance program.

"I wanted a community that supported diversity," said Anderson, chair of the board of the Neighborhood League Shops.

A Better Chance is a program that allows children from disadvantaged areas to attend a high school that may give them a better chance at success. The Radnor ABC house is on West Wayne Avenue in Wayne.

The Neighborhood League gives away money each year to local organizations that seek it from them. (Read an article on the 100-year-old organization and find out who they supported last year.)

But the Radnor ABC program is in financial straits. And when Anderson, a longtime fan of the organization, read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the dire situation, she spoke to her board.

The board this month granted the ABC House a $5,000 grant, which will go towards supporting one of the students. It costs about $18,000 to support one ABC student. The organization is down to six high schoolers. They have had 10 at a time in the past, said Missy Schorr, co-president of Radnor ABC.

"Every gift like this makes a significant impact," said Anna Davis, vice president of the organization. Davis said that ABC kids add to the diversity of Radnor's school and community population.

Radnor ABC House is holding an open house for the public on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.