KYW's Local Legends: Betty Dowdy
Twenty-six years ago, Elizabeth "Betty" Dowdy heard of an opportunity to help her church expand its urban missions program and applied for a grant to open a Head Start Learning Tree program at the Ninth Presbyterian Church.
And Dowdy says it was badly needed:
"Head Start, for the low-income families, actually involved them in the process of advocacy for their child and to enhance their ability to become self-sufficient."
Today, HSLT serves hundreds of children and families in South, West, and Southwest Philadelphia.
"Sometimes I'm positively elated when I think about the prospect of touching 800 lives a year."
Story by KYW's Karin Phillips
