Centennial Parkside CDC 2019 Annual Report

Our Mission

We work to preserve, promote and revitalize

East Parkside

through partnerships with businesses and institutions and programs that engage residents, increase opportunity and grow a diverse, thriving community.

The photo on the cover of our annual report takes us back to a time when East Parkside was a dense neighborhood of rowhomes and businesses. I remember a time when no one needed to leave the neighborhood to shop for food and household items, to get their hair styled, or do their laundry. And while it is important to not minimize the struggles created by discriminatory policies of our past that segregated neighborhoods, we can use these old photos to admire the built environment and envision a future in which we can bring back the businesses that once served our community and recreate a built environment characterized by dense rows of quality housing but with a focus on creating new opportunities for our existing neighborhood population to thrive. In the past years we have seen too many neighborhoods change in ways that create hardships for the long-term residents through rising costs of living.

We at the Centennial Parkside CDC believe that there is a different way to do community development and for this reason, we have spent another year performing the foundational work of community engagement so that all residents feel they can be a part of the changes in their neighborhood. We have also worked to partner with organizations that align with our values so that we

Chris Spahr Executive Director

can advance the goals highlighted in our strategic plan. These goals include the preservation of existing housing and the creation of new affordable housing; the attraction of new locally serving businesses to our commercial corridor; the cleaning and greening of our neighborhood; the promotion of East Parkside as a great place to live, work, and play; and the building of a sustainable community development corporation that can help advance all of these goals.

On the following pages, you will find stories of how 2019 has been a year in which we continued to engage our neighborhood around a new economy that will create opportunities for existing residents and build a resilient neighborhood that can face the challenges ahead. You will also find stories of how we have engaged strategic partners like Rebuilding Together to help maintain the housing stock of our current residents and Brandywine Realty Trust so that we can be at the table when it comes to larger development decisions that will ultimately affect our neighborhood. All of these efforts are bringing together our residents with key stakeholders so that East Parkside can grow together.

Alexandra McFadden President Photo Courtesy of Tashia Rayon

Our Board

BOARD MEMBERS From left Ryan Schumann (Financial Secretary), Joyce Smith (Vice President), Nancy Boyd, Ronald Coleman (Treasurer), Juanita McFadden, Alexandra McFadden (President), Jennifer Mahar, Lorraine Gomez, Kenneth Woodson

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 2019 we elected our new President, Alexandra McFadden. Alexandra is a life long resident of East Parkside who served for three years as our Secretary prior to being elected President. We are looking up and moving forward. As we enter our fifth year of service, we are growing and diversifying to meet the new challenges in East Parkside.

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Clean and Green Team 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.

This year local residents serving as our Ambassadors cleaned and enhanced Parkside residential and commercial blocks collecting more than 320 bags of trash. The Centennial Parkside CDC Clean and Green team supplements city services. The Ambassadors sweep sidewalks, pull weeds, remove bill postings, and maintain vacant lots. The primary areas of focus for our Clean and Green Team include the edge of Fairmount Park 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.

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Green Economy Chat ‘N Chews An inclusive green economy is one that improves human wellbeing and builds social equity while reducing environmental risks and scarcities. In 2019, the Centennial Parkside CDC continued to collaborate with in•site collaborative and Ebony Suns Enterprises on its series of Green Economy Chat ‘N Chews, with support from the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation and Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild (POWER). Small community conversations and dinners were held at a variety of neighborhood locations with audiences reaching anywhere between 5 and 50 people. Chat ‘N Chews aim to educate about the green economy and how it relates to us, to connect residents to resources, and to map out a community driven plan for East Parkside. These conversations provided opportunities for residents to more deeply explore the challenges in East Parkside associated with litter, the rising cost of energy, fresh food access, vacant and abandoned land, and gentrification with experts from across the city. Building on these, the Chat ‘N Chews have served as a way to develop new environmental leaders in the community who can help us take on the threat of climate change and build a united and resilient community.

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Our Dreams, Our Future Community Dinner On February 25 the CDC and the East Parkside Residents Association hosted the Our Dreams Our Future East Parkside Community Dinner, designed, organized and managed by in•site collaborative. More than 120 attendees gathered for conversation and dinner at the Fairmount Park Horticultural Center, celebrating the history of East Parkside and dreams for the future, while working together to design new social enterprises, services, and other projects. The dinner provided an opportunity for residents, community experts, and funders to discuss topics identified as issues and interests of community members and to develop project proposals to address these challenges. The My Dreams, My Future video, produced with youth in the 2018 WorkReady Program debuted as a foundation to inspire the design of community projects. Throughout the evening, attendees identified ideas to inform community development projects and 41+ resources to make them happen. At the end of the night attendees voted on one project proposal to receive a seed grant provided by the Philadelphia Foundation. The project that received the most votes from the community making it the recipient of a $1000 seed grant was a Financial Literacy Curriculum with Money Talks Edu for the neighborhood. Since this dinner, the CDC has been working with the financial literacy team to expand this project plan and raise more money to implement it. The nine other project designs have been entered into a project idea bank that will be used to direct future funding in the community.

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Healthy Edge Fresh Food Fest

The Healthy Edge Fresh Food Fest is our healthy food event series that seeks to build community, utilize common public space, embrace health and wellness, and provide fresh food access to the East Parkside neighborhood. The Healthy Edge Fresh Food Fest is a partnership between the CDC, the Fairmount Park Conservancy, Reading Terminal Market, Vetri Community Partnerships, and the Carousel House. Held on the Parkside Edge , it consisted of six-events that provided healthy food shares at an affordable rate.

Each food share included fresh fruit, vegetables, locally-sourced eggs, dairy products, and a selection of other grocery items. In addition to receiving these healthy food shares, visitors experienced food demonstrations from the Vetri Mobile Teaching Kitchen and vegan chef, Joshua Back as well as yoga classes from MyYogaWithMarty. Attendees at the Food Fest also experienced live performances, fun activities and community resources for families.

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My Future, My City On June 8th, 2019 the CDC in collaboration with My Future, My City, a program designed by in•site collaborative, began its official Summer WorkReady Program. Ten youth between the ages of 14 and 17 spent six weeks in discussion, interaction, project building, and time management training at the CDC headquarters.

The CDC and in•site collaborative gave the WorkReady students the opportunity to bond with peers and understand the value of teamwork through effective strategies and cooperation. During the six week period students researched a variety of topics from net neutrality to protests in Hong Kong, the problem of plastics and environmental justice issues, the challenges associated with the closing of Hahnemann Hospital and much more.

With assistance from this lively group, the August Healthy Edge Fresh Food Fest was a great success.

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“Working with the CDC helped me gain a little more insight on the future - on my future. I became more of a listener, more of an empathizer, more of a mentor to my peers. As I move on to adulthood, I can wholeheartedly say that I have never seen more growth within myself than over my time with this organization.” ~ Journee Lutz

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Clayborn and Lewis Summer Camp With support from the Fairmount Park Conservancy, the CDC hosted the first ever summer camp for children in partnership with the Clayborn and Lewis Recreation Center. This was a six-week summer camp attended by 20 East Parkside children between the ages of 6 and 12. Staffed by East Parkside residents and volunteers, this camp included enriching activities such as art, swimming, sewing, and trips to places like Dorney Park, the movie theatre, and a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. Children were fed a healthy lunch each day, which created a nourishing environment for the young bodies and minds of East Parkside. Parents and children alike were excited for the opportunity to participate in happy, healthy summer fun right in their own East Parkside community.

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Schuylkill Yards In September, Brandywine Realty Trust selected the CDC as a co-developer for another Phase I project within Schuylkill Yards, the 20-year, $3.5 billion masterplanned neighborhood defined by thoughtful place-making, civic engagement, and intentional design.

The project includes the office tower at 3001 East John F. Kennedy Boulevard, “JFK East”, which will be 34 stories tall and contain 930,000 square feet of office space and 6,600 square feet of retail. As part of their $16+ million Neighborhood Engagement Initiative and ongoing commitment to the surrounding community, Brandywine selected the Centennial

Parkside CDC in a competitive process to provide co-development services. The CDC is working as an integral part of the team helping to create community connections to Schuylkill Yards so that all West Philadelphia residents have the opportunity to share in the economic vitality driven by the project.

Additionally, Brandywine Realty Trust is providing important mentoring and support services to advance the mission of the CDC in East Parkside.

“Centennial Parkside CDC displays all of the qualities we look for in a partnership. They are thoughtful and strategic, and understand the value of community, quality and integrity. This partnership also brings an additional voice to Brandywine to express community needs, allowing us to be more connected and responsive to our neighbors.”

Photo Courtesy of Brandywine Realty Trust

~ Jerry Sweeney, Brandywine Realty Trust President and CEO

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Income 2019

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Expenses

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Support Us

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 2020, we will begin a new strategic planning process creating huge expectations for tangible progress in the next five years. But this progress depends on your help. Remember that by making a tax-deductible donation to Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation you are making an investment in your neighborhood and to an organization that is on the cutting edge of community development innovation. It’s easy to donate. Please go to our website www.centennialparkside.org and click on “Giving” or mail a check to: Centennial Parkside CDC P.O. Box 28050 Philadelphia, PA 19131 Your tax-deductible contribution of $5, $10, $15, $20, $25 and more will be appreciated.

Please support today!

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• Bartram’s Garden • Brandywine Realty Trust • Carousel House Recreation Center • Christ Community Baptist Church • Clayborn and Lewis Recreation Center • Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell • Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier • Dilworth Paxson LLP • East Parkside Residents Association • Ebony Suns Enterprises, LLC • Fairmount Park Conservancy • First African Presbyterian Church • Heavenly Hall Church • in•site collaborative • Knight Foundation

• Lindy Institute for • Philadelphia Energy Authority Urban Innovation • Philadelphia Water Department • Money Talks Edu • Philadelphia Zoo • National Energy • Please Touch Museum Improvement Fund • Reading Terminal Market • Parkside Journal • Reimagining the Civic Commons • Pennsylvania Department • Representative Donna Bullock of Community and Economic • RER Energy Group Development • Senator Vincent Hughes • Pennsylvanians Organized to • Spark Therapeutics Witness, Empower and Rebuild • Strawberry Mansion CDC • Philadelphia Association • True Access Capital of Community Development • Vetri Community Partnerships Corporations • Viola Street Residents • Philadelphia Department Association of Commerce • William Penn Foundation • Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation

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Photo Courtesy of Tashia Rayon

Contact Us www.centennialparkside.org 267.225.8356 3479 West Girard Avenue P.O. Box 28050, Philadelphia, PA 19131 info@centennialparkside.org