March 2005
Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter President’s Message: Think Spring! a long harsh winter — the nights Ihavet’stoobeen long, the days too short. Some of us lost loved ones. There has been too much violence both near and far…but… SPRING is finally coming to Cedar Park. Spring is the most beautiful time of year in our corner of West Philadelphia/University City. The flowerbeds in front of our homes and in community gardens will soon spring-up. The kids are starting to play outside on the sidewalks (and sometimes the streets). The trees will come to life, and the birds will begin to chirp. Many of us are planning to plant trees (or already have, as is the case of friends around 49th and Florence this past weekend), hold a yard sale, wash windows, or clean up the back porch! Maybe we’ll take a bike or trolley ride just for the fun of it.
Spring is an important time too for Cedar Park Neighbors. This is the time of year we seek new (and sometimes “old”) nominees to form our Board of Directors for the coming 2005-2006 year. The nomination committee is happy to announce a very strong slate of candidates whom we believe will serve the best interest of our neighborhood. Please take time to read about each of the candidates in this newsletter. And don’t forget to come out to vote April 18, 2005. During the voting time we will have a short community meeting (no more than one hour) to introduce the nominees and hold a short business meeting.
Jim Kurtz CPN President
Friends, whatever your spring rituals may be, I hope you will do them with gusto and with satisfaction. Enjoy!
CPN Annual Election and Membership Meeting ur annual Membership Meeting O and Election of the CPN Board of Directors will take place on Monday, April 18 at Calvary Community Center, 48th and Baltimore Avenue. The Nominations Committee is presenting an excellent slate of nominees and we are fortunate to have so many wonderful neighbors willing to serve the community through Cedar Park Neighbors. Come out and vote for the candidates of your choice and give them your support! 6:30 – 7:45 pm Voting 7:00 – 8:00 pm Membership Meeting 8:00 – 8:30 pm Election results announced followed by refreshments Remember!! Only members who have their dues paid on or before April 1, 2005 are eligible to vote. Check your address label to see if your membership is current.
Meet the Candidates: Election Bios Carol Walker: 5000 block of Hazel Avenue
Carol has been a resident of Cedar Park for 20 years and has served as Block Captain for the 5000 block of Hazel Avenue for 15 years. She served on the Firehouse Farmers Market Board, and is Committeewoman for the 46th Ward, 2nd Division. She is presently Vice President of Cedar Park Neighbors and Secretary to the University City Swim Club. Carol’s community activities include organizing block clean-up, block parties, organizing a tutoring program for children, as well as responding to concerns regarding street lighting, rehabilitation of properties and drug activity on the block. She worked diligently to change an abandon lot into a garden that is presently the Hazel Avenue Community Garden. While serving on Cedar Park’s Neighbor’s Board,
Come One, Come All!
Annual Membership Meeting and Elections Monday, April 18, 2005 6:30 pm voting starts 7:00 pm meeting starts Calvary Center for Culture & Community 48th & Baltimore Ave.
Meet the Candidates: Election Bios she has been instrumental in revitalizing the Zoning Committee and serves on the Nominations Committee and Block Organizing Committee. She is driven to be an effective organizer in making a positive change in our community. Maureen Tate: 4800 block of Florence Avenue
Maureen has lived in Cedar Park for 30 years with her husband, Jerry McHugh, a native of Cedar Park, and is the mother of four now grown children. She works as a Program Consultant for The Grail, an international women’s organization. She is active in St. Francis de Sales Parish and enjoys community gardening at Florence Garden. Maureen has served on the Board for seven years, two as President. She enjoys working with other neighbors to address community concerns. On the board, Maureen has worked to develop a long range plan for CPN and would like to continue to work on the goals established especially the Park Improvement Project, outreach to residents through the Block Organizing effort and addressing concerns regarding abandoned and deteriorated property. She would also like to focus on identifying new leadership and strengthening our CPN committees. Josh Schneider: 4800 block of Kingsessing Avenue
Josh and his wife, Lydia Fisher, have been residents of Cedar Park for 2+ years, coming to Philadelphia from Seattle. He is working on repairing and rehabbing their house while Lydia works as a teaching fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. They have both been involved with CPN since soon after coming to the neighborhood. Josh has worked with CPN’s Property and Housing Taskforce for two years. He joined this group based on his interest in figuring out how the neighborhood and resident property owners can deal with dilapidated and abandoned properties, and bring back the commercial corridor around Cedar Park. Lydia and Josh have been impressed by CPN’s membership and leadership, and Josh is running for a seat on the board based on his impression that Cedar Park, like many other Philadelphia neighborhoods, needs a collective voice to advocate for its interests, help bring in resources, and stimulate action by government institutions.
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Dorothy Welch Berlind: 500 block of S. 48th Street
Dorothy is currently serving as Secretary on the CPN Board. She has worked in University City since 1976, first for University City New School, a parent coop K–6 school, then for the University of Pennsylvania in financial aid, and has been the owner of a home on 48th Street during that time. Dorothy is originally from New Hampshire, was educated at Barnard College in New York City, and is the mother of one son, Alexey, who currently lives in California. Her interest in CPN comes out of the notion that one should think globally and act locally. Dorothy says she sees Philadelphia as a city that gets in its own way, a poor steward of a rich and wonderful history, stellar location, a lovely city plan, world renowned institutions. Her service on the Board has taught her why this is so, and how that might change. She would like to work for such a change, and support it in any way she can. Karen Allen: 4700 block of Warrington Avenue
In the past year, University City, and particularly Cedar Park, has witnessed many positive changes, and CPN has been a driving force behind many of them. Karen is happy to have had the opportunity to serve on the CPN Board during this time, and looks forward to continuing those efforts during the coming year. She believes that in order for a community to be viable, its residents must play an active role in the life of that community. Karen has lived in University City for the past 22 years, and has been active in CPN and in the larger University City community for the past ten years. Karen has served on the CPN Executive Committee, as Treasurer, for 11 years, is Chair of the Bylaws Committee and a member of the Zoning and Crime and Safety Committees. As an active participant in the University City Community Council she drafted the Bylaws, chaired the Bylaw Committee and is presently serving as Secretary to the Council. She is also presently on the Board of the UC Historical Society and is representative to the 18th District Police Advisory Council.
Meet the Candidates: Election Bios Andrew Diller: 900 block of S. Farragut Street
Andrew moved to Philly in 1997, after a year in an ill-fated startup in Cherry Hill. He began working for the University of Pennsylvania and lived in an apartment on 41st Street. After purchasing a house on Farragut Street, and marrying his fiancé at Saint Francis de Sales in 2000, Andy settled into the rhythm of life West of Clark Park. Andy left Penn in 2004 and has worked since as an I.T. consultant. He finds that this work schedule affords him much more time to become involved with local West Philadelphia affairs. His wife meanwhile will graduate this May with a MD in Psychiatry. Andrew would like to expand the current level of communications that CPN has with members and the community using Internet technologies. Sean Dorn: 1000 block of S. 49th Street
Sean Dorn, together with his wife Christine Fronczak, owns and operates MiaLou Artisan Gallery and General Store at 5009 Baltimore Ave. They have lived in the neighborhood at 49th and Springfield since 1999. Sean is a native Californian, graduating from A. Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1987 and UC Santa Cruz in 1992. Besides Cedar Park Neighbors, As a business owner on the 5000 block of Baltimore Ave, Sean has a particular interest in issues related to small businesses and encouraging the return of all the blocks of Baltimore Ave. to a diverse, thriving, and predominantly locally-owned commercial corridor. Bruce Hansen: 5000 block of Hazel Avenue
Bruce is a newcomer to Cedar Park, having only lived in the neighborhood since September of last year. Before moving to Philadelphia, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Ukraine for two years. While there Bruce taught English in a secondary school, and developed and taught a web design course for teenagers living in his community. He currently works as a web coordinator for a grant-funded website based at The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania. Bruce feels very strongly that in order for regions and countries to succeed economically, socially and environmentally, their cities need to be vibrant, diverse, healthy and safe places to live and do business. These types of initiatives need to be achieved and sustained through long-term, Page 2
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grassroots efforts at the community level. It is to this end that he will work if elected to the Cedar Park Board of Directors. Victoria Iannotta: 4700 block of Cedar Avenue
Victoria and her husband, Roberto, have been residents of Cedar Park since 1999. They moved to West Philadelphia from New York City, where her husband still works. Victoria is the Information Technology Director for the Facilities and Real Estate Department at the University of Pennsylvania and is an active member of St. Francis de Sales Parish. For the past five years, she has been a co-coordinator of the Catholic Youth Program there as well as the coordinator of an annual parish-wide faith sharing program. She is also on the parish’s Finance Committee. Victoria is very interested in maintaining and improving the quality of life in our neighborhood and believes that her organizational skills along with her experience with strategic initiatives would be an asset to the organization. Jim Kurtz: 800 block of S. 48th Street
Jim, his wife, Viet-Huong, and their two young boys have lived in Cedar Park for five years. Jim presently works at Presbyterian Medical Center as a staff nurse. He has been on the CPN board for three years, serving as acting president for the past three months. Jim serves as the chair of the CPN membership committee and is a member of the Fair Committee. Jim is committed to expanding the membership throughout Cedar Park’s boundaries and outreach to the business community as well as encouraging member involvement in our committees and projects. Sarah Mack: 900 block of S. 49th Street Sarah is a Senior Citizen and became a homeowner 40 years ago. Sarah retired from the Philadelphia School System after working there for 25 years as a School Community Coordinator. She volunteers in the food pantry at her church. Sarah is a retired board member and former president of Southern Home Services for Children. She is concerned about the influx of multi-apartments and the general lack of concern for the neighborhood from many of the residents. She would like to be involved in the areas of zoning or housing.
This issue of the Cedar Park Neighbors Newsletter is sponsored by Woodland Building Supply
March 2005
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Meet the Candidates: Election Bios Wayne Marquardt: 4800 block of Cedar Avenue
Wayne has lived in University City since 1972 and in Cedar Park for the past 20 years. A graduate of what is now the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Wayne is employed as a Senior Pharmacist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and has adjunct faculty positions at USP and UPenn’s School of Nursing. Wayne has served on the boards of directors for the Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives (AIDS Task Force), Delaware Valley Society of Health System Pharmacists, and the UC Hospitality Coalition. He currently coordinates patient empowerment and brown bag programs in the Philadelphia and UC area and helps develop and run the two free medical clinics associated with UCHC and the United Community Coalition. Wayne’s interests in the neighborhood include development, access to medical care, maintenance and upkeep. As a CPN Board member for 4 years Wayne co-Chairs the Fair Committee and is a member of the Bylaws Committee and Cedar Park Improvement Project Committee.
Fund Coalition, West Philadelphia Cluster Board, AIDS Project, Red Cross Interfaith Partnership, SEPTA’s Urban Mass Transit Task Force and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Partners In Justice Committee. Robert Schnoll: 900 block of S. 47th Street
Although Robert was out of the country and unable to respond to a request for a personal bio, his neighbors rose to the occasion and offered a few tidbits of information. Robert lived in Cedar Park for a few years before purchasing his home in 2003. Robert received his PhD in Clinical Psychology and currently has an academic appointment at Fox Chase Cancer Center. His area of interest is addictive behaviors and he works on grant-funded projects regarding smoking prevention and cessation. Robert has also served as adjunct faculty at the University of the Sciences. Neighbors report that he is an avid runner and that he has easily blended into the slightly quirky Windsor Avenue block dynamics… an excellent recommendation for Board service. Richard Warner: 5000 block of Walton Avenue
Shirley Randleman: 500 block of S. 52nd Street
Shirley is a lifelong West Philadelphia resident and community activist. She is the wife of Mr. Paul L. Randleman and mother to Todd and Raymond in addition to “surrogate” mother to countless community residents. She is a recent recipient of Mayor Street’s Liberty Bell Award for Community Service and Activism. She has run training programs, workshops and seminars for beauty industry professionals and vocational schools while working extensively on state and national community development campaigns. She is Vice President of Philadelphia Beauty Showcase National Historic Museum at 510-512 S. 52nd Street. Shirley is former Director of the Museum’s Summer Camp, an academic enrichment program involving over nine hundred school district students over the past five years. She also coordinated and provided computer training, life skill counseling and job skills training to more than four hundred TANF clients under the Community Partnership Program. Shirley is involved in many local organizations and serves as a Mercy Hospital Hospice Volunteer, on the Malcolm X Memorial Park Committee, NAACP National Voter Page 4
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Richard has been a resident of Cedar Park for almost 29 years. He was a member of the CPN board a few years ago and feels that he made some contribution to the issues that where on our table at the time. He represented Cedar Park Neighbors on the Baltimore Avenue Planning Project during his time as a board member. He helped plan and implement the re-birth of the Cedar Park Fair and coordinated activities for the teenagers of the neighborhood. Rene Warnick: 4900 block of Cedar Avenue
Rene has been a resident of Cedar Park since 2000 and a homeowner since 2002. She is a professional musician and teacher and the mother of a 10-month old son. As someone who lives near 49th and Baltimore, I am particularly interested in becoming involved in CPN's “Crossroads Project” and its goals for the revitalization of that area. I would be honored to work for the betterment of my community by serving on CPN's board. Board Members continuing on to the second year of their term:
Monica Allison, Patty Bulack, Chima Orji, Emma Paden, Joanne Pham.
Trees! Trees! Trees! by Maureen Tate n Saturday, March 19, Cedar O Park Neighbors teamed up with Cross Baltimore Tree Tenders and UC Green for yet another ground breaking (literally) tree planting extravaganza. Twenty trees were planted in the CPN Crossroad Project zone at 49th and Florence, involving residents and investment properties on the 700 and 800 blocks of S. 49th Street and 4800 and 4900 blocks of Florence Avenue. We thank our investment neighbors of Neighborhood Restorations, Inc. and Ironstone for their enthusiastic participation. The earth will be breathing easier with the removal of over 400 square feet of concrete! Thanks to Cross Baltimore Tree Tenders Angie Coghlan, Johannah Fine, Marianne and John Valentino for their coordination efforts and to all volunteers for your spirit and labor!
Aside from their natural beauty trees are serious business. Thanks to Amanda Benner, director of UC Green, for providing the following facts to help us appreciate the enormous financial and health benefits of these giant beauties in our midst. Over the course of 50 years, a single tree can contribute $162,250 to the “currency of the environment” by: ~ generating $31,250 of oxygen; ~ providing $62,000 towards air pollution control; ~ recycling $37,500 worth of water; and ~ controlling $31,500 worth of soil erosion! For more information you can visit UCGreen at: www.ucgreen.org Thank you for your commitment to creating a healthy and beautiful environment!
Spring Tree Tender Training, 2005 When and Where? Wednesdays, April 27, May 4 & May 11 5:45-8:45 p.m. Pennsylvania Horticulatural Society, 100 N. 20th St, 5th Floor Sat, May 7th, 10-2 p.m. “Picnic with a Purpose” in Clark Park, tree plantings by Tree Tenders during the Spruce Hill May Fair
What and Why? Tree Tenders, part of the Philadelphia Green program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, was created to train community groups and individuals to plant and care for trees in the city. Basic training consists of sessions about theory, practical information and hands on experience. Continuing education workshops are held regularly for graduates. Tree Tender groups receive special information about opportunities for acquiring street trees and funding greening activities for their neighborhoods. Currently there are over 1400 Tree Tenders from 100 Philadelphia communities who are tending our urban forest.
While Cedar Park and University City have a most respectable number of Tree Tenders and active Tree Tender Groups, we always need more recruits to take the course, both to form new groups in “new territories,” as well as to rejuvenate older groups. Without this renewal process, we can't successfully make the case that citizen volunteers are really in place in our community to plant and care for new street and park trees that may become available in the future. All participants who attend each of the 4 training classes of the Spring series (the next will be in Fall, 2005) will receive a Tree Tender ID card and T-shirt. Groups (4 or more people from a neighborhood, who attend all four sessions) will receive a set of Tree Care tools. The classes are taught by Philadelphia Green staff, as well as other private, educational and government experts. Free. Requires pre-registration at www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org Check under “Philadelphia Green” And, free pizza is on the menu!!! March 2005
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Important Change for Plastic Recycling By Al Airone, Recycling Chair slight change in the type of plastic A containers recyclable at the Firehouse Farmers Market site has been requested by the recycler, Blue Mountain Recycling. The change, in summary: • bottles only, no wide-top containers (e.g., yoghurt, cream cheese, Starbucks plastic coffee cups), even if #1 or #2 • no automotive product bottles • no buckets or plant pots, even #1 or #2 • no take-out food containers The take-out food containers are the flimsy, squarish, clear-plastic containers, many of which are #5 anyway and historically have been pulled out of the recyclables and trashed anyway. Same with many of the
yoghurt-type containers. It's a shame about the other items, especially the buckets — however, we'll have to co-operate. The total weight of plastic will probably only go down slightly, as most of what is brought still fits the spec. Please start excluding the items as mentioned above. As of April 1, we'll no longer accept them at all. Also - no bottle caps, please. Here's the actual request: Bring only plastic containers marked with a 1 or a 2 on bottom with a narrow top and wider bottom that contained water, milk, juice, soda, laundry detergent, or bath products. Rinse out; no caps. Do not bring take-out food containers, plant pots, or buckets (wide at top) or plastics that contained automotive products, even if they are marked as a 1 or 2.
Support Lea School Library and Garden By Vivianne T. Nachmias, Chair, Education, Garden Court Community Association
and let them go again, to give just a few examples.
arden Court Community Association G is fund raising to support the Lea School Library and Garden, both now 5
Also, Lea will begin a Head Start program this year, and we need some equipment for them: a water table, sand table, places to plant and dig. It is crucial that we offer our city children experience with nature. Indeed, a recent study shows that being in the natural world with trees and flowers and insects helps with ADHD. Children love the garden and often ask to go there.
years old. Schools cannot maintain such amenities. THE LIBRARY plays a vital role in the current revitalization of Lea School. It is a very pleasant, light, (air-conditioned in summer!) large room, with round tables, large stuffed animals for little children to sit on while they are read to, a rocking chair, shelves of bright new books of all sorts and levels, an excellent Librarian who planned the room and has trained Assistant Librarians (8th graders) to check books out, help children find books or use Google for science projects, on the six computers. THE GARDEN has been a special place for children, the Garden Club group, or entire classes in different years, and has been a healing place for a few children. It helped one homesick child from a small village in Mauritania get his balance back in the big city, digging, watching the goldfish and cleaning the pond. The 8th grade had a harvest festival there; a child in the Garden Club grew a large pumpkin that amazed us all; a boy in Garden Club caught five Monarch butterflies in the Buddleia bush Page 6
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We do not need a very large amount of money but we need a stable source. We have raised $6,500, with an initial donation of $2,000 from Dr. Judth Rodin. Our goal is $10,000, which would give us a reliable source of some $400 each year. Can you help us with the Lea Library/ Garden Fund? We would love to hear comments, advice or ideas: email me at: vtn@mail.med.upenn.edu. All donations are tax exempt. Checks can be made out to GCCA noting the Lea School Library/Garden Fund, and sent to me or to Stephen Metraux, our Treasurer, at: Garden Court Community Association, c/o Stephen Metraux, 4648 Hazel Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19143
Scholarship Committee Begins Drive By Darryl Bundrige, Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
The success of our fundraising effort hinges on YOU! Here’s how you can help:
he Scholarship Committee has been T meeting monthly since January to make sure this year’s drive is as successful
• Visit Abbraccio’s Sunday Brunch on May 22, June 26, or July 24. A portion of the proceeds from each of those meals will be donated to the scholarship fund. You’ll enjoy great food, good company, low prices, and support a worthy cause all at the same time. Abbraccio is located at the corner of 47th Street and Warrington Avenue. Tell your friends and family. Better yet, bring them along.
as past efforts, if not more. The CPN Board of Directors made some budgeting decisions to redirect funds to build up the Scholarship Reserve and has charged the committee with the task of raising $3,000. This represents an $800 increase over funds raised through individual and family donations last year. This task is made more challenging because plastic recycling revenue, another source of funding for the scholarship fund, has declined substantially over the past few years. A second committee goal is to reach out to West Philadelphia and University City High Schools. These neighborhood schools have never had graduates apply for funds in the 16 years of the scholarship program. The committee hopes to changes this. Business support and individual major donor contacts are two final focus areas for the committee. Members will meet with local business owners and other advocates for students who want to pursue their dreams of a college education. Individuals or couples of greater financial means will be encouraged to donate to the fund. They will be given the option to endow a scholarship or contribute anonymously to the funding drive.
• Encourage students who have been accepted to college for the 2005-2006 school year to apply for the scholarship. They must live within the boundaries of Cedar Park and demonstrate financial need. They can access an application at www.cedarparkneighbors.org.
If you have any questions about the scholarship committee, contact Darryl Bundrige, chairperson, at dbstate93@aol.com or call 215-730-0453.
• Refer businesses owners and potential individual/couple major donors who may be interested in supporting the fund to Scholarship Chairperson Darryl Bundrige. Major donors’ identities will be kept anonymous at their request. • Make a donation to the fund. The committee will be sending out more information in May or June. Who knows, you may be a major donor yourself. • Plan to attend the Scholarship Awards Presentation at the jazz concert on Friday, August 5 by the Farmers Market at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue.
De Sales Organ Restoration Fund presents: “Bye Bye Verdi” heads up to everyone about the A upcoming Bel Canto Lyric Opera presentation "Bye Bye Verdi," an effervescent blend of Verdi and Gershwin, of live orchestra and of talented vocalists singing in the Bel Canto style and then belting it out Broadway style! A special opera themed reception and dinner at Abbraccio Restaurant will be held after the show. Mark your calendar, and tell your family, your coworkers and your friends about the concert. Tickets are available at the door.
The Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company in “Bye Bye Verdi” Sunday, April 17, 3pm St. Francis De Sales Church 47th & Springfield Concert benefits the St. Francis De Sales Organ Restoration Fund. $25 donation requested
March 2005
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Looking Up: Calvary Center for Culture and Community by Rich Kirk he Trustees of Calvary United T Methodist Church and the Calvary Center for Culture and Community have been working for many years to turn around a dire situation at the once magnificent church at 48th and Baltimore. The Calvary congregation wanted to stay in its historic home, but knew that this could only be accomplished with enormous assistance from the community. An agreement was reached in which the congregation would stay and the Trustees would work with the community to redevelop the large building for three purposes. First, everyone wanted the church congregation to stay and to use the place as intended, as a sacred place. Second, there was a real need for a working community center in the neighborhood. And third, focus groups conducted with many neighbors revealed a desire to see the building developed as a venue for culture and the arts. A 501-c-3 organization was formed in 2001, the Calvary Center for Culture and Community, to oversee the transformation and to find the means to restore the building to safe, usable condition and preserve its beauty. Fast forward to this year. What has been accomplished to date? Quite a lot, actually. As a community center, Calvary often holds town meetings, special events, and other activities which center on community use. Cedar Park Neighbors established its permanent offices at Calvary, as did the University City Historical Society. The leadership of both organizations understood the strategic and artistic importance of the building. Calvary UMC adopted two very active twelve step programs, AA and NA, and established a food referral service. The International Action Center, a political action group, had been in Calvary for many years, and it is still there! And Prometheus Radio Project is a special group who takes an important stand for freedom of speech and the press, and trains groups interested in forming independent radio stations. As a sacred place, Calvary has flourished. The original United Methodist congregation is still proud owner of the building and hosts all the other activities. For many years now, West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship has been the largest and most active congregation on the site, and many of its members Page 8
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have bought homes in the neighborhood. Two Pentecostal congregations worship at Calvary: Thompson Temple of Faith, which boasts amazing gospel musicianship, and Grace Chapel, which also makes a joyful noise every Sunday. In the past few months though, one of the most amazing things has been happening at Calvary! The West Philadelphia Synagogue has been formed there, and marks the first time a synagogue congregation has been active in our community in more than 50 years! Now a Quaker group would like to get involved and we hope they will! What of the building itself? Calvary now has a workable roof and a new boiler. The chapel ceiling deep relief plaster has been repaired. In fact, all of the building is usable except for the largest space, the main sanctuary auditorium! We are finally addressing the one major structural problem with the building. The construction you see on Baltimore Avenue will require about four more days of work, and then the project will move around the corner and fix the gable over the Tiffany window on 48th Street. Just correcting these gables cost $333,000 and we are still trying to scrape together the last few thousands! It had to be done, because the gables were leaning out over the street and could fall down if the problem were not corrected! So, much has been accomplished in restoration, but there is a long way to go! As a venue for culture and the arts, the Crossroads Music Series has been established for more than three years, presenting a wide variety of musical offerings, everything from African drums to Korean drums to Brazilian drums, from traditional folk to gospel, to jazz, and world music. Perhaps the most stunning of all surprises came this fall, when Calvary was approached by a theater troupe which had been looking at several neighborhoods in the city and fell in love with ours! They wanted to open a theater on Baltimore Avenue! For Calvary, it was like the last piece of the puzzle falling into place, a compelling and real reason for restoring the sanctuary. Curio Theatre is a very promising company with actors classically trained in internationally acclaimed institutions. Some of the troupe will be moving into the neighborhood this fall. And their first two seasons in Philadelphia will be split between
Cedar Park Neighbors Membership Application/Renewal ___ New Member ___ Renewal
Cedar Park Neighbors welcomes your participation. Please check your areas of interest and return the form to CPN, Calvary Community Center, 4740 Baltimore Ave, Phila, PA 19143 _____ Block Organizing _____ Neighborhood Clean-up Committee
___ $7 Individual
_____ Cedar Park Fair
___ $10 Household (2 persons or more)
_____ Community Development _____ Newsletter (writing, publishing, delivery)
___ $20 Business
_____ Education
_____ Recycling Project
___ $5 Senior/Student/Unemployed
_____ Fundraising
_____ Scholarship Fund Committee
___ $30 Sponsor
_____ Greening Activities
_____ Website
Enclosed is my additional contribution
_____ Holiday Baskets
_____ Zoning Committee
of $________________________
_____ Membership Committee
YES, I want to make Cedar Park a better place. My annual Cedar Park Neighbors membership dues are enclosed.
_____ Neighborhood Safety
Name Address Phone Email ____ I would like a free CPN T-shirt with my renewal of $30 or more. Adult Size: ___M ___L ___XL
the Walnut Street Theater — and CALVARY! They are into the classics, but they are into lots of other stuff, including children’s theater. They will be offering acting classes beginning this summer! They are serious about serving the whole community. Their first partnership in our community is with the Lea School this spring. Calvary Center is planning a big celebration in May — an ARTS FESTIVAL welcoming the new theater, which will be presenting plays, and workshops, and presenting concerts, arts and crafts and much more! A real taste of things to come! Stay tuned! There is much to celebrate, but we do not have to look too far back to remember the nightmare of the building’s deterioration, becoming dangerous, possibly being abandoned, watching helplessly. The financial situation at Calvary is always tenuous at best, and although Calvary Center has raised a half a million dollars, there remains about a million and a half to go! All that happens at Calvary can add so much richness to our community, and its success ultimately depends on the amount of base support from the immediate community. How can you help? First, you can
support the groups who are there, by joining them, attending their affairs, letting them know you appreciate their being there. Second, you can send Calvary Center a check for the building fund, and the bigger the better! Third, you can buy subscriptions to the new theater, talk up the theater classes, send your kids. Now, we can actually think of a fine “night on the town” as something no further away than West Philadelphia’s Baltimore Avenue — dinner at a great local restaurant and then a first rate play at Calvary! Who could have ever imagined that all this would be a possibility on Baltimore Avenue ten years ago?! You can support the theater’s scholarship program. You can attend the Crossroads concerts. You can EVEN come to a service at Calvary once in a while, and there are so many services to choose from! Every little thing that you do to support Calvary supports the entire community. There’s nothing else quite like Calvary Center, anywhere! Our future as a community depends on US, it will become what we make it! At Calvary, everyone is welcome, and we’re looking up and hoping for the best! We are building it, and as the saying goes, and we hope you ALL will come. March 2005
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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
Fan Out! Cedar Park Neighbors Will Search for New Members on June 11 by Angie Coghlan, CPN Block Organizing Committee All vibrant, growing organizations are on the lookout for ways to reach out to new members and to listen to the concerns voiced by their membership. Cedar Park Neighbors is no exception to this rule. Increasing membership has always been a goal and over the past year CPN's membership has increased by 30%, a healthy number, surely. But we feel we can do even better and have designed a fun way to do it that should meet this goal as well as identify block concerns and leadership at the same time. What we hear and learn will help shape the course of our work in the community in the coming years as well as help us prepare for our next Block Leaders Conference which will take place on November 5, 2005.
Page 10 CPN Newsletter
So... on Saturday, June 11, we are meeting with our band of 30 volunteers (that's where all of you come in!) for coffee and orientation at 9:30 at Calvary Center for Culture and Community. We will don our Cedar Park T-Shirts, break up into teams of 2 and fan out to cover blocks within our boundaries that do not have a strong representation of CPN members already on them. Volunteers will have materials about CPN and its programs and their enthusiasm for the neighborhood to help them as they meet their neighbors. All teams will report back to Calvary at 1pm. A prize will be offered to the team that gets the most new memberships! Anyone interested in joining our intrepid band of community ambassadors can contact Maureen Tate, 215-726-8664; tatemch@aol.com
CPN Board President James R. Kurtz Vice-President Maureen Tate Secretary Dorothy Welch Berlind Treasurer Karen Allen Directors Monica Allison Bilal Bell Patty Bulack Eric Grau Judy Lamirand Rickey Lee Wayne Marquardt Reggie Morgan Chima Murphy Orji Emma Paden Joanne Pham Josh Schneider Josh Sevin David Timoney Carol Walker