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WEEK JULY 27, 2016 VOL. 1 NO. 24
ZOO360INSIDER New app gives ‘Insider’ look at the Philadelphia Zoo. 6
GIVE AND GO ATHLETICS
Brewerytown-based summer camp has combined sports with learning life skills for nearly seven years. 8
MOVIE REVIEWS Short reviews of movies at the Pearl. 5
JAZZ ON THE AVE Saturday, July 30th will be the aluminum anniversary of the “Jazz on the Ave” Musical Festival at Broad and Cecil. 5
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letcher Street Urban Riding Club is only a few permits away from reestablishing itself as a place for the children of Strawberry Mansion to learn to ride and care for horses, said Ellis Ferrell. “We have the stables, we’ve got the contractor to move them in,” he said. “All we need is the money to get the permits.” Ferrell’s plan is to have prefabricated stables installed on the property at 2607-11 Fletcher St. “It just made sense. There was so much trouble keeping the club together and getting people to help. The smart thing to do was make sure that we’d have the stables ready to go,” he said. “Once the land is settled they
will get put on.” “The city wants builders ID numbers,” he continued. “But we aren’t building anything so I don’t know what to tell them.” Ferrell is the club’s riding instructor, benefactor and, in recent years, greatest champion. He has been working to ensure that the club can continue to serve kids in the community. Ferrell has been riding in Philadelphia since the 1970s and has been informally involved with riding clubs on and around Fletcher Street since 1980. Continued on Page 2.
ACCU-REGGIE 7-day weather forecast for the region. 3
COMMUNITY CALENDAR Events and happenings in our neighborhoods. 7
HOT OFF THE
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hen I arrive early at a small studio space at 1124 Buttonwood Street, I’m greeted by owner Roneisha Smith-Davis, a lifelong dancer-turned-studio-director. She’s very busy when I enter, answering phone calls, sending her students off, and talking paperwork. The studio is humming with children’s laughter and landed moves, music faintly bumping from a back corner. One young woman walks by and places an SAT book down on the table as others perform a routine behind her. B’ella Ballerina prides itself as an organization where academics meet
extracurriculars and confidence meets professional edge. “I get to be in training company one and I get to travel everywhere with them. I get to experience things that other people cannot do that I can do,” said Simone, 9, a student of Smith-Davis’. “I want to be a professional dancer one day.” Of all of the students I spoke to, the consensus was the same: The kids are in it to win it and their tenure at B’ella Ballerina is a big boost to their Continued on Page 4.
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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016
Continued from Page 1. “Sometimes we were on Fletcher Street, sometimes we were at 32nd and Master,” he said. “But we were always out, we always had stables around Strawberry Mansion.” Ferrell said that he had started with this iteration of Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club since 2004 and at its peak he had around 20 students. The permanent location of the Fletcher Street Urban Riders Club has been in flux since 2011, when Ferrell and the club had to vacate the stables on Fletcher Street. Originally, Ferrell said, he was told that they could remain in their home on Fletcher Field. One day, however, he said he was informed that the City of Philadelphia would not approve the Club to keep stables on the field. After years of moving from stable to stable, Ferrell, with the assistance of Susan Jordan, another benefactor of the Club, was able to secure the deed to three lots of Fletcher Street in late 2014. Now, as Ferrell said, they are at a standstill and need to file for the proper permits to finally bring the horses to their new home. Ferrell said that another obstacle right now is a series of miscommunications between himself and Jordan, who's managing the club’s Rally.org fundraising page. “She won’t give us the money until we get the permits,” he said. “But we don’t have the money for the permits right now.” Ferrell is trying to figure out a way forward. He said he appreciates all the efforts to raise money for the club but he manages the day-to-day operations of the club on his own. “I’ve gone three times and been told three different things: $100, $500 and more,” he said. “Until I can get someone to go with me and figure it out, I don’t think we’re gonna get it done.” Ellis also alludes to unrelated conflicts with contractors who donated their services to clear the lot on Fletcher Street. He said that after a conflict with a neighbor the last contractor walked away in the interest of keeping peace between the club and the neighborhood. Despite the struggles to reestablish Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club’s stables, Ferrell always keeps the kids in mind. “I had two kids follow the horses back to the stables on bikes. This must’ve been 2007 or 2008. They helped me a lot around then,” he said. Unfortunately the turbulent years without a steady home have caused many of Ferrell’s students to lose interest in horses. Others have simply moved away. “The kids tell me it [riding and caring for horses] teaches respect and responsibility,” Ferrell said. “I know I’ve kept some of them out of trouble.” “You can’t fidget and act too excited around the horses,” he added. “The horses know when kids are too excited.” Ferrell explained that many of the kids had never been around an animal as large as a horse before and needed to learn how to behave in order to stay safe and treat the horses properly. “The kids get it pretty quick,” he said. “Usually it’s just nerves at first.” “My dream would be to get the stalls down,” he said. “I’d like to use Fletcher Field as a place for riding lessons again.” At 77 years old, Ferrell has decades of riding and teaching experience. “I’m a Tallahassee boy and I got my start riding bulls Ellis Ferrell of the Fletcher Street Urban Riders. /All photos by Patrick Clark
on my grandmother’s farm,” he said. “As soon as I found somebody with a horse, I had to convince him to let me ride.” A childhood spent riding bulls and looking for a horse to ride started a lifelong love of riding. After moving to Philadelphia, Ferrell started to rent horses to ride in Fairmount Park. “I used to rent horses up near Simon Gratz [high school] until I had the money to buy my own,” he said. “That would’ve been around 1971. I got my first two horses at the beginning of that year: February or March.” Ferrell and the Club help more than just neighborhood kids, they save horses.
“We used to take field trips to horse auctions and save them from the kill pen,” he said. “I used to be lucky enough to be able to let the kids pick the horses for me and if it looked like they’d work out, we’d save them.” Ferrell said he occasionally would get thoroughbreds cast off by people only interested in horse racing. “They were great. They loved to run, they were built to run. And our track wasn’t too big,” he said. “The kids could go pretty fast and the horses could stretch their legs.” “Forever my dream was just to see the smile on kids’ faces,” Ferrell said. “That’s what I used to have and what I want back.” •
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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016 FORECAST FOR PENN’S GARDEN
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Kay, I give up. As if a near entire week of 95 degree heat isn’t enough, the weather sticks its tongue out at us once more and decides to tack on a few more days of monster heat just for good measure! This is just brutal. It's been easy forecasting the weather these past two weeks since we’ve been locked into this sweltering pattern. If anyone asks you what the weather is going to be tomorrow just say “95.” Well, I do have some good news: The heat will be letting up somewhat heading into the weekend. Thursday looks like it’ll be our last day of 90+ for the immediate future. The best chances for storms is on Friday, Saturday and to a lesser extent Sunday. No day will be a complete washout, but Friday could feature a couple rounds of thunderstorms and showers. On the other side of all this storm
activity will be cooler temperatures and lower humidity. A fine trade off after all this heat I’d say! Wednesday kicks off the weather period very hot and humid. Temperatures will be in the 90s for the 6th straight day. Thursday continues the heat wave to a 7th day. Enough is enough. Thankfully this should be the last of the monster heat for this week at least. Friday features temperatures topping out in the middle 80s with periods of rain beginning in the morning and lasting until the early evening. The weekend looks very nice as temperatures remain warm enough for us to enjoy the weather without the suffocating aspect we’ve been dealing with. There is a chance for a shower each day but don’t count on it.
Monday and Tuesday continue the nice streak of weather, but brace yourself, I have a pretty good feeling the big, bad summer muggies will return soon! The weather winner of the week is the Monday; the weather loser is Thursday. Accu-Reggie will be out of the country with limited access to internet between July 27th and August 10th. During this time, daily weather updates will unfortunately very rarely occur. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience. •
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Page 4 Continued from Page 1. careers and confidence. “We have different opportunities, we’re different from other dance schools,” said Sanaa, another student. “Other dance schools don’t really get the opportunity to travel around and dance for different people. We get to dance at parties, proms, [and other events].” “When I first came here, I wasn’t that good of a dancer,” said Simone, “but as I came here I kept getting better and better.” The company has just returned from a trip to Disney, where they performed “with other dance schools from around the world,” said Nasir, 13. “It was fun. It was a good experience.” Nasir has learned a lot at B’ella Ballerina, including dance terminology and new moves. “I didn’t really think that I would be a dancer at all,” Nasir said, “but once I came here, after my first class, I thought that I could make this a career. I actually did things that I didn’t know I was able to do, so I thought, ‘Why not excel?’” He now aspires to perform on Broadway. Other students echoed similar dreams and sentiments. Kaliyah, 8, said that she gets to express herself at B’ella. “I want to have a career [in dance],” she said. “I want to be like Miss Roneisha.” “Miss Roneisha” Smith-Davis has been dancing for her entire life. “Wherever there was an audition, she wanted to be there. Roneisha wrote it down when she was two; we still have it,” her mother, Jacqueline Upshur Davis, said. “‘I want to be a dance teacher, I want to have a dance floor, and I want to be a professional dancer.” As a child, financial constraints often prevented Smith-Davis' friends and family from being able to watch her showcase her talents, as she’d often perform out of the area. So, Smith-Davis decided to open her studio in North Philly, her home. “A lot of the parents say, ‘Thank you for bringing the arts back to the community, because we didn’t have that for so long,’” said Smith-Davis. “I’m a thinker. If I have something in my head, I’m going to do it by all means, and for so long I just used to say, ‘Just give me the space. If someone would just give me the space [...] I’d open up.” Smith-Davis' studio is named, in part, for her late grandmother, Ella-Mae Smith and, in part, for the message of inner and outer beauty the studio works to imbue in students. The first incarnation of B'ella Ballerina was in a carpeted space on the second floor of Smith-Davis' friend's daycare program. After promoting her studio on social media, Smith-Davis saw a roughly 50 person turnout on registration day without the aid of flyers or other promotional materials and her crew was loyal. “Parents who knew that I danced and had so much passion, who were waiting for me to open, came. I think all but three of the group [of students] you spoke with have been with me since I opened,” she said. As I sat cross-legged on the hardwood floors with Smith-Davis and her students, she told me about her own struggles with body image and exclusion.
The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016 B'ella Ballerina class in session. /All photos by Jordyn Cordner
“What’s our slogan?” she asked, gesturing to her students. As a chorus, they recite: “Every ballerina and dancer is beautiful inside and out.” She tells me that the slogan came to her after she made the top 46 at a dance audition in L.A., but was rejected in the final round. “She went out to L.A. on her own, and I prayed, and I was afraid, but that was something that she wanted to do. So she went out to the audition, and that was big for her. There were 500 people, and she made it to the finals,” says Upshur Davis. “My dance skills were there, but because I didn’t look like the rest [of the dancers], I didn’t get in. And I was like, ‘What did I audition for, did I audition for a dance team or did I audition to be a model?” she said. This discouraged Smith-Davis, but not for long. “After putting some thought into it I’m like ‘Okay, I can’t let that stop me. One 'no' could be someone else’s 'yes.'’ "That was in July of 2013, and in October of 2013, the dance school came about,” Smith-Davis said. “Everybody’s going to look different, but if you have the skills, use it, and don’t let anyone stop you because of it. That’s pretty much where the slogan came from and the body
positivity.” The studio hopes to be a safe place for students to thrive personally and academically. Smith-Davis and Upshur Davis both express the importance of involving youth in positive programs to combat the issues many find themselves in while navigating the tangled thickets of growing older. “I’ve realized that keeping Roneisha involved in dance kept her out of a lot of the negativity of coming up as a teen,” said Upshur Davis. “It encouraged her to be the young woman that she is today, and I say that to a lot of the parents. Having [kids] in an extracurricular activity makes them a more well rounded individual. I watch how they come here, and to get them off the streets with all of the violence and the bullying and things like that… here, it’s safe. They can dance, they can hang out. It’s most important.” B’ella Ballerina runs a dance school from September to June, a summer camp from July to August, aftercare that runs after hours during the summer camp season, and workshops. In summer, teens and adults who wish to take recreational lessons can take part in adult workshops. B’ella also offers fitness classes run by Smith Davis’s brother. •
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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016
WRITTEN BY SPENCER HOMAN
Jazz on the Ave
J A Z Z M U S I C A L F E S T I VA L C E L E B R AT I N G I T S 1 0 T H Y E A R AT B R O A D A N D C E C I L B . M O O R E
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aturday, July 30th will be the aluminum anniversary of the “Jazz on the Ave” Musical Festival when Beech Community Services hosts the tenth annual event. Between Broad and 17th Street, along Cecil B. Moore Ave, will be a fun community event that thousands of guests attend at no cost. The event takes place from noon until 8 pm. In addition to many vendors being present, the event will also feature live music throughout the festival. This year’s headliner will be Jeff Bradshaw and Friends, an award winning jazz musician allmusic.com describes as a “North Philadelphia-born soul-jazz and hip-hop funk innovator and trombone virtuoso.” Other musicians will be traveling from as far as the Great Lakes region, the Lone Star State, and the Rocky Mountains. The President of Beech Companies stated in a June 15th press release that the festival has “celebrated legends like John Coltrane, Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday, and Dizzy Gillespie- all who played right here on Cecil B. Moore Avenue.” Readers of the Spirit’s last April publication will remember that John Coltrane lived in Strawberry Mansion in a house that he bought for his family with his G.I. Bill. This very house on N. 33rd Street is where Coltrane was inspired to create his masterpiece A Love Supreme. Coltrane recorded albums with Dizzy Gillespie, a bebop musician from South Carolina who entertained listeners all over the world. Allmusic’s Scott Yanow describes Gillespie’s music as being so complex, that “his contemporaries ended up copying Miles Davis and Fats Navarro instead.” Gillespie won a scholarship to an agricultural school, but he was inspired by jazz and decided to drop out of school to pursue a career in music. The genre was gifted by his innovation and the progressive style of jazz he began playing in the 1930s and continued until his death in 1993 in Englewood, New Jersey. Ethel Waters was born in Chester, but her talents brought her across the entire country to perform in many different forms. Biography.com explains that Ethel not only sang professionally in Baltimore at age 17, but she also performed in Harlem before transitioning to Broadway. Eventually she even acted in movies in California. IMDB credits her with acting in 28 movies and television shows, including two appearances on “The Jackie Gleason Show.” Her longest role was in the show “Beulah,” where she played the title character in 39 episodes of the family comedy. In addition to contributing to 38 soundtracks, redhotjazz. com states that she acted alongside Duke Ellington and regularly sang alongside Billy Graham. Ethel Waters died in 1977 in Los Angeles. Time.com wrote an article about Billie Holiday for her 100th birthday on April 7th, 2015. Born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia during the First World War, she moved to Baltimore at a young age after her father abandoned her and her mother. Unfortunately, Billie Holiday’s misfortune would not end with being raised by a poor single-mother. Billie’s mother traveled on railroad cars for work and did not spend much time with her. Billie and her mother moved from Baltimore to New York to work as prostitutes in a brothel when Billie was only 16 years old. Although her life was surrounded with hardship and
controversy, even being “’arrested in her hospital bed’ for heroin possession,” Billie Holiday left a positive impact. The Guardian credits her for recording the “first great protest song” with 1939’s Strange Fruit. At the age of 23, Billie Holiday sang Abel Meeropo’s song about racist lynching that was taking place throughout the South. In addition to the jazz legends mentioned by Beech President Ken Scott, countless other musicians made their mark in Philadelphia and on the jazz music industry. Eddie Lang, born Salvatore Massaro, was born to Italian immigrants in Philadelphia in 1902 and quickly became talented with many instruments. His father was a violinmaker in Italy, but Eddie Lang was best at playing jazz guitar. Pursuing music with his brother Alexander, the two lived together in St. Louis, according to April 1st, 1925 Passport application. Their father Domenico now lived with the rest of the family on St. Allman Street, quite a distance away from their childhood home at Marshall Street. Being granted passports, Salvatore and Alexander were able to spend two months traveling to and from England. Unfortunately, Salvatore “Eddie Lang” Massaro died tragically young in 1933 at the age of 30 from a routine tonsil surgery. Eddie Lang’s childhood best friend Giuseppe Venuti lived a much longer life. The Riverwalk Jazz Collection of
Stanford University’s website states that “With guitarist Eddie Lang, [Venuti] pioneered the role of string instruments in jazz.” Venuti played in the Philadelphia Symphony after playing in the James Campbell School Orchestra: a step-up for sure. He recorded many songs with Eddie Lang, with whom he also decided who would play guitar and violin by flipping a coin. Although, Joe Venuti often played guitar during his time performing throughout America and Europe. In addition to being an important piece of jazz history, Venuti was also a practical joker. Explorepahistory.com describes a story where “Venuti called twenty-six tuba players in Hollywood” and told them that they all had the same gig at the same location at the same time. There was no gig at all. Venuti just thought it would be humorous to see 26 tuba players show up to a random location together. He had to pay for the compensation of each tuba player that showed up that day, but he did not mind the expense for the sake of comedy. Whether you are a fan of the legendary jazz musicians remembered for playing along what was once called Columbia Avenue, or if you are just somebody who enjoys live entertainment in the city, “Jazz on the Ave” is the event to attend. It is the easiest way to observe the next evolution of jazz music in the 21st Century in the heart of where the Philadelphia Jazz scene used to flourish. •
WRITTEN BY DAN O’NEIL
Movies at the Pearl S H O R T R E V I E W S O F M O V I E S P L AY I N G A T T H E P E A R L ( 1 6 0 0 N B R O A D S T. ) Ghostbusters
There's already been a lot of flack against the new "Ghostbusters" and it's mostly unjustified. For one, it's an okay movie that doesn't deserve any sort of hate; it's not just funny, but features plenty of fun action for every summer-viewer to get their fix. Also, the core cast (featuring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and a hilarious Chris Hemsworth), work perfectly with this material, allowing for the comedy and lovely rapport between the characters to just strike, again and again. Sure, the story is pretty simple and a lot like the original flick — ghost enthusiasts ban together to stop unstoppable ghost-like forces in the Big Apple — but it's just simple enough that it doesn't get in the way that works most. More reboots/remakes/rehashes like these, please. •
The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016
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WRITTEN BY JEN COLLETTA
Zoo360Insider NEW APP GIVES ‘INSIDER’ LOOK AT THE PHILADELPHIA ZOO
ince 2011, the Philadelphia Zoo has been growing its Zoo360, a network of animal-exploration trails that operate under the moniker, “When you move around the zoo, the zoo moves around you.” Thanks to a new mobile app, moving around the zoo has never been easier, or more interactive. Earlier this summer, the zoo launched Zoo360Insider, a free app that fuses navigation and education, helping visitors find their way around the expansive park and learn as they go. The zoo previously operated a mobile app but it was primarily info-based, with details on the zoo’s collection and descriptions of its attractions, noted Gerald Griffin, director of information technology at the zoo. Griffin spearheaded the app’s development, an 18-month process. Zoo360Insider works in tandem with the new 94 WiFi access points at the zoo, created through a partnership with Xfinity. One of the main features of the new and improved app takes advantage of the five Zoo360 trails — Gorilla Treeway, Treetop Trail, Great Ape Trail, Big Cat Crossing and Meerkat Maze — which let animals roam (on a time-sharing system) in mesh trails above and around the zoo. With Zoo360Insider, if you spot an animal in a trail, you simply tap the “Spy” icon for a particular trail and it pins the animal’s location using a time-based, heat-map function; the more people who use the function around the same time, the stronger the animal’s precise location, which can help visitors find animals who’ve ventured into the trails from their exhibits. When you pin a location, you can also snap a photo that is shared to a Zoo360 photo gallery for other users to peruse. “It’s a significant improvement that uses crowdsourcing,” Griffin said about the new app’s feature. On Spirit News' recent visit, we spotted two inhabitants of the Big Cat Crossing during our lunch stop; we jumped to the app and pinned their location and were able to read up on what turned out to be pumas. The app not only gave us helpful info on pumas in the wild but also specific details like the names and histories of the particular pumas we lunched next to. For locals like us who haven’t visited the Philadelphia Zoo in some time, the mobile app is also an immediate help for navigation. The zoo has undergone tremendous changes in the past few years; beyond the addition of the overhead maze of Zoo360 trails, the children’s zoo has been completely revamped and moved, a new maze for meerkats just opened and the zoo is even getting in on the beer-garden biz with its own watering hole. As soon as you enter the gates, the app pinpoints your location —using a meerkat icon — on a map that lays out all of the attractions. Using the “Find” button, you can explore a comprehensive list of all the zoo’s animals before selecting what you want to see. Once you hit “Go,” a dotted line pops up that shows you the easiest path to your destination, along with
the distance. Apart from helping you find your favorite animals, the navigation tool also lets you check the closest water stations, dining venues and restrooms — perfect for parents on the go. Visitors juggling children can also have their day eased by the app’s organizational abilities. With a few quick clicks, you can find all of the scheduled zookeeper talks and special events, as well as their proximity to you. With the “Itinerary” button, you can even build a list of your must-see stops for the day to keep your group on track. “Whether it’s pre-planning, laying out where you’re going to go ahead of time, or finding an animal’s destination while you’re on site, the app can do all that for you,” Griffin said. Zoo360Insider also stores all of your photos from the day in one convenient location, from which you can easily share them on social media. You can also use the program to learn about adopting animals, and take care of logistics like buying tickets or a membership. Members can even use the app as a virtual /All photos by Jen Colletta
member card for discounts throughout the zoo. Griffin said zoo management is starting to pull data from the app to see how visitors are using it, which he said will be helpful to build new iterations of the program in the future. In its current form, Zoo360Insider adds a new dimension to the zoo-going experience — one that allows you to reap the benefits of technology without losing sight of the real draw that has propelled the zoo for nearly 150 years: its more than 1,300 animals. “It’s an extension to your visit to enhance the experience,” Griffin said. “It’s meant to augment what you’re seeing in front of you, which is the great collection of animals.” Though many people, especially in the current Pokémon Go-craze, haven taken to walking with their eyes glued to their phones, Zoo360Insider is not an app that requires constant attention. You can power it up, find where you’re going and put it back in your pocket — letting you enjoy and explore with ease. •
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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016
COMMUNITY
calendar N E W S @ S P I R I T N E W S . O R G • 1 4 2 8 E . S U S Q U E H A N N A AV E • 2 1 5 . 4 2 3 . 6 2 4 6 Second Thursdays GBCDC MONTHLY MEETING The Greater Brewerytown CDC holds monthly public meetings on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30. Meetings cover a variety of community news and initiatives, and features new guests each month. Meetings are held at the GBCDC office at 3000 Master Street. Tuesdays, 7-9PM OPEN MIC NIGHT Mugshots Coffeehouse (1925 Fairmount Ave.) hosts an open mic night every Tuesday. For more information visit Mugshots Coffeehouse on Facebook. Every Saturday from June-September 9AM-12PM BREWERYTOWN GARDEN FARM STAND At 27th and Master Sts., the Brewerytown Garden will host a farm stand selling seasonal organic produce. Past sales have included collard greens, kale, mustard greens, broccoli and more. For more info, visit Brewerytown Garden’s Facebook page. Thursday, July 28 from 12-1PM PROJECT HOME COMMUNITY EVENT Free community event at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center, 2144 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Join Project HOME for community conversations about topics of your choosing. Snacks will be provided. Thursday, July 28 from 12:30-3PM EMPLOYMENT WORKSHOP A monthly workshop series at Honickman Learning Center (Room 303, 1936 Judson St.) designed to prepare and connect groups of adult job seekers with competitive employment. Sprinkled into the workshop will be group activities, thought provoking videos, and a few homework assignments. All classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first class meets on the 1st Tuesday of every month. Friday, July 29 from 2-3PM PROJECT HOME HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CLASSES Free community event at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center (2144 Cecil B. Moore Ave.) Join Project Home to learn about ways to eat healthier and have a more active lifestyle. Classes meet every Friday. Sign up with the receptionist at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center. Saturday, July 30, 12-8:30PM TENTH ANNUAL JAZZ ON THE AVE Join Patty Jackson and Dyana Williams at the intersection of Broad St. and Cecil B. Moore Ave. for a day of free live music. The "Jazz on the Ave" stage will feature live music by Philly's own Trombonist, Jeff Bradshaw & Friends with special guests. The Philly Soul Stock stage will showcase upcoming, talented, young artists from the Philadelphia and Metropolitan area. The artists lineup will be listed soon. The festival will feature health and wellness screenings, and HIV/AIDS testing. For more info, call 215-763-8868. Monday, August 1 from 5:30-8:30PM FAIRMOUNT CIVIC ASSOCIATION SUMMER SOCIAL Join the FCA for their Summer Social at Jack’s Firehouse (2130 Fairmount Ave). The event is free for members and $15 for guests. Admission includes special prices on house wine and beer. If interested, please RSVP at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/fairmount-civic-association-summer-social-tickets-26324993765 Tuesday, August 2 at 6PM NICOLE GONZALEZ VAN CLEVE: CRIMINAL COURTS AND MASS INCARCERATION Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve will discuss how America’s criminal courts act as a crucial gateway for mass incarceration. She spent ten years working in and investigating the largest criminal courthouse in the country, Chicago-Cook County. The Searchlight Series discussions take place the first Tuesday of every month, free and open to the public. No reservations required.
Wednesday, August 17 from 10-11AM DIABETES INFO SESSION Free community event at Stephen Klein Wellness Center (2144 Cecil B. Moore Ave.) Are you at risk of getting diabetes, have diabetes, know a loved one or care for someone with diabetes? Come to the Wellness Center every Wednesday for diabetes diet and lifestyle tips.
Saturday, September 10 FLEA MARKET Philly Flea Markets will host a market in front of the Eastern State Penitentary from 8AM-5PM, with over 100 vendors. Parking is available in the adjacent lot at the NW corner of 22nd and Fairmount. For more information visit philafleamarkets.org.
NETWORKING EVENTS 1st Tuesday of the Month, 6:30-8:30 PM DIG - Philadelphia Commercial Sub Group Diversified Investors Group Meetup for London Grill 2301 Fairmount Avenue For more info, contact Joe Scorese 215-290-5108 jscorese@ firstrust.com
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The Spirit of Penn’s Garden – July 27, 2016
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WRITTEN BY MARK BRAKEMAN
Give And Go BREWERYTOWN SUMMER CAMP COMBINES SPORTS WITH LIFE SKILLS
ids love to play games but they're rarely excited to learn the lessons of life that will help them cope. But a summer camp in Brewerytown has been trying to combine games with learning life skills for nearly seven years. Give And Go Athletics (G&G) has been teaching those skills since 2009. Executive Director Andre Wright said he started the camp in 2007 when his experience as a school therapeutic counselor showed him that kids need a guiding hand when school is not in session. The camp, held at the William D Kelley elementary school at 28th and Oxford Streets, is held from July 5 to August 5 each year and is offered for kids from first through eighth grades (ages 6 to 14). Currently, 80 kids attend the camp, Wright said. A total of 1,500 have used the program over its existence. Now it its seventh year, G&G has always drawn a good response from parents interested in enrolling their kids, said Wright. “We always have to turn people away,” he said. The goal of the camp, Wright said, is to use athletics to improve both physical and mental health of the kids. While physical activity makes up the bulk of the day’s activity, the athleticism is merely the language through which the lesson of life skills are taught. He described the “Numbers” game in which teams of students compete to gather more basketballs than the other. Teams stand on the basketball court’s sidelines and with an identifying number a student from each team is primed to snatch a ball from the court, but he or she cannot move until a signal is given. If a student jumps before the signal is given, their whole team must run a lap around the gym. Wright said the exercise teaches discipline and self-control. “We try to articulate into each program some of the things they might face in life,” Wright said. “They learn without knowing they’re learning.” Outside, a student is running laps around a large square of artificial turf. Fellow campers cheer him on with hoots of encouragement and applause, which Wright said teaches togetherness and having each other’s back. G&G activities also include basketball, baseball and cross-country running. A performing arts component focuses on dance, including ballet, jazz, hip-hop and African styles. Wright also runs the same program at the Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Northeast Philadelphia. During the school year there is also an evening program that runs from 6-8 PM, Monday Wednesday and Friday. Wright began his career at the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center (CCTC) at 1080 N Delaware Ave, a non-profit facility that helps at risk children with emotional difficulties who would not otherwise get treatment and their families. For such children now, G&G is helped by Carson Valley Children’s Aid, another local nonprofit social services or-
ganization that provides treatment for students with behavioral problems. But G&G also monitors those issues each day. In the mornings they gather with the students to talk about their feelings, and the program’s 8-10 volunteer staff members monitor at-risk students throughout the day to watch for problems. After his stint at CCTC, Wright became a counselor with the Philadelphia School District. The Kelley School is his fourth assignment, one he requested since he grew up in Brewerytown, though he did not attend Kelley. Through his years of counseling experience, he saw that kids need the same kind of support they get in school once they for the day. After school programs are needed to guide them through the anarchy of the unsupervised streets. He would like to see more after-school programs offered throughout the year. Though some children in summer camps may be more social and participate more, Wright said he and his staff try to make sure everyone gets involved. “We see that all kids get some experience.” Campers’ progress is measured by what Wright calls the “Circle of Courage," which gauges student achievement in four areas: Mastery of Skills, Belonging (their level of participation in the program and consistency to do so), Independence (taking a personal interest in their own education) and Citizenship (becoming an active member of the community).
G&G helps promote the final segment of the circle by staging three community-based projects each year: a Martin Luther KIng Day of Service project, and participation in the city-wide Philly Spring Cleanup and “Love your Park Week.” Though the camp is for younger children, Wright and his volunteers also counsel high school students in a Work Ready program to give them work experience and life skills mentoring they can later use to find employment. The Give and Go Athletics summer camp receives some money from the city’s Department of Behavioral Health but not enough to fully fund keep the program. Private donations and a $400 fee for each student close the gap, Wright said. •
Andre Wright (right) speaking to one of the Give & Go campers./All photos by Patrick Clark