The economic downturn has led Advance Bank to close the former Berean Bank branch in West Philadelphia.

The Baltimore-based banking institution closed the branch, located at 5228 Chestnut Street on October 14.

Berean, started in 1888, was among the oldest continuously operated African-American financial institutions in the country when financial difficulties led it to merge in 2003 with Advance.

Denise Jones Fraiser, Advance Bank’s senior vice president, said bank officials are not making any further comments about the branch closure.

However, in a letter to customers, Jones Fraiser outlined the bank’s reasons for closing the branch.

“Our plan when merging with the former Berean Bank was to expand within the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets. The current economic environment does not support our original expansion plans. Because of a sustained decline in our national and the local economy and a lack of sufficient business opportunities, we made the very difficult decision to close the Berean branch and to focus on building our Maryland operations where we have a larger network of branches,” Jones Fraiser wrote.

Deposits in the branch have fallen from $44.7 million in 2003, the year of the merger, to $19.3 million in June 2010, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Elder Annet White-Green was a retired social worker supervisor at Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.

She died June 20, 2012, at her Middletown home. She was 74.

She was born on June 9, 1938, to the late William Sr. and Lottie Suber.

White-Green earned her master’s in theology at the N.C. College of Theology and studied at Equipping the Saints School of Ministry and Columbia Institute of Business, Philadelphia.

As a member of Grace and Mercy Church and Ministries, she served as director of Saturday-Sunday School, director of Usher Ministry and director of Volunteers.

She is predeceased by her daughter, Michelle Jackson.

She is survived by her husband, George W. Green of Middletown; sons, Rudolph T. Harrison of S.C., and Kevin M. Harrison of Middletown; seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren; and other relatives.

Services will be held June 28 at Grace and Mercy Church and Ministries, 501 Ann St., Middletown. Viewing is at 10 a.m. Services will follow at 11 a.m. Burial will be held June 29 at 11 a.m. at Ivy Hill Cemetery.

Wallace Funeral Directors handled the arrangements.

Darryl Chaney served in the United States Air Force.

Chaney died Feb. 16, 2012. He was 58.

He was born Jan. 6, 1954, in Philadelphia. He was the son of former Temple basketball coach John Chaney. He was educated in Philadelphia public schools and attended Germantown High School. After graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He served his country admirably and earned an honorable discharge in 1974.

Chaney possessed a generous heart and a giving spirit. Practical and simple, he could be counted on to help in a time of need and would give the shirt of his back if that would help you. That’s just the way he was.

Family was important to Chaney. He looked forward to spending holidays and special occasions with his family or whenever he needed to see them.

His nieces and nephews enjoyed spending time with Uncle Darryl because he always made them laugh. More than that, he was just a great son, brother, cousin, uncle and friend and someone you loved being around.

He is survived by his mother, Jeanne; father, John; sister, Pamela; brother, John Jr.; and other relatives and friends.

Services will be held Friday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. at Oxford Presbyterian Church, 8501 Stenton Avenue. Burial is in Ivy Hill Cemetery, 1201 Easton Road. Bruce R. Hawkins Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Many families rely on Medicaid to ensure that their children are receiving the health care services they need.

For Cynthia Charleston’s 14-year-old son, Lafayette, who is autistic, having Medicaid coverage has enabled him to have access to therapy services where a worker visits his West Philadelphia-based home as well as one-to-one wraparound services at his school. After filing her son’s renewal paperwork online during the summer, Charleston thought his coverage would be renewed. She didn’t realize the paperwork hadn’t been processed until she received a letter in October informing her that his coverage was slated to end.

She visited the Department of Public Welfare county assistance office a few days before his Medicaid coverage was scheduled for termination on Nov. 2. Charleston was told that the office was focused on collecting FEMA applications due to Hurricane Irene and would not be processing Medicaid paperwork. Charleston was asked to submit a new application, which ended up being placed in a box. She’s still waiting to learn whether Lafayette’s benefits will be reinstated.

“Their process is ridiculous. They throw it in a box, and they’ll get to it when they get to it, but you don’t have any idea when,” she said.

“It’s just hard. You really have to fight as a parent and go through all kinds of channels to get services,” Charleston added.

Charleston turned to the Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) for assistance. The agency has received more than 200 calls from parents whose families have been similarly impacted.

Charleston’s is one of thousands of Philadelphia-based families whose children have lost their Medicaid benefits.

According to PCCY, more than 6,000 kids were dropped from the Medicaid rolls in Philadelphia during the period from August to October. Statewide, almost 18,000 children lost their Medicaid benefits.

“Most of these people would probably continue to be eligible. There are people for whom insurance is an absolutely critical lifesaving element — kids who are really sick, kids who are in the middle of acute episodes, and kids who need services to continue in school. The ripple effect is enormous,” said Deborah Zubow, who operates PCCY’s insurance helpline.

“There are a lot of providers at this point who are continuing to provide services to very ill kids and they’re doing it on faith.”

Zubow noted that area DPW county assistance offices have a heavy caseload, which can lead to delays in paperwork being processed.

“Things have been becoming more and more difficult for the county assistance offices to keep up with the work that’s required of them,” she Zubow.

Due to the sagging economy, Zubow says the offices are being impacted by increased demand for services at a time when there are fewer administrative workers.

DPW spokesperson Carey Miller says there is an appeal process for families who lost their Medicaid benefits.

“Anyone who feels that they should not have been kicked off of Medicaid can appeal. They have 30 days to appeal. They just need to bring their proper paperwork back in to their caseworker and work out whatever they need to get back on the rolls if they feel they have been taken off improperly,” she said.

Contact Tribune staff writer Ayana Jones at (215) 893-5747 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Michael G. Brinkley, also known as Mike, was a retired police officer.

Brinkley died March 16 at Lankenau Hospital. He was 52.

He was born Aug. 20, 1959.

Brinkley grew up in Southwest Philadelphia where he attended Overbrook High School. He served on the Philadelphia Police Department for many years and was also known as the chaplain of the Guardian Civic League.

Due to his friendly demeanor and love of people, Brinkley frequented many places.

During the summer months, you could always find him in the outside cafes and coffee shops of Center City enjoying espresso, laughing and talking to his friends.

Brinkley had a love for cars. He was rebuilding his Mustang into a show-worthy race car that he eventually planned to submit to car shows. He enjoyed making trips to car shows and speedways in the tri-state area every summer.

His parents, Leon A. Brinkley and Betty J. Brinkley, preceded him in death.

He is survived by three daughters, Torraya, Tia and Veronique; two sons, Torron and Terrell; and other relatives and friends.

Services will be held March 24 at Tindley Temple Church, 750–762 South Broad Street. Viewing will be at 9 a.m. Services will follow at 10.

Slater Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Options are available for Advance Bank customers who conducted business at the former Berean branch in West Philadelphia.

The Baltimore-based banking institution closed the branch, located at 5228 Chestnut Street on October 14.

Customers can still contact Advance Bank regarding their concerns about their checking/savings accounts and loans. Customers can transfer their account to the bank’s home office in Baltimore. They can also have funds wired into their account from another financial institution and their accounts can be accessed through telephone banking, online banking or at an ATM.

Customers who seek to close their account can mail their request to the bank’s headquarters at 4801 Seton Drive, Baltimore, Md., 21215.

Customers who have mortgage loans with the bank must mail their payments to: Payment Processing Center, P.O. Box 986, Newark, N.J. 07184-0986.

For customers who have commercial loans, payments can be mailed to 4801 Seton Drive, Baltimore, Md., 21215. For information about commercial loans call 1-866-550-0400.

For customers who have checking accounts, the bank will continue to honor checks as long as the account is kept open and there are sufficient funds to cover the checks.

Customers who have scheduled automatic payments from their checking accounts do not need to take action if they decide to keep the account. Customers who decide to close their account need to contact any merchant with which they have scheduled automatic payments and provide them with account information at their new bank.

Customers who have direct deposit do not need to take action if they decide to keep their account with Advance. Customers who decide to close their accounts need to contact any agency with which they have scheduled a direct deposit and provide them with their account information at their new bank.

Berean, started in 1888, was among the oldest, continuously operated African-American financial institutions in the country when financial difficulties led it to merge in 2003 with Advance, which has a similar background.

Denise Jones Fraiser, Advance Bank’s senior vice president, said bank officials are not making any further comments about the branch closure.

However in a letter to customers, Jones Fraiser outlined the bank’s reasons for closing the branch.

“Our plan when merging with the former Berean Bank was to expand within the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets. The current economic environment does not support our original expansion plans. Because of a sustained decline in our national and the local economy, and a lack of sufficient business opportunities, we made the very difficult decision to close the Berean branch and to focus on building our Maryland operations where we have a larger network of branches,” Jones Fraiser wrote.

Deposits in the branch have fallen from $44.7 million in 2003, the year of the merger, to $19.3 million in June 2010, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The branch closure comes at a time when Black-owned banks have been losing traction. The number of Black-owned banking institutions has fallen from about 54 in 1994 to less than 30 in 2011.

“There are just fewer and fewer Black-owned banks although the demographics are compelling — a growing population and more highly educated growth rate,” said William Michael Cunningham, CEO of Creative Investment Research, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based firm that specializes in minority banking.

Cunningham said Black-owned banks were hurt when mainstream banking institutions realized that African Americans had a large buying power.

“They discovered that there was a great deal of buying power within the African-American community,” said Cunningham.

“The white banks determined that they wanted to get that money,” he said, noting that these same banking institutions starting targeting African-American consumers with subprime mortgages and predatory loans.

For general Advance Bank inquiries call 1 (866) 550-0400.

Contact Tribune staff writer Ayana Jones at (215) 893-5747 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

A visit to the barbershop can evolve into a moment that changes health outcomes.

Men across the country are receiving health screenings in tandem with their haircuts through the Black Barbershop Health Outreach program.

Founded in 2007 by Dr. Bill J. Releford, a Los Angeles-based podiatric surgeon, the initiative seeks to reduce health care disparities among African-American men through screening and education particularly around the areas of diabetes, high blood pressure and prostate cancer.

After encountering many Black men who needed to have limbs amputated due to uncontrolled diabetes, Releford was spurred to take action by launching the BBHOP.

The program has visited more than 20 cities including Philadelphia, enabling about 50,000 men to receive health screenings in about 750 barbershops. By arming men with pertinent health information, the hope is that they follow up with a medical provider. Program organizers have set a goal of reaching 500,000 men by 2014.

The initiative started off by screening men for high blood pressure and diabetes at participating barbershops. Educating men about prostate cancer has been added to the mix.

“The addition of prostate cancer came not just from my interest, but because Black men in the barbershop often raised a question about it,” says Dr. Stanley K. Frencher, a Los Angeles-based urologist who teamed up with the BBHOP.

Frencher notes that Black men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at 1.6 times the rate more than any other ethnic group, and they die disproportionately at two times the rate of other groups from the disease.

When men visit barbershops participating in outreach efforts, they are shown a culturally appropriate educational video about prostate cancer.

“If you look at the American Cancer Society guidelines and look at what the American Urological Association says about prostate cancer screenings — none of those organizations endorse screening per se, but what they do endorse is informing men of their choices,” Frencher noted.

“What we do is we ensure that Black men can have information that they can understand and digest, in a place that they trust,” he says.

“We inform them about the fact that prostate cancer screening is not foolproof but that they should have a discussion with their physician about their choices.”

During prostate cancer screenings, men undergo a baseline PSA (prostate specific-antigen) test, which measures proteins in the blood and a rectal exam.

The American Cancer Society noted that research has not yet proven that the benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment. The ACS recommends that starting at age 50, men should talk to their doctors about the pros and cons of testing. For African-American men who have a father or a brother who had prostate cancer before age 65, these discussions should start at age 45.

The BBHOP is analyzing the impact of its prostate cancer outreach on men’s decisions to be screened for the disease.

“Some of our preliminary results show that men who didn’t understand the disease at all, now understand prostate cancer very well and changed their mind in terms of whether or not they wanted screening tests as a result of being educated about the disease,” Frencher pointed out.

Frencher recently partnered with Janssen Biotech, Inc., to raise awareness of the resources available for advanced prostate cancer patients on the website www.MyProstateCancerRoadmap.com

The BBHOP is also participating in a National Institutes of Health funded two-year project that measures the impact of the initiative on men’s health, particularly around the areas of diabetes and high blood pressure.

The initiative partners with local medical schools, civic and fraternal organizations administer the screenings and dissimilate health information at participating barbershops.

“We really believe that the way health care is going to be delivered is it’s not going to be in hospitals and clinics in the future, but rather by reaching out to people in the community where they are and getting them to embrace their health,” Frencher added.

Contact Tribune staff writer Ayana Jones at (215) 893-5747 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Clarence H. Still Jr. was the founding president and chairman of the Lawnside Historical Society, Inc.

He died May 4, 2012. He was 83.

More than 22 years ago, Still halted the demolition of the Peter LaMott House, now a Historical Society-owned and operated Underground Railroad Museum in Lawnside. The Peter LaMott House will be closed on Saturday in honor of Still.

Still was a collector of African-American historical memorabilia, artifacts, documents and books.

He celebrated the Still Family, cherished its legacy and promoted its heritage at every opportunity and in many ways.

He was the long-time chairman of the Still Family Historical Committee. Each year the committee hosted the Still Family Reunion, a tradition for more than 140 years carrying out the wishes of his ancestor, William Still, regarded as the father of the Underground Railroad. William Still was an abolitionist, a businessman and a member of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee whose own family had been wounded by slavery and slave catchers venturing into New Jersey.

Still was instrumental in donating thousands of photographs and negatives by the famed Philadelphia photographer John Mosley to the Charles Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University. Mosley was married to Clarence’s sister, Theresa, who died earlier this year.

Still was born Feb. 3, 1929, to Beatrice and Clarence H. Still. He was a graduate of Lawnside Public School and Haddon Heights High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and became an aircraft specialist. He was honorably discharged in 1952. He worked for the Budd Company for 33 years, retiring as a plant supervisor.

In 1953, Still married his high school sweetheart, Verline Mitchell. They had two sons, Clarence IV of Lawnside, and Reginald of Hampton, Va.; and three grandchildren. He is also survived by three brothers, Kenneth and Charles of Lawnside, and Cecil of Princeton, N.J.

The first viewing will be held May 11 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mount Zion United Methodist Church, 134 S. White Horse Pike, Lawnside, N.J. A second viewing will be held May 12 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. Services will follow at 11.

A repast will follow at the Wayne R. Bryant Community Center, 323 E. Charleston Ave., Lawnside.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Still Family Historical Committee, c/o 137 E. Oak Ave., Lawnside, N.J. 08045. 

Ida McKiever Burnette Patterson was a deaconess.

She died April 12, 2012. She was 102.

According to her family, Patterson lived a life inspired by the words of her favorite hymn and signature phrase, Just as I Am.

She was affectionately known as “Mom Patterson,” “Cousin Ida,” “Nana” and “Aunt Ida.” She made everyone around her feel like family.

Born June 24, 1909, to Joshua Wayman Burnette and Lucy Hodgkins Williams Burnette in Pocomoke City, Maryland, she moved with her family to Pennsylvania in 1915.

The family settled in Philadelphia’s “Black Bottom” neighborhood a predominately African-American community on the west side of Philadelphia. She grew up with her four brothers, Josh, Leon, William, John and her beloved sister, Minnie. Educated in the Philadelphia Public School System, she received her nursing assistant degree in 1967 from the National School of Nursing. On June 28, 1930, she married Samuel Jesse Patterson. Their union brought forth two sons, Samuel R. Patterson and Joseph D. Patterson.

As a young woman, Patterson joined Mount Pisgah African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church where she cultivated her spiritual gifts of worship, witnessing, and sharing the love of Christ. She served as a founding member and director of the Celestial choir. She was also a founding member of the Flower Club and served as a member of the Women’s Missionary Society, Never Fail Boosters and South Carolina Club, and was a pastor’s aide. Her commitment to God and the AME church was recognized on May 22, 1982, when she was consecrated as deaconess in the Philadelphia AME conference under the hand of Bishop Richard Allen Hildebrand.

Despite her extensive involvement in church activities, her family said she will be remembered most for how the Holy Spirit, Sunday after Sunday, moved through her in fervent shouts of praise and dance.

She is survived by her sons, Samuel R. Patterson and his wife, Barbara; Rev. Joseph D. Patterson Sr., retired presiding elder AMEC and his wife, Joyce; grandchildren, Joseph Patterson Jr., Jewel Patterson, Jocelyn Patterson, Vija Robinson and Kgell Patterson; and other relatives and friends.

Services will be held April 21 at Hickman Temple AME Church. Viewing will be held at 9 a.m. Services will follow at 10. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Valerie Erwin has taken a step towards propelling her business in a new direction.

As the owner of Geechee Girl Rice Café, Erwin is one of 44 women entrepreneurs who won the Make Mine a Million $ (M3 1000) business event’s pitch competition.

Held by nonprofit Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, the initiative is geared towards inspiring 1,000 women entrepreneurs to meet the $1 million revenue mark in 18 to 36 months.

More than 200 participants turned out for a business growth event held at Philadelphia’s Doubletree Hotel. During the program, 79 women delivered a two-minute pitch before an audience of judges where they explained why their company could grow into a $1 million enterprise. Participants hailed from as far away as California and Texas.

Erwin joins 25 business owners from Pennsylvania in winning the pitch competition including Nicole Newman, Newman Networks LLC of Lansdowne and Kimberly Cuthbert, Sweet Jazmines Pastry Shop of Berwyn.

“It was really uplifting, really helpful. I went to some of the practice pitches and everybody who makes comments always starts off whenever they are critiquing anybody with the most positive words they have,” Erwin says in regards to participating in the pitch competition.

The pitch competition was open to women business owners who have been in business for at least a year and have annual revenues of $85,000 to $700,000. The winners received a prize package that includes professional coaching and a $1,000 AmEx gift card.

Erwin turned out for the M3 program because she no longer wants to be tied to her café’s kitchen. Instead she wants to focus building other aspects of her business.

“I work in a really hands on, manual labor-intensive business. I love cooking. I love making the meals. I love talking to the customers, but realistically speaking I can’t do that forever. So I have to think about how the business can go on, while I can do something that isn’t as physically taxing,” says Erwin, who serves as her restaurant’s main chef.

She’s considering expanding her business concept to include food trucks, one of the recent trends in the food business.

The event featured keynote addresses from Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price and top media mogul and business expert Jen Groover, educational business workshops and networking opportunities.

During her address, Price spoke on the challenges of growing Carol’s Daughter to a multimillion bath and beauty product entity.

“What I found through 18 years of doing this is that the biggest hurdle, the biggest obstacle has always been myself, and it’s better for me to work on making myself a more well-rounded person, a more balanced person, a more confident person and that in turn speaks to business,” said Price.

In 2005, Count Me In and founding sponsor American Express OPEN introduced the M3 program in response to Census statistics showing that while women-owned businesses represented nearly 50 percent of privately held companies, only 2.6 percent of their businesses reported more than $1 million.

“We really saw that as a rallying cry to help provide tools and services to help women business owners grow,” said Karen-Michelle Mirko, director of Customer Advocacy Marketing at American Express OPEN.

“Unfortunately we just did a report on the state of women owned businesses and they’re still at the two percent mark — 1.8 percent, so we know more work has to be done to help women-owned businesses grow.”

“This event is the first step for these women business owners,” Mirko says of the M3 program.

“This is where they break out of their shell, they raise their hands and they say ‘I want to commit myself to making a $1 million in revenue.’ A large percentage of women entrepreneurs are sole proprietors so this is great way to get other people talking about their business.”

“We are thrilled by the eagerness of women across the country to grow their businesses, create jobs in their communities and create stability for their families and the national economy,” said Count Me In founder Nell Merlino.

According Merlino, 30 percent of M3 participants have reached the goal of $1 million in annual revenues.

For 2010 M3 Awardee, Princess Jenkins, participating in the program enabled her to develop a strategic plan for her business.

“It basically forced me to sit down and look at my business long-term and identify my business as business that could meet the $1 million mark. It became an obtainable goal,” said Jenkins, who is the owner of The Brownstone, a Harlem-N.Y.-based women’s clothing boutique.

To attain her goal, Jenkins opened a second store in Harlem, redefined the company’s branding message, revamped Brownstone’s website and launched a new catalog. This year, she returned to M3 1000 as a vendor where she was able to display Brownstone’s clothing collection.

As an M3 awardee, Jenkins was able to tap into national public relations that nettled media coverage for her business.

“The public relations was exceptional,” said Jenkins, who had the opportunity to help raise awareness of the power of women in business by joining Merlino and other M3 awardees in ringing the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.

The new pitch winners will move to the next step of becoming M3 awardees. Each pitch winner will undergo extensive financial, business plan and professional reference reviews in order to determine their businesses potential to grow into million dollar enterprises quickly. M3 Awardees will be announced in late October.

Contact Tribune staff writer Ayana Jones at (215) 893-5747 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .