LGBTQ: Softball League Unites the Community
City of Brotherly Love Softball League (CBLSL) is one of Philadelphia’s largest and oldest LGBTQ sports organizations. The league was created in 1981 by J.J. Hendley as an outlet for LGBTQ individuals who wanted both athletic experience and social networking. Each year CBLSL gives out a J.J. Hendley award, the highest honor a player in […]
Hunting Park: SquashSmarts Prepares Kids For What Is Next In Life Through Squash
The loud sound of the collision of a rubber squash ball with a white wall reverberated around the squash courts at SquashSmarts, on the second floor of the Lenfest Center, as sweat dripped down the faces of the students and coaches while they prepared for another day’s work. The noise and buzz represented another day […]
Kensington: Skate Shop Owner Makes A Difference Through Community Work
Pete MacKay, 31, owns and operates Shallow End Skate Shop, located at 2557 Amber St. in East Kensington. The shop and the brand he co-owns, Gnarhammered Skateboards, have become fixtures in the Philadelphia skateboarding community in a short amount of time. Through tireless hard work, MacKay is using this “clubhouse that I made reality” to […]
Hunting Park: Community Leader Preaches Squash and Family to Students
Nabilla Ariffin is the community impact director at SquashSmarts, a non-profit academic and athletic program which uses the game of squash to keep kids healthy, in school and on track to graduate. Since joining the program just six months ago, Ariffin has made an immediate impact in the Hunting Park community and looks to grow […]
Hunting Park: Five Places That Uplift The Members of the Community
Hunting Park in North Philadelphia offers many places for its community members to come together. These places inspire growth in the community and keep the lights on to promote a positive environment. Here are five places in Hunting Park that uplift members of the community. The Lenfest Center Built in 2007, originally as a building for […]
South Philadelphia: Osagame’s Athletes Fall For Judo And Self-Defense Classes
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime in the United States. Incidents can be found in most, if not all, communities across the country. People have looked to different methods to combat domestic violence and physical assaults. Most methods have included weapons such as […]
South Philadelphia: Women Have Options To Protecting Themselves Against Violence
The world can be a dangerous place. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, domestic violence cases made up nearly 21 percent of violent victimization nationwide from 2003 to 2012. Acknowledging that danger can strike anywhere at any moment, organizations have shifted their focus toward how to combat or avoid a bad situation before it actually happens. […]
Amateur Sports: A New Wave of Philadelphia Fighters
Philadelphia is a fighting city. And as the sport of boxing continues to fall in popularity, a new crew of fighters are earning their stripes in a different discipline: jiu jitsu. Fighters like Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder, who holds a 12-3 record in his 15 professional fights. Felder trains under Daniel Gracie, owner of […]
Olney: Coaches Teach Young Players More Than Just Football
The youths of Philadelphia are growing up in dangerous times. The city’s 2013 Youth Violence Prevention Plan states that, “Over the past six years, 5,051 young Philadelphians ages 14 to 24 have been shot or killed.” The coaching staff of the Olney Eagles tries to keep their players away from violence by giving them a safe, supportive environment […]
Washington Square West: Pickleball Craze in Seger Park
It was a year-and-a-half ago that Andrew Freedman and his wife Nancy were watching the evening news when a story about “the world’s fastest growing sport” piqued their interest. It was not long before the Freedman’s, lifelong squash and tennis players, took part in the pickleball craze. Andrew Freedman now spearheads a weekly pickleball meetup group […]