Philadelphia, PA – One Day at a Time (ODAAT) hosts its 41st Annual Candlelight Vigil Anniversary Celebration for Co-Founder Margaret ‘Mom’ Wells and includes a community concert with special guests and performers featuring Philly’s favorite’s Wallo and Gillie, vendors, free food, and a resource fair at the Met Philly. The theme of the 41st Annual Anniversary is, ‘One Love, One Philly’ which ODAAT invites the community to address the urgent issues of gun violence and recovery to celebrate the resilience and diversity that defines us as a people. 
One Day at a Time is a non-profit organization that works consistently to provide services to those suffering from addiction. ODAAT President Mel Wells stated, ‘For decades we’ve had a candlelight vigil to remember those who passed away due to HIV/AIDS and gun violence. In honor of this tradition, we are continuing the legacy of my mother ‘Mom’ Wells who was the guiding light in helping people fight their addictions and pursue the road to recovery. We invite the community to be a part of this free celebration in remembrance of what Philly can be if we keep loving each other and pursuing peace in the streets’.
The annual community concert and resource fair brings together families, loved ones, neighbors, and friends to remember those they’ve lost and celebrate life in a fun-filled and safe environment. 

On-site resource tables will be available including free HIV/STD testing, employment opportunities, and more! Now more than ever, we are proud to stand with Mayor Cherelle Parker under the One Philly, A City United anthem as we celebrate this event themed, ‘One Love, One Philly’. 

Press is welcomed and encouraged to attend, please RSVP to teresa@tmlfirm.com
General Information:
Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: (Indoors and Outdoors) – The Met Philadelphia, 858 N. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Traffic Note, the Street will be blocked off on Popular Street.
General Ticket Reservation is Required for Entry: https://odaat.ticketleap.com/2024-candlelight-vigil/
Social Media #’s:  #odaat, #odaatphilly #onephilly #onelove

Corporate Sponsors: Thomas Jefferson University & TJUH System, Aetna, Trooper Foods, Caron Foundation, Bradley & Bradley Associates, The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, The Philadelphia Foundation, Community College of Philadelphia, The Southeast Council of Philadelphia.

Community Partners: Senator Sharif Street, Urban Affairs Coalition, NOMO Foundation, City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, Philadelphia Councilman Jeffrey Young, Jr., District 5, OHS-Office of Homeless Services, DHH – Department of HIV Health, CEG- Community Expansion Grant from the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice & Public Safety, SCA- Single County Authority, PHS – Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, PAD- police assisted diversion program, DBHIDS – Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual dis-Abilities, The Preparedness Program.

About ODAAT: One Day at a Time is dedicated to serving low-income and homeless men and women and their families in the Philadelphia area who are afflicted by addiction and HIV/AIDS. One Day at a Time Recovery, Inc. offers drug and alcohol services to individuals seeking shelter and support in their recovery efforts. ODAAT’s many program services can include case management, classes and workshops, HIV rapid testing, HIV Education and Prevention Services, Food Bank, outreach, and special events. odaat-philly.org

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Event Schedule 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
*Schedule to be updated accordingly throughout the event

Registration: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Panel Discussion, ‘Breaking the Poverty Mindset’: 3:20 PM – 4:00 PM
Moderator: Cheyenne Corin, Fox 29 Reporter
Special Performances: 4:15 PM – 7:45 PM
Hosted by: Wallo & Gillie
Music Artists: Freeway, Suzann Christine, and others to be announced during the community awards presentations.

Presentation of the Community Awards: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM | Award: ODAAT Guardian Angel, Awardee:  Every Murder is Real Chante Love & Tony Bell
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM | Award: ODAAT Guardian Angel, Awardee: Paulre Hennessy, Urban Affairs Coalition & G. Lamar Stewart, Founder of Taylor MADE Opportunities
5:00 PM – 5:20 PM | INTERMISSION: Wallo & Gillie Fireside Chat Moderated by Mel Wells, One Day at a Time
5:20 PM – 5:30 PM | Award: ODAAT Community Champion of the Year, Awardee: Pastor Carl Day
6:00 PM – 6:15 PM | Award: Community Partner of the Year, Awardee: Rickey Duncan, NOMO Foundation
6:45 PM – 7:00 PM | Award: Corporate Partner of the Year, Awardee: Dr. Keith Leaphart, Jefferson Health 
Special Performance: 7:00 PM – 7:45 PM
Music Artist: To Be Publicly Announced on June 12, 2024
Candlelight Vigil: 7:45 PM – 8:00 PM 
Mel Wells, President of One Day at a Time

– END –

Lonyo Holmes is the 59 year old business owner of Q&A Wholesale Smoke Shop, the only African American owned smoke shop in the city, located at 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134, the heart of the Kensington epidemic. Along side his wife Tiesha Chandler, they celebrated 8 years in October 2022, while defending his turf from would-be thieves, and illegal solicitors. Combined with the setback of having his store robbed during the pandemic and failing to secure all but a PPA loan for his business, he’s felt everything. To this day he’s struggles to pay rent due to the economic side effects of an unchecked drug epidemic that deters those interested in learning more about this unique community space.

“During the pandemic one of my folks hit my phone and told me “yo, someone broke into your store. They broke in through the window”. So, me and my wife Tiesha go check it out… Man, they hit my displays, shelves, they cleaned me out. They left me with over 20,000 dollars in losses.”

Long before 2022, Lonyo opened his store to build and promote events by community members. So far he’s held shows around spoken word, and hip-hop, while hosting givebacks to the community, meet and greets and more. “Everyday I’m fighting for my livelihood. If I don’t open this shop, I don’t eat.”

Despite the challenges, the fight to survive lives on. These days Mr. Holmes spends his time selling food outside to keep the rent paid. “I started selling more food and water ice because that’s the only reason people were coming to my store. I gotta do something if no one is coming here to even buy a lighter”.

One of Philadelphia’s local celebrities, DJ Dior, found inspiration at Q&A, using it as space to provide food for the homeless and a give back with donations provided by Unapologetically Imperfect and The YMCA (North Philly Branch).

Mr Holmes continues to innovate his space, despite his environmental challenges. This past yr he’s added a stage, speakers and more for those blooming artist, both visual and musical. “This area is still a great space. The sound is good, the people are good and spirits here are good as well.“

Bryan Carter: What kind of work do you do in the community?
Lonyo Holmes: We feed the community as much as possible, primarily Friday and Saturday with our nonprofit Samaritans of Service. If we see someone in dire need, we’re here to help.

BC: What are you doing, or considering to rebuild your business?
LH: We are considering a way back – come to our establishment, get ya hair cut (Mr. Holmes is a certified barber), get your ID, or gently used clothes to get employed so folks can get on their feet. We also work with Take Back Philly and Momma Love Soulfood with a Twist where we give out large platters of food. DJ Dior was instrumental in meeting Alicia Joyner, CEO of Take Back Philly. Start between 4:30 and 5:30pm for an hr or until the food is gone. The donations we receive from The Rock Ministries and Richards and Friends United in the Community allows us to bless the rest of the ppl in line. We also deliver to different clothing outlets around the Aramingo area, and to orgs who share our donations with their audience.

BC: How can others get involved?
LH: I’ll tell you how to help our people and our city… Show up. We’re out here every Friday, 11am to 2pm unloading trucks, packing cars, delivers etc. and any help from you would be greatly appreciated.

If you would like to support Mr. Holmes and his community work, check out his event space, and more? Please visit 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134 or call (267) 584-8354.

Go to school. Get a good education. Get a good job and open a bank account. Does this sound familiar? Most of us heard this from our parents. Most of us have been indoctrinated to believe that this formula would lead us to our dream life. How has that worked out? I refer to this as a covert poverty mindset. Our parents taught us this because that’s all they knew. If we don’t learn something different then we will most likely teach this to our children, and that covert poverty mindset will linger in our communities for at least another generation. Now, more than ever, we need effective and relevant financial literacy education.

• Establish an emergency fund: You should have 3-6 months of your financial obligations saved up for the purpose of protecting against unforeseen events. Studies show that more than half of American families have less than $1000 in savings and therefore struggle to survive the occurrence of even a minor financial emergency. (CNBC.com, “Here’s How Much Money Americans Have in Their Savings Accounts,” September 13, 2017)

• Get proper income protection: The industry refers to it as life insurance. I prefer the term income protection because many people believe that insurance will repair or replace the item that is insured. However, life insurance can not and will not replace a life. It will replace income. Many families lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and since many of those lost were not  properly covered, their families had to endure an additional hardship trying to finance the cost of final services for their loved one.

• The last concept that I work to teach families is, “Pay yourself first.” By that I mean prioritize and put money away for retirement. Learning concepts like the “high cost of waiting” and the “time value of money” help create the necessary urgency around investing. True financial freedom occurs when your investment income matches or exceeds that of your earned income. 75% of Americans admit to wishing that they had started planning for retirement earlier than they did. (2016 Wells Fargo Retirement Study)

When I work with families, I use these concepts, along with some others: like the rule of 72 and dollar cost averaging, to help them. I’ve found that many people because of the lack of information are unable to take advantage of, and benefit from the knowledge of the rules of the money game. It doesn’t matter what game you play, if you do not know the rules you are a lot less likely to win. Therefore educating families about the strategies to win, positions them in a much better place to do so. I believe the solution to better finances starts with education. The next step is to develop a plan and lastly to get a coach to help you implement and stick to the plan.

There are financial coaches, like myself, who are actively looking for individuals and families that want to succeed at the money game. Actively looking for people who are willing to open their minds to trying something that may be different. In this regard, financial health is very similar to physical health. When you need to assess or verify that your physical health is in order, you go see a doctor or health care professional for a checkup. They may ask you to change your diet or prescribe some medication to help remedy or enhance your condition. When your finances are in need of a check up, you need to go see a financial professional. They may ask you to change some of your spending habits or put you on a plan that will help or remedy your financial situation. As a parent I feel very strongly that you have to model for your children the importance of appropriate financial planning and to start creating positive financial habits at an early age. Sean Covey says in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “First you make your habits, then your habits make you.” When children and young adults begin to incorporate the strategies mentioned above, they maximize the time value of their money and more importantly create habits that become lifestyle.

Asante Sana,
Marc L. Wilson
Fresh Prince of Finance