Hawthorne and Graduate Hospital: Two Broad and Washington Developments Envision ‘Gateway’ to Center City
One mile from the hustle and bustle of Center City and the Avenue of the Arts, sits as an underused intersection. Instead of boasting buildings blending with the structures synonymous with Center City, two large parcels of land at the intersection of Broad Street and Washington Avenue sit vacant. One lot is fenced-in and trash-strewn, the other […]
Education: Young Playwrights’ Program Puts Spotlight on Student Voices
Anthony Martinez-Briggs, 25, is a teaching artist at the Philadelphia Young Playwrights. He is a co-founder of the grassroots organization “I Love Living,” which stems from the local hip-hop band Ill Doots. He also teaches classes through the Arden Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company, and will soon start teaching for the Wilma Theater. These organizations […]
Amateur Sports: Nonprofits Help Homeless Beyond Athletics
Street Soccer USA On any given night in the United States, there are approximately 564,708 people who are counted as homeless. On any given night in this country, there are also 39,907 unaccompanied youth between the ages of 18-24. As of 2014, at a local level, between 30 and 40 percent of Philadelphia’s youth live […]
Queen Village: Community Gardeners Prepare for Winter
As the temperatures dropped, local gardeners came out in droves to clean up their community garden before hanging up their racks, hoses, pruners and shovels for the season. The Southwark Queen Village Community Garden hosted its fifth cleanup before the approaching winter season after months of growing plants, fruits, herbs and vegetables. Gardeners pruned dry leaves […]
Hawthorne: Men are Ready, Willing and Able to Make a Change in Their Lives
Some days, Sylvester Cooper, spends seven consecutive days at work, cooking and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner to the men at Ready, Willing and Able on Bainbridge Street. Cooper, 55, is a kitchen supervisor at RWA but it wasn’t always that way. The Philadelphia native once struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction to the point where he […]
Hawthorne: Coalition Works to Help Residents Empower the Community
President Tim Hitchens of the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition was very involved in his community while growing up, and had a natural inclination to help neighbors. While living in the Hawthorne section of South Philly as an adult, and teaching social work at Temple University, Hitchens quit his job to practice what he taught his students. Eventually […]