2022 Centennial Parkside CDC Annual Report

centennial parkside community development corporation annual report 2022

revitalizing east parkside one step at a time

Joyce Smith

President

Our Mission We work to preserve, promote, and revitalize East Parkside through building partnerships with businesses and institutions and create programs that engage residents, increase opportunity, and grow a diverse, thriving community.

Executive

01 · Our Mission & Our Leadership Photos courtesy of Albert Yee

Director

our leadership The year 2022 served as a year of reflection

Corridor to ensure our residents have access to the

on the progress that we have made over the

information and resources they need to thrive in a

seven years since our founding, a celebration

changing East Parkside.

of everything that was accomplished, and an opportunity to take steps to plan for the next five years of our organization resulting in a new strategic plan that will guide us through 2028.

Over the past seven years we have helped the East Parkside community pursue its ambitions through innovative programming around cleaning and greening, arts and culture, health and wellness, and youth development. We have grown from one employee to a staff of 10 dedicated employees that reflect the diversity of the East Parkside community.

In addition to investing in new facilities, we used 2022 to invest in our most important asset: people.

This year, we welcomed Asha Le Davis to our Board of Trustees. Asha Le, a resident of East Parkside and employee of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, brings skills and passion in the areas of community engagement and tree planting and care. In March of 2022, we contracted with an Equitable Development Project Manager, Jessi Koch, to oversee our equitable development strategy. Part of this strategy was the formation

Our new strategic plan will help us focus on the

of the Community Development Board, which is an

six issue areas where we feel we can have the

inclusive group of community residents who present

most impact in East Parkside: housing security,

a unified voice in response to opportunities to

environmental justice, community prosperity,

develop publicly owned land in East Parkside.

cultural celebration and preservation, commercial vibrancy, and organizational sustainability. To fully embrace the opportunities presented in these issue areas, we also used 2022 to invest in capacity building by opening a new facility on Girard Avenue for our Clean and Green Team and opening a new creative arts space on 40th Street now known as the Black Urban Theater.

All of this planning and capacity building work we completed in 2022 has laid the groundwork for an organization that can continue to grow in ways that achieve the ambitions of our new strategic plan, which empowers us to continue serving the residents of East Parkside. We hope that the stories you read on the following pages provide a reminder that we are here to stay and that we are continuing

While still operating out of our headquarters, the

to work in the interest of an equitable, revitalized,

Letitia House in Fairmount Park, we are slowly

and growing East Parkside.

increasing our footprint along our 40th Street

02

We Love Our Neighborhood!

We envision an equitable, revitalized and growing East Parkside. A premier place to live, work, and play.

03 · Our Neighborhood

Centennial Parkside Annual Report 2022 · 04

Illustration courtesy of Alyssa Chambers

Our Board

RON A Treas LD COL urer EMA N

Our Board is a governing body made up of the residents and existing organizations to progress community development goals in addition to including new initiatives around healthy living, civic engagement and the arts. In 2022 we welcomed Asha Le Davis to our Board who quickly took over the role as the Chair of

the Greening Committee which oversees our Tree Tenders Program and supports our Department of Sanitation and Environmental Programming. When Asha-Le is not volunteering in East Parkside, she is working with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society planning, teaching, and planting trees in the Greater Philadelphia Region through certified Tree Tenders, trained community led groups. As we enter our seventh year of service, we continue to grow and diversify to meet the new challenges in East Parkside.

LORRAINE GO MEZ Board Member

SMITH JOYCE t Presiden

RYAN SCHUMANN Secretary NANCY BO YD Board Mem ber

AVIS -LÉ D ASHA ember M d ar o B

05 · Our Board

Our Staff JESSI RAY KOCH Project Manager Equitable Development

We employ a diverse staff who all bring a passion for improving East Parkside through building deep relationships with the residents and implementing initiatives that advance the

.

DOE JR am Supervisor WILLIE Te d Green Clean an

vision of the community.

JAMAR BUTTS Clean and Green Tea

m Ambassador

SANDRA CALH OUN Director of San itation and Environmental Pro gramming JAMES DRAU GHON Clean and Green Team Ambassad or

ON S JACOBS r NICHOLA Ambassado Green Team Clean and

H UN SMIT DASHA or oordinat Youth C

TASHIA RAYO N Director of Comm unit

y Cultural Progra

Our Staff · 06

mming

Photos courtesy of Albert Yee R SPAH CHRIS Director tive Execu

Strategic Plan The founding strategic plan of the Centennial Parkside CDC was completed in February 2016 with the support of American Communities Trust, Inc. It was a five-year plan that focused on five priority issues: Housing and Home Ownership, Marketing and Branding, Sanitation and Greening, Commercial Development, and Organizational Sustainability. Fast forward six years and much has changed in the neighborhood, at the organization, and in the world. This year was spent reflecting on the spirit and goals of the plan, reviewing the progress that had been made towards those goals, celebrating everything that was accomplished, within and outside of the plan, and taking steps to intentionally plan the next five years.

Our 2023-2028 Strategic plan focuses our work in the following six issue areas: 1. safe, clean, and energy-efficient housing.

2. clean streets, green spaces, access to renewable energy, and workforce development opportunities.

3. A platform for residents to share needs, access community leadership, and participate in trauma informed programming which will help attain skills, gain employment, build wealth, and increase health and wellness.

07 · Strategic Plan

4. Celebration and preservation of our cultural heritage through a physical center to grow, nurture, and showcase local and community-representative arts programming.

5. A vibrant commercial corridor with a diverse mix of quality goods and services at businesses that are owned by local, underrepresented entrepreneurs relevant to the needs of the community.

6. A community development corporation that is financially stustainable and has the ability to increase the capacities in which it serves the community.

Environmental Justice Clean streets, attractive open spaces, and well maintained buildings and roads all contribute to a high quality of life and allow East Parkside to thrive. The Centennial Parkside CDC Clean and Green team supplements city services by sweeping sidewalks, pulling weeds, removing billpostings, and maintaining vacant lots. The primary areas of focus for our Clean and Green Team include the edge of Fairmount Park, 34th Street, and our commercial corridors of 40th Street and Girard Avenue. Our Ambassadors are trained in park and rain garden maintenance creating new opportunities to advance their skills for a changing economy. Through a partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Commerce Taking Care of Business Program, our Cleaning Ambassadors have also been undergoing OSHA 10 training.

The year 2022 brought a huge milestone as we opened our Sanitation and Environmental Programming Headquarters at 4021 W. Girard Avenue. This former unlicensed tire shop is now a beacon of hope for a cleaner, greener, and safer East Parkside. Through a partnership with TinyWPA we were able to beautify this building and the surrounding sidewalk adding positive environmental messaging for our community.

80 plants given away at the plant giveaway 1,000+ hours of cleaning streets, sidewalks, and park spaces 2,500+ bags of trash collected 230+ bill postings removed 381 planters installed 13 trees planted

Centennial Parkside Annual Report 2022 · Environmental Justice · 08

Photo courtesy of Albert Yee

Black Urban Theater Centennial Parkside CDC has leased a space at 1130 N 40th Street in the former Lew Blum Towing office and became East Parkside’s newest theater named “The Black Urban Theater” (BLURTH). The purpose of the theater is to shine a light on an otherwise forgotten and underfunded community by turning it into a cultural and art destination and attraction for the city and to give overlooked artists a chance to show who they are. BLURTH is located directly in the heart of East Parkside and it will be filled with nothing but fine art by local talents and was designed to be where the talents of local playwrights,

actors,

directors,

choreographers, and designers will come to meet and put on shows and exhibitions to display their work and performances. The space will host seasonal stage productions, classic and original plays, art exhibits, performances,

theater,

performance

training, community-hosted receptions, and book signings.

09 · Black Urban Theater

Black Male Empowerment Throughout 2022, Centennial Parkside CDC has focused part of its programming around helping Black Men uplift one another and give them a safe space to discuss sensitive topics that are affecting them and the Black Community. One of the ways is through the No Foul No Fear Program. The program consists of 12 Black Men and adolescents and it allows those conversations to be had as well as different voices and opinions to be heard and respected. We also highlighted key Black Men within the East Parkside community at our 2nd annual Black Man’s Conference at the Belmont Mansion in September 2022. The event's mission was to provide a space for a retreat that facilitates reflection on how to best address issues of concern for Black Men. Then lastly, through our partnership with Radee Hammett, we partnered with his organization that helps people transition back into society called “The ReAwakening Agency.”

Centennial Parkside Annual Report 2022 · Black Male Empowerment · 10

Photos courtesy of Albert Yee

Equitable Development In 2022 we officially launched the East Parkside Equitable Development Initiative, which builds upon many years of dedicated work on the part of CPCDC Staff, Board Members, members of the East Parkside Residents Association, and supportive partners. The initiative is responsive to what we have learned through our community engagement efforts, area data and demographics, and current real estate and development trends. Our goal is to lead and foster Community-led Equitable Development that furthers: community land sovereignty; an economically and socially diverse community that is inclusive of all people; strong and well-informed community leadership with access to resources and policy-makers; individual and community wealth-building opportunities; minority-owned businesses in the development process; and collective future-building that positions the community for sustainable resilience in the face of future challenges.

11 · Equitable Development

Community Development Board The East Parkside Community Development Board is a key component of our Equitable Development Initiative. This is a group of invested community volunteers who are active on either or both the East Parkside Residents Association (EPRA) or Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation (CPCDC) board of directors. The group first started biweekly meetings in early 2022, in response to a request from Councilmember Jamie Gauthier to bring together the two neighborhood Registered Community Organizations (RCO) in order to present a unified voice and response to opportunities to develop publicly owned land in East Parkside, as well as the review of proposed development projects that come to the community seeking resident approval. In October of 2022 the Community Development Board hosted the first annual East Parkside Equitable Development Forum.

The Forum created space for a dynamic and solution-focused conversation between residents and real estate developers on the future of development in our neighborhood. Residents shared their deep knowledge of neighborhood land use and real estate, as well as community history and personal stories of life in East Parkside.

12

By the Numbers During our strategic planning process in 2022, we were able to review our progress since our founding in 2015 and celebrate our accomplishments as

$5.5 mil

demonstrated by the numbers on this page.

Over 60 trees planted 100 tons of trash removed from streets and public spaces Over 400,000 pounds of produce distributed $5.5 million invested in public spaces 15 homes repaired 40 homes converted to solar energy $400,000 in direct real estate investments for community space and affordable housing $8,500 in utility relief payments made 40 youth directly engaged in our programs

13 · By The Numbers

40 youth directly en

gaged in our pro

over 400,000 pounds of produce dis

tributed

blic spaces

llion invested in pu

$8,500 in utility

relief payments ma

ograms

paired 15 homes re

Centennial Parkside Annual Report 2022 · 14

Photos courtesy of Albert Yee, Tashia Rayon, and Michael Burch

de

Income 2022 $100,000+ Brandywine Realty Trust Philadelphia Foundation Philadelphia Department of Commerce William Penn Foundation

Arbor Day Foundation Drexel University Office of Community and University Partnerships Please Touch Museum Ryan Schumann Social and Environmental Entrepereneur, Inc.

$75,000+

Ujima Developers

Reimagining the Civic Commons

Google

$20,000+

$50 – $999

Fairmount Park Conservancy

Lis Bass

$10,000+ Enterprise Community Partnerships Fairmount Park Conservancy Christopher Scott Utility Emergency Service Fund

Alexandra McFadden James Wright Jamie for West Philly Joyce Smith Melissa Kim Nancy Boyd

$5,000 – $9,999

Network for Good

Philadelphia Water Department

Rebekah Sterbin

Philadelphia Zoo

Thomas Spahr

$1,000 – $4,999 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Bastogne Developers

15 · Income 2022

Carrie Rathman William Walker

expenses 2022

18% equitable development

30% Community Cultural programming

7% administrative 2% fundraising

42% Environmental Justice

Centennial Parkside Annual Report 2022 · Expenses 2022 · 16

Get involved How do we get involved?

It’s easy to donate. Please go to our website

· Volunteer · Participate in Neighborhood Cleanups · Participate in Tree Planting Days · Join a Committee · Greening Committee · Programming Committee · Community Development Board

www.centennialparkside.org and select the “DONATE” tab or mail a check to: Centennial Parkside CDC P.O. Box 28050 Philadelphia, PA 19131 Or select the QR Code below:

donate As a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, we depend on the generous donations of our supporters to continue the work we are doing. We have grown significantly since our founding in 2015 but there is much more work to do. As we enter 2023 and emerge from the pandemic, we have big plans for an equitable impact in East Parkside. But this progress depends on your help.

Remember that by making a tax-deductible donation to Centennial Parkside Community

Your tax-decuctible contribution of $5, $10, $15,

Development Corporation you are making an

$20, $25 or more will be appreciated.

investment in your neighborhood and to an organization that is on the cutting edge of community development innovation.

17 · Get Involved

Please support today!

THANK YOU! Bartram’s Garden

Development Corporations

Brandywine Realty Trust Bright Common Architecture

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development

Clayborn and Lewis Recreation Center

Philadelphia Department of Commerce

Drexel University Office of University and Community Partnerships

Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation

Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier

Philadelphia Water Department

Community Ventures

Philadelphia Zoo

East Parkside Residents Association

Please Touch Museum

Ebony Suns Enterprises, LLC

Reimagine the Civic Commons

Fairmount Community Development Corporation

Representative Amen Brown

Fairmount Park Conservancy

Representative Donna Bullock

Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation

Senator Vincent Hughes

Money Talks EDU

Spak Group

National Energy Improvement Fund

Strawberry Mansion CDC

New Ecology

True Access Capital

Parkside Journal

Ujima Developers, LLC

Pella Windows

Viola Street Residents Association

Philadelphia Association of Community..

William Penn Foundation

Philadelphia Energy Authority

Centennial Parkside Annual Report 2022 · Thank You · 18

Cover photo courtesy of Albert Yee

Contact Us 267.225.8356 www.centennialparkside.org 3479 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA P.O. Box 28050

Design & layout by Alyssa M Chambers | August Mind | www.alyssamcdesign.com