Aria Health School of Nursing

Aria Health School of Nursing, Founded in Frankford in 1904, packed up and left Frankford this week.  Moving vans have been at the building on the 4900 block of Penn Street all week.  A statement released by Maria Cerceo Slade, senior director of marketing and communications for Aria Health Systems stated:

Aria Health recently relocated its School of Nursing to a larger facility that will support growing class size, larger lecture space, and state-of-the-art training labs. Aria has safely secured the School of Nursing’s previous location on Penn Street and is actively pursuing alternate use for the building that will help it remain a vibrant anchor in the Frankford community.

While we respect Aria’s right to make sound business and economic decisions, we have some issues with the lack of notice to the community.  Hopefully they will show their good will by ensuring that the now vacant building is used in a way that will benefit the community.

There is a job opening for a NAC Coordinator Assistant position with IMPACT Services.  This is a link to the complete job description.

This is a brief summary:

Position Function:

The NAC Coordinator Assistant is responsible for supporting the NAC Coordinator in providing information and assistance regarding housing and community related services.

Education/Experience Requirements:

A High School Diploma or a general educational development certificate (post secondary education a plus) and experience with housing, education, financial literacy, and/or community development.

Applicants should contact:

Steve Blackburn
Frankford Neighborhood Center
4451 Frankford Avenue
215 535 1093

or

Kimberly Washington, Esq.
Coordinator, Northeast EPIC
Cora Services, Inc.
8540 Verree Road
Philadelphia, PA. 19111
(215) 701 – 2588

In the Inky today Jeff Gelles gives a preview of the event to be held at City Hall for the roll out of a new service.  For the person who does not have internet access at home, you can now use your cell phone to find the nearest WIFI location.

Send an address or intersection by text message to 215-240-7296, and you’ll get a response directing you to a site that offers access. Add a word such as disabled or WiFi after the address, and you’ll be steered to particular kinds of facilities, which can also be found with an interactive map at the Connect Philly website.

John Loftus and the Northeast Times spotlight two of our newest businesses in Frankford this week.  A Cupcake Wonderland and Love Bar are specialties that have moved into the Globe Dye Works thanks to the business development work of the Frankford CDC.

The aroma is stronger on the second floor, where Tegan Hagy and Lily Fischer make chocolate and cupcakes in the 1,000 square feet of production space they share.

Entrepreneurs Hagy and Fischer are not partners and neither is a retailer. They each have their own business. Fischer is the baker. Her business is A Cupcake Wonderland. Hagy owns Love Bar. She makes chocolate — from cocao beans to candy bars.

Read the story here, you can almost smell the aroma.

If you walk up and down Frankford Avenue these days, you will be surrounded by wonderful small businesses, and fantastic small business owners. But commerce is blooming off the Avenue in Frankford, too – and Terra Dukes is just one example.

Terra is a Soul Purpose Lifestyle Entrepreneur. What does that mean, you ask? Terra sells all natural products by Soul Purpose, including shea butter balms, sugar and salt scrubs, body lotions and gels, perfume essences, foot care (soaks, scrubs, etc), all natural soy candles, and more. Her products promote sustainability right down to the packaging, which encourages recycling. Even though you can get her goods through her website, soulpurpose.net/esuite/home/terrad, Terra loves to meet and get to know her customers. So don’t be surprised to find her at events in Frankford, or throughout the City.

Terra began working with Soul Purpose in 2007, but as she puts it: “I have always been interested  in beauty and body products and even more interested in products that are good for us. It is so important to be very particular to not only what we ingest into our bodies but equally concerned to what we apply on our bodies.  Also it is no surprise my name is ‘Terra’ which refers to the ‘Earth’.. And I know that the earth produces simply the best products for our bodies!”

Her goal for the coming years is to open a retail outlet, a venture the Frankford CDC is helping her pursue. And she would love to stay in Frankford, the neighborhood she considers her own. “I am a Frankford girl. I lived for some time on the 1300 block of Foulkrod. I still have good friends in Frankford, and I love to shop and frequent Frankford as much as possible. I love this community’s diversity. She has high hope’s for Frankford’s future, as well: “I hope to be part of the growth within Frankford, and I hope to see businesses thrive here. I want to offer and be part of a truly enjoyable shopping experience. I want my neighbors and those who will frequent Frankford to look forward to shopping here, I want to offer an outing for families to partake in.  To not only spend their money here  but to also spend some quality time and just socialize with one another.”

We at the Frankford CDC expect that while this may be your first time hearing about Terra, it will not be your last! So check out what she has to offer – Mother’s Day is coming up – and remember that there is more to Frankford than meets the eye. This neighborhood has many a hidden gem.