West Philadelphia: Libraries “Plant A Seed” That Brings Success And Literacy For West Philly Children
Out of the 339 schools within the Philadelphia School District, only eight have full-time paid certified librarians. Louis Lozzi, a Philadelphia native and teacher said that the lack of library funding in the school system has been an issue since he began his teaching career 15 years ago. “I’m used to being in schools without […]
Germantown: How One Woman and One Foundation Are Working Towards “One Less”
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released 2016 data that placed Philadelphia at the top of the list as the poorest big city in the nation. With a poverty level close to 26 percent, the city seems to be making very little improvement financially. Enter Ingrid Shepard, the executive director of The One Less Foundation, a nonprofit […]
Social Issues: “There Is An Affordable Housing Crisis That Confronts The City In Some Real Ways.”
Kelvin Jeremiah, the president and CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, has brought unique ideas from previous stops in Springfield, Massachusetts and New York City to help develop better living conditions for some of Philadelphia’s low-income citizens. How did you get started with the Philadelphia Housing Authority? So I came to the PHA about […]
Port Richmond: This Week In The News – Mapping Progress And A Car Theft Suspect Identified
In case you missed it, we found a few places where people were talking about things happening in Port Richmond: Mapping Progress in 55 Philadelphia Neighborhoods– Tom Ferrick took factors like crime, household income, population, poverty and home prices into account when creating a new data analysis of each neighborhood in the city to see […]
Northwest Philadelphia: Jumpstart Germantown Looks to Revitalize the Community One Property at a Time
Jumpstart Germantown is a redevelopment program that was established in April, 2014 by Mount Airy real estate developer Ken Weinstein. The organization tackles the problems of blighted properties in the Northwest by training a new generation of developers how to invest in and revitalize real estate. “I liked taking junk, something like old buildings, and doing […]
Powelton Village: EAT Café Hosts First Witness To Hunger Event
In response to the country’s new federal administration, the leaders behind West Philadelphia’s Witness to Hunger introduced their first gallery exhibition and open community forum to highlight poverty in the community. First established in 2008, Witness to Hunger fights against hunger and poverty through both photography and discussion. Panelists at the first gallery exhibition included Angela-Nike Sutton, […]
Education: Philabundance Community Kitchen Sets Students Up For Success
Ninety thousand. That is the number of people Philabundance served in previous weeks within its nine-county regions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Eight hundred of those 90,000 meals are prepared by the students of the Philabundance Community Kitchen. The kitchen set up a new approach to helping those in need. Philadelphia is no stranger […]
Nicetown-Tioga: Mercy Neighborhood Ministries Continues to Service The Community
Mercy Neighborhood Ministries (MNM) has been a focal point to the Nicetown community since 1997 and Sister Ann Provost, the executive director of the ministry, has been there since the beginning. MNM has a wide range of programs that cater to the improvement of the children in the neighborhood. A program was recently implemented at the ministry is […]
Northeast: Supermarket Closures Leave Food Pantries Scrambling
It was 8:40 a.m. on a recent sunny, spring-like day. In addition to the birds chirping, chatter could be heard as a line from the front of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church wrapped around Sackett Street onto Tyson Avenue. Many were gathering and waiting for the Feast of Justice’s Community Cupboard to open. Feast of […]
Kensington: Community Center Works to Serve Neighborhood’s Needs
The Community Center at Visitation (CCV) is one of many outreach facilities dedicated to improving the quality of life in Kensington. Led by Sister Betty Scanlon, a Sister of Mercy and director of CCV, the center tries to fill the gaps in services needed by local residents. “We learn so much from the community. This facility is […]