To all of The MBF Center Family and Friends

In its humble beginnings, The MBF Center was a small extension of a dream.  Over the course of the last twenty years, it grew to become a thriving organization, successfully providing education, career and employment assistance to individuals with severe disabilities throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Recently, however we were significantly impacted by financial cutbacks faced by our largest source of student referrals, The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR).  Their loss of both federal and state dollars resulted in an inability to pay for tuition and fees at the level they had been doing for the past eighteen years.  While MBF has always supplemented tuition and government funding with contributions from many generous individuals, foundations and corporations, our ability to continue to provide quality job training and placement services for our adult students has been severely jeopardized.  As a result of this unprecedented challenge, it became imperative to consider what was in the best interest of the persons receiving our services. 

Our commitment to the mission of providing quality services for persons with disabilities remains firm; however, after much reflection and thoughtful consideration, we would like to announce a new direction for The MBF Center: 

EFFECTIVE AT THE CLOSE OF OUR FISCAL YEAR, JUNE 30, 2006, THE MBF CENTER WILL NO LONGER OPERATE AS A SERVICE PROVIDER.  INSTEAD, THE MBF CENTER WILL TRANSITION TO A FOUNDATION THAT PROVIDES FUNDS TO ORGANIZATIONS WHO EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO LEAD INDEPENDENT AND PRODUCTIVE LIVES.

The MBF Center extends our most sincere thanks to all of you who have supported us throughout the years.  We ask you to continue to check our website for updates on this new direction.  We also ask for your ongoing support, so that The MBF Center can continue to have a positive impact on the lives of persons with disabilities.   Should you have questions or would like to offer support, please contact us at (610) 292-0710.

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Flanigan and

The MBF Center Board of Directors