January 2004
Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter Community Forum Brings Cedar Park Neighbors Up to Date By Eric Grau and Maureen Tate edar Park Neighbors (CPN) held C a community forum at the Calvary Community Center on December 9 to bring members and neighbors up to date on the activities of the organization and the implementation of its long range plan.
Communicating to Membership The membership committee reported an increased membership, over 300, with most members current. CPN has a wonderful new brochure, produced by board member Judy Lamirand, and residents can look forward to a display about Cedar Park that is being developed for an unused store window on the 4900 block of Baltimore Avenue. The CPN website has been launched at www.cedarparkneighbors.org and will continue to develop under the direction of board members Sean Joe, John Ellingsworth, and Judy Lamirand. It provides information about the neighborhood, the activities of CPN, information resources for neighborhood residents, and ways of becoming involved in the organization. In addition to a monthly newsletter, members are now receiving periodic e-mail communications on meeting and news updates, providing a more efficient system of connecting members to areas of interest for involvement. The organization is also working on by-laws revisions, fundraising, and Board development.
Block Organizing CPN is actively involved in helping blocks become more organized. Meeting many of its early goals in this effort, CPN updated its Block Leaders E-Mail Network, developed a block leaders kit, and hosted a block conference in November attended by more than 40 block leaders to share ideas, identify local problems, and generate possible solutions to those problems. Board members have attended block meetings and have intervened on identified issues. CPN has been invited to attend more block meetings. Future gatherings of block leaders have been requested and plans will
be put in place to initiate a block improvement grants program in consultation with UCGreen.
Education and Youth Development Developing the CPN Scholarship Program is the primary emphasis in the area of Education at this time. The Fund provides financial support to needy local high school students who are headed toward college. The organization is devising ways to increase its support to the scholarship fund and increase awareness among eligible teens. The Scholarship Committee, headed by Gary Bronson, will focus on contacting local businesses, developing literature for the program, seeking more funds, and reaching out to students at West Philadelphia High School.
Community Promotion and Development CPN is one of six neighborhoods to participate in The Neighborhood Marketing Campaign, a project designed by the Philadelphia Central Development Corporation to attract new residents to stable neighborhoods outside of Center City. CPN’s interest is to focus the marketing effort on blocks in Cedar Park west of 49th Street. A brochure was developed for each of the six city neighborhoods and each are highlighted on a website, www.phillyathome.com.
The Crossroads Project The Crossroads Project is a community development project focused on improvements at the very center of Cedar Park at 49th Street and Baltimore Avenue. CPN has chosen this area because it is a hightraffic corridor projecting a high-visibility image of the Cedar Park community. The project focuses on four general areas: local business support, housing/property concerns, crime issues, and Cedar Park itself. Regarding business support, CPN has been actively involved in improving the Baltimore Avenue corridor through the work of the Baltimore Avenue Planning Group, continued on page 4
An n Invitatio in o J o t
edar Park Making C ce to live, la p a better lay op and p. work, sh
Look for a new Cedar Park Neighbors brochure inside this newsletter. Give the brochure to a neighbor who is not yet a member and invite them to join!