Our Philsophy
A hope but not an agenda...
Because the centerpiece of the Daniel Foundation is relationships, our staff spend most of their time in a variety of settings, with men from every walk of life and from every spiritual or religious location. Put another way, we try to provide spiritual friendship to men, religious and non, as they walk through life‘s many peaks and valleys. We believe that one of the greatest gifts we can offer others in a distracted, virtual world is the gift of our actual presence. That translates to lingering, listening, assisting and thinking out loud (usually over coffee or food) with those with whom we visit. Some need us to show up for a season, while others request longer periods of time.
Sure, we'd like men to know Christ personally and connect with a local church, but we have no control over that.....and neither do we want it. What we do have control over, and therefore what we focus on, is offering faithful friendship.
So, I guess the best way to describe the Daniel Foundation's mission might be this way:
We foster friendships with a hope, but not an agenda.
Live not by lies
It's no secret that the the United States in particular and the western world in general is growing increasingly, 'post Christian.' The void left by the departure of Christianity (and Judaism...not to mention Greek philosophy) has made it increasingly difficult to arrive at a consensus on things moral and social. As such, Catholic and Protestant men are finding their places of work to be increasingly intolerant of convictions that are rooted in the faith that they cherish. Rod Dreher's recently published book, 'Live Not by Lies' (LNBL) addresses those concerns. The book also draws wisdom from the experiences of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians who proved faithful in the face of a communist state known for many things. Unfortunately tolerance of dissent was not one of them. Dreher and those he interviews in LNBL offers contemporary Christians practical ideas on how to move forward, in faith, in the face of what he refers to as 'soft' (corporately imposed) totalitarianism. It's our hope that by reading and conversing over LNBL, men will find encouragement and practical ideas on how to live faithfully even in the most scrutinizing and severe work environments.
Civic Renewal
In addition to walking alongside men in the midst of a distracted and virtual age, we seek to better our actual world in practical ways. Our staff and volunteers are, and have been for sometime, engaged in a variety of civic initiatives that are designed to better the community of Phoenixville. It’s our hope that our efforts will help Phoenixville and its residents to flourish in a variety of ways. Some of the initiatives we either have been (or are presently are) engaged in are...
*The Bookworm renovation project: done in partnership with 'Future leaders Today' and the Phoenixville hospital.*Mentoring: mentoring residents of Phoenixville's 'Good Samaritan Shelter' as they move towards greater independence.*PAPA lacrosse: a summer youth lacrosse program offered, free of charge, done in partnership with 'Phoenixville Area Positive Alternatives.'*Hospital greeters program: teaching local at risk youth the social skills necessary for success, done in partnership with 'Future Leaders Today.'*Chaplain services: providing (and arranging for) spiritual care as chaplain at The Phoenixville Hospital and at 'The Cancer Center of Phoenixville Hospital.'*Men2Serve: a regular gathering of volunteers for local community service initiatives.*Supporting local nonprofits: The Daniel Foundation Philly donates a portion of what we receive from our donors to other local nonprofit organizations whose mission is commensurate with that of The Daniel Foundation in one way or another.
*Opertation(s) COVID: We provided gift cards and gift bags to the ICU and the ER staff of The Phoenixville Hospital as a means of appreciating their long hours during this very difficult COVID season. We also secured and distributed 10 gallons of hand santizer throughout Phoenixville during the initial stages of COVID.
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