September 2010
Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter President’s Message: Come on Down to the Park! By Monica Allison, President, Cedar Park Neighbors ummer has ended, children are back in school and it’s time for the annual Cedar Park Fair, being held on Saturday, September 25, 2010. There will be information tables, local entertainment, our own DJ Jamar and Danophonic Raaf spinning tunes, raffle prizes and a chance to hang out with neighbors before winter sets in. Philadelphia Federal Credit Union (PFCU) will hold a shredder event that day, so feel free to come on down with your shreddable paperwork as well.
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The park saw lots of activity this season. We had a short but successful jazz season with great artists and a wonderful crowd. Thank you to the jazz committee who pulled all of it together. Special thanks to our sponsors — Elena’s Soul, PHS, PFCU, Spruce Hill Community Association and Central City Toyota. You helped make the series come alive. The Neighborhood 2 Neighborhood Festival was held on September 4th. This year’s headliners were Macy Gray and Chrisette Michele.
Thank you Senator Anthony H. Williams for another great event. Looking ahead, past the fair, the last garden workshop in the park will be held on October 7th, at 6 p.m. The final two Baltimore Avenue Conversations will take place on October 6th at 7 p.m. and October 9th at 10 a.m., and will be hosted by People’s Baptist Church, located at 5039 Baltimore Avenue. October 9th will also be the next Second Saturday Craft Fair at 50th and Baltimore at noon. Cedar Park Neighbors Association (CPN) is looking forward to a variety of activities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the park and 50th anniversary of the association. Keep your eyes open for breaking news. As we close our summer of activity, we invite you to stroll the Avenue, patronize the businesses, attend the Credit Union shredder event, partake in the Baltimore Avenue Conversation and visit the Cedar Park table at the Fair. And remember…
There is always something good happening in Cedar Park!
Keep Talking... Baltimore Avenue Conversation Continues any residents, businesses and M organizations participated in the Baltimore Avenue Conversation initiated by CPN this past spring. The focus of the Conversation was on the blocks of Baltimore Avenue from 49th Street to 52nd Street, and the changes, additions or improvements that the community would like to see on those currently struggling blocks along the commercial corridor. A series of workshops were held at People’s Baptist Church, facilitated by a volunteer team of architects and planners from the Community Design Collaborative. The Design Collaborative team gathered all of the community input from discussions and
Neighbors danced to live music at the Friday Night Jazz concert following the awarding of CPN Scholarships. See story on page 4.
a survey, and conducted further research on the area. They presented recommendations to the community at the second workshop and received additional input to further refine their design study, which has now been compiled into a final report. A presentation of the Baltimore Avenue Community Corridor Design Study will take place on Wednesday, October 6th at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 9th at 10:00 a.m. The same presentation will be given at each session, and both sessions will be held at People’s Baptist Church. We hope you will plan to attend. For further information, please contact CPN president, Monica Allison.
Take Me Out to the Cedar Park Fair, Saturday, September 25th he annual Cedar Park Fair will be held T on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 from noon to 5 p.m. in Cedar Park. This year we will have plenty of raffle prizes from businesses local and beyond, food, face painting, moon bounce, local entertainment, and a craft fair. And let’s not forget DJ Jamar and Danophonic Raaf! Our fair is the last large event of what has been an activity-packed summer season. The children enjoy the activity table where they create masterpieces, play games, and then romp on the renovated playground. Adults renew or start their membership to Cedar Park Neighbors and find out how to become more involved in the community, purchase goods from the vendors, and meet neighbors they may not have seen since last year. Everyone gets to enjoy the great entertainment and it’s fun for the whole family. In this newsletter you’ll find twenty RAFFLE TICKETS. When you buy and sell raffle tickets, not only do you and your neighbors have a great chance to win one of many raffle prizes, but you can feel good knowing the raffle supports CPN scholarships, holiday food baskets, park maintenance, greening activities, and more, as well as the annual fair. The Grand Prize this year is $400 in Fine Dining, with gift certificates from many of our favorite local restaurants!
Look for your 20 RAFFLE TICKETS in this newsletter! Please print the buyer’s name and phone number on the ticket stubs and return with money to The Gold Standard Café (48th and Baltimore) or bring directly to the Fair.
We would like to thank our early Fair sponsors: Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, Melanie Lamond at Urban & Bye Realtor, The Gold Standard Cafe, Central City Toyota, Representative James Roebuck and O’Donnell Real Estate, for their continued financial support of the Fair.
These are easy ways for YOU to participate in the Cedar Park Fair! Donate a RAFFLE PRIZE: Gift certificate or merchandise. Rent a VENDOR TABLE: Hand out information, or sell / give away your products. Cost is $25for business, $15 for nonprofit groups. We provide an eightfoot table, table cloth AND two chairs! Become a SPONSOR: ALL contributions are appreciated and ALL will be acknowledged on the day of the Fair. Provide ENTERTAINMENT: Are you an up-and-coming musician who would like to try out some material before a captive audience? Here’s your chance! VOLUNTEER with Kids’ activities or other Fair activities. We are still accepting sponsors, raffle prizes, entertainment, vendors and volunteers. Contact: Roger Harman at 215-727-8247, or Wayne Marquardt at 215-476-1258. We are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday September 25th, but if it rains, we’ll reschedule for Saturday, October 2nd, same time, same park.
Food & Enterprise: Upcoming Events at The Enterprise Center Attn: Enterprising Foodies
Attn: Film-loving Foodies
Attn: Future Farmers
Do you have a small or home-based food business that you want to take to the next level? Do you need commercial kitchen space, assistance with licensing, or help developing your product or business model? Philly Food Ventures, our new food business development program, is now accepting applications. Learn more and access an application online at philafood.net/wp/programming/ philly-food-ventures. For more information, please contact Greg Heller at gheller@theenterprisecenter.com or 215-895-4075.
Three video documentaries on healthy eating and healthy living will premiere on Friday, October 15, 2010, 7-9 p.m. at The Enterprise Center. The event is free. The videos were produced by youth from South and West Philadelphia during workshops this summer at WHYY and the Brandywine Workshop. The Clef Club Youth Jazz Ensemble, directed by Lovett Hines, will provide music. For more information, or to RSVP, please contact Bryan Fenstermaker at bfenstermaker@theenterprisecentercdc.org or 215-895-4020.
The Penn State Cooperative Extension will present two courses at The Enterprise Center to help those thinking about small-scale commercial farming learn what it will take to start and manage a farm business. Exploring the Small Farm Dream will include four sessions, from 6 to 9 p.m., on October 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th. Income Opportunities in Urban Agriculture will be one session on Tuesday, November 9th, 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact John Byrnes at 215-471-2200 x103 or jbyrnes@psu.edu.
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CPN Newsletter
September 2010
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Congratulations to… Our 2010 CPN Scholarship Recipients! he Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarship T Committee is pleased and proud to present CPN’s annual scholarship awardees!
More students than ever applied to many colleges this year, and Cedar Park Neighbors awarded more scholarships than ever (12)!
We salute our community scholars and wish them well as they begin their studies. These awards were made possible through the generosity of local residents and businesses. This year we surpassed our fundraising goal and raised over $8,000 to support a total of twelve students, which is the largest number of scholarships we have awarded in any one year! The Scholarship Committee is incredibly grateful to the community members who continue to donate funds to make these scholarships
C O N T I N U I N G
S C H O L A R S H I P
Timothy Baldwin attended Roman Catholic High School and is now a senior at Shippensburg University, majoring in Exercise Science with a minor in Biology. At school, Timothy is an active member of the university’s Multicultural Student Association. At home, he continues to be an active member of the Cedar Park community and volunteers with Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church’s Community Kitchen Feeding Program. Timothy spent the summer in Connecticut working as a Camp Counselor. Sara Ghebremariam is a graduate of West Catholic High School and is now a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is majoring in Engineering. Sara works at Penn in the Math Department and is involved in various activities including the Kite and Key Society and the SPECS Concerts. Sara studied abroad in Austrailia this past summer.
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CPN Newsletter
possible every year. We would also like to give special recognition to the following supporters: the Dock Street Brewery & Restaurant for hosting our 3rd annual scholarship fundraiser and silent auction, the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union for their generous donation to the scholarship program again this year, to both State Senator Anthony H. Williams and State Representative James Roebuck for their continued willingness to fund our program, and last but not least to one of our own neighbors, Eric Werfel, who generously agreed to sponsor the full amount of two of this year’s student scholarships.
R E C I P I E N T S
completed his first co-op at the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation and also is a member of Drexel’s Residence Hall Association and the Philadelphia Youth Commission. Dung Nguyen graduated from West Catholic and is a sophomore at Temple University, where she majors in Biology and PrePharmacy. At West Catholic, Dung was the president of the National Honors Society and the Cultural Diversity Club, as well as an active member of the local Community Service Corps. In college she has participated actively in the Asian Student Association and is looking to volunteer in the coming years at local hospitals to help pursuer her goal of becoming a pharmacist after graduation.
Keith Russell graduated from Roman Catholic High School and is a sophomore at Neumann University, where he is majoring in Communications. He holds down a job in the University’s Student Affairs office and is active in Neumann’s intramural sports leagues.
Antoinette Trott graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls and is a sophomore at Hampton University, where she majors in Political Science. While at Girls High, Antoinette participated in many activities and clubs, including the African American Student Union, the Service Club, the Red Cross Club, Gospel Choir, and student government. She continues to be active in college life at Hampton. When she is home, Antoinette is an active member of her church.
Lawrence Jones-Mahoney, a graduate of West Philadelphia High School, is a junior at Drexel University, where he is studying Business Administration and is a member of the Pennoni Honors College. While in school, Lawrence remains an active member of the West Philly community through his involvement with the Phila delphia Student Union. He recently
Jeremiah Kulasegram-Wilson graduated from West Catholic High School and is a sophomore at LaSalle University, where he majors in English. Jeremiah has held down a job at the University library and is involved in both the University’s Yearbook Club and Literary Magazine. He was also an active volunteer at the National Democratic Headquarters this year.
N E W
S C H O L A R S H I P
Our brand-new, first-time awardees… Hanh Nguyen graduated from West Catholic High School and is a freshman at Temple University where she plans to pursue a Bachelor’s of Nursing degree. Hanh is one of the top five graduates in her class from West Catholic and was an active member of the Cultural Diversity Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions, and the Community Service Corps among others. Donyaire Chriss graduated from the Bartram Hign School Honors Academy and is attending Pennco Tech for Automotive Technology. In high school, Donyaire worked at the Please Touch Museum, helping to organize activities, tours and community service events for children and their families. Donyaire also played varsity football at Bartram for two years. Miranda Siddall graduated from Central High School and is a freshman at Bryn Mawr College, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree. Miranda has been an active volunteer for both Cedar Park Neighbors and St. Francis De Sales church (knitting and making waffles!) for many years. At Central, Miranda helped to edit the school’s literary magazine. At Bryn Mawr, she plans to study agriculture policy and the history of food production.
R E C I P I E N T S
Noah Cohen graduated from Delaware County Christian School and now attends Drexel University’s School of Nursing. Noah is an active community volunteer and Junior Block Captain in our neighborhood, where he has participated extensively in local gardening and upkeep projects on his own block and in Cedar Park; both on his own and as part of projects he organized for and with his peers. Zachary Spence graduated from George Washington Carver High School for Engineering & Science and is a freshman at the Howard University School of Engineering. In high school, Zachary was a member of the National Honors Society and the National Society for Black Engineers. Additionally, Zachary competed in cross country, basketball and baseball. Zachary is also the lucky winner of our first-ever Best Buy “dorm package,” sponsored by our wonderful supporters at the South Philly Best Buy. All recipients were surprised and delighed to get office supply “care packages” delivered to them at home in the week following the award ceremony, the first of several mailings they will receive from the scholarship committee throughout the year.
State Representative James Roebuck (left), Desiree Jones of State Senator Anthony H. William’s office (5th from right) with this year’s Scholarship Award recipients. September 2009
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CPN Newsletter
Cedar Park Neighbors Membership Application/Renewal ● New Member
Name
Name
Address
Address
● Renewal ● Multi-year (max. 3 years)
# of years_____ ● $10 Individual
City, State, Zip
● $15 Household (2 persons or more) ● $ 7 Senior/Student/Unemployed
Phone
Phone
● $30 Business ● $40 Sponsor (one free CPN t-shirt!)
Additional contribution: (Write $ amount)
_____ Holiday baskets _____ Scholarships _____ Jazz Series _____ Other, specify _________________________
● Yes, I would like to receive an email notice with
CPN t-shirt: (Write $ amount if not Sponsor and circle size)
_____ Short Sleeve Adult S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL,4XL, 5XL, 6XL ($15) _____ Short Sleeve Kids S, M, L, XL ($15) _____ Long Sleeve Adult S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL ($20) _________TOTAL ENCLOSED
a link to the current newsletter on the CPN website (and do not deliver a paper copy to my home). Email Website Phone
contact@cedarparkneighbors.org www.cedarparkneighbors.org 267-531-4147
Return form with check to: Cedar Park Neighbors Calvary Community Center 4740 Baltimore Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19143
Check your areas of interest for potential participation: ● Block Organizing: Maintain list of Block Leaders, organize forums etc. ● Block Improvement Grants Committee: Review applications, help awardees implement projects etc. ● Board of Directors: CPN leadership and decision-making body. ● Cedar Park Fair: Publicity, children’s activities, venders, entertainment, etc. ● Cedar Park Garden Tenders: Plant and maintain gardens at Cedar Park. ● Clean-up Committee: Promote participation in block clean-up days and Tire Round-up. ● Education Committee: Interaction with local schools and parents on issues. ● Fundraising: Special events, grant writing. ● Holiday Baskets: Coordinate and assist distribution to needy Cedar Park families. ● Hospitality: Provide refreshments for community meetings and special events. ● Membership Committee: Promote membership to residents and businesses. ● Newsletter: Writing, publishing, photography, distribution. ● Property/Housing Task Force: Strategize/respond to issues of deteriorated property. ● Scholarship Committee: Raise funds, promote program, and select awardees. ● Website: Technical support, maintenance, updating info/pictures etc. ● Zoning Committee: Monitor & communicate issues to residents;
appear before Zoning Board of Adjustment, coordinate meetings. Cedar Park Neighbors is a 501[c]3 not-for-profit organization. All contributions are fully tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes.
September 2010
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c/o Calvary Community Center 4740 Baltimore Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19143
CPN Mission Statement: Cedar Park Neighbors is an association of diverse households and businesses based in the Cedar Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the association shall be to foster collaboration among all persons living and working in the Cedar Park neighborhood, to promote community development, to provide a forum for communication and community education, to respond to neighborhood concerns and to advocate for and promote the general welfare of the Cedar Park community. Newsletter Editors Maureen Tate & Judy Lamirand Newsletter Design Judy Lamirand, Parallel Design To Contact Cedar Park Neighbors or submit Newsletter items: contact@cedarparkneighbors.org www.cedarparkneighbors.org 267-531-4147
Fantastic! Add More Plastic to the Recycling Stream! As of August 1st, Philadelphia expanded its plastic recycling. You have been recycling: #1 Soda, water bottles #2 Milk jugs, detergents, shampoo bottles Now you can add to your recycling bin: #3 Rigid plastic containers and juice bottles #4 Plastic tubs and lids from butter, margarine or similar products #5 Yogurt container and deli trays #6 Plastic cups, plates and to-go containers #7 Mixed plastic containers and products What else can be recycled: • Cans: aluminum, tin, or iron • Glass: brown, clear, or green food and beverage containers • Paper: Newsprint, magazines, catalogs, mail, printer and copier paper, telephone books
• Cardboard: corrugated cardboard, cereal boxes • Kitty litter buckets • Bottle caps, plastic and metal What can’t be recycled: • Plastic bags (many grocery stores take these) • Styrofoam and similar material in meat trays, egg cartons, clamshells • Microwave trays • Mirrors and windows • Lightbulbs • Ceramics and porcelain • Coat hangers • Cookware and bakeware • PVC pipe • Waxed paper and waxed cardboard • Plastic cutlery • Plastic six-pack rings • Unnumbered plastics
For complete details, please visit: philadelphiastreets.com/san-residential-overview.aspx Page 8
CPN Newsletter
CPN Board President Monica Allison 1st Vice-President Naomi Fiordimondo 2nd Vice-President Sean Dorn Secretary Dorothy Welch Berlind Treasurer Karen Allen Directors
Algernong Allen Michael Clapper Danielle Denk Laurie Friedman Michael Froehlich Lisa Johanningsmeier Fred Kauffman Theresa McCole Manzi Jessica Naugle McAtamny Bruce McCullough Ray Murphy Sheri McFarland Sara Nissley Beverly Rouse Neil Toensmeier Richard Warner