‘90s FAMILY : Working Mom Sets Up Pro-Family Group

A little time off to stay home with her newborn daughter seemed reasonable to Mary Mannix Meister. Her employer, the Philadelphia Gas Works, thought otherwise. Six weeks of maternity leave was all she was entitled to, the company said, denying her request for six more weeks off with no pay.

Meister stewed for a year about the travails of working parents. Then, about a year ago, she set up the National Coalition of Working Parents, a nonprofit group. Its mission statement says the organization is determined to “raise the consciousness of corporate America as to the importance of setting pro-family policies, and enhance the quality of life of working parents and their children.”

National Coalition of Working Parents, P.O. Box 631553, Philadelphia, Pa. 19114-0853.

Black Children Look to Family for Role Models

Most African American children find their heroes not among athletes or entertainers but in their own families, according to a poll commissioned by the Children’s Defense Fund and the Black Community Crusade for Children. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed named their parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles as role models. Religious leaders were mentioned, second only to relatives, as having the greatest influence on black youngsters.

Anti-Illiteracy Group Adds to Its Services

Basic Adult Spanish Education is a nonprofit organization founded in Southern California in 1987 to combat illiteracy among Latinos. It has 25 learning centers and recently added a Spanish-language child-care manual to its menu of services. Topics include the baby-sitter, choosing a nanny, children’s rights, pregnancy, nutrition, feeding, hygiene and illness. For more information, call (818) 348-4771.