Mantua: After-School Programs Filling Void Left By Closure of University City High School
For 41 years, the 14-acre plot on Filbert Street between 37th and 38th streets was home to University City High School, Charles Drew Elementary School and The Walnut Center. Today, those buildings have been erased from existence, leaving behind a vast swath of unfinished terrain littered by rocks, dirt and controversy. University City High School closed […]
Mantua: “You’re Never Really Alone if You Come to Work Here.”
Branon Gilmore makes enrichment for youths and adults in the Mantua area his priority every day when coming to work in the morning. Gilmore, 44, is the Center Director for the West Philadelphia Community Center on Haverford Avenue near 35th Street. For 10 years, he has been working for Caring People Alliance, an agency partnering with the […]
Mantua: Mantua Job Organizations Hope to End Homelessness
[vimeo 69132791] Poverty, unemployment and homelessness are prevalent issues in Philadelphia and often wholly connected. In Mantua, the 23 percent unemployment rate among adults is the most direct contributor to poverty for households and individuals who live there. Without support or a means to pay rent or mortgage, sustained poverty can often lead to homelessness. Several […]
Mantua: GED Test Change Affects Adult Education class
Jim Landers teaches the Adult Education class offered by the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, a new organization at 35th and Spring Garden streets. The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships at 35th and Spring Garden provides Adult Education among other resources. The organization is already making its mark in the community through an urban extension partnership […]
Mantua: New Assistant Director Kicks Off Summer Camp Recruitment
The West Philadelphia Community Center, at 3512 Haverford Avenue, hosted its first parent meeting of the summer season to introduce its newest Assistant Center Director and to recruit neighborhood children into its recently overhauled summer program. From early childhood education to senior recreation, the Center has provided indispensable educational and social resources to Mantua residents for over […]
Mantua: Dornsife Center Educates and Bridges Communities
As of January 2014, The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships will open its doors to the community as the first “urban extension program” supported by a private university. A vital element of Drexel’s civic engagement endeavors, the urban extension program provides residents the best resources a university like Drexel has to offer, right in their […]
Mantua: Transformation Plan Concludes, Citizens’ Efforts Continue
Mantua residents and members of the Mantua Civic Association (MCA) gathered at the West Philadelphia Community Center last night for the unveiling of the We Are Mantua! Transformation Plan. The plan is a result of a two-year community-based process in which community residents and other stakeholders provided input for the future of Mantua. “The process […]