The color guard attended the 26th annual Martin Luther King breakfast celebration at Sankofa Freedom Charter school on January 26th.
Color Guard
On January 29th, the Pioneer Battalion hosted a fundraiser at the Applebee’s located on Castor and Aramingo. It was an “All-you-can-eat” breakfast. I am glad to say it was a huge success! We raised over $600. The money will be used to fund various JROTC events.
Our local Brightside Academy, located at 1627-29 Meadow Street, hosted a “Meet Your Legislators” event on Friday, 1/13/12, to bring our local legislators, parents and students together. Part of the program included a photo display of students’ concerns about our community. The students had been given disposable cameras to capture and record what they would like to change about Frankford. Students also prepared questions to present to the legislators. As I looked at the photo display, there were pictures of littered streets and abandoned buildings. We, too, share these young citizens’ concerns. Parents gathered in the meeting room of Brightside Academy, munching on provided snacks, to await the arrival of the legislators.
This was our first visit to Brightside Academy and we were warmly greeted and impressed with the brightly painted and decorated classrooms. This Brightside Academy is one of 30 academies in the city according to Davida Garr, Community Affairs Specialist. Brightside Academy is a part of many of our city neighborhoods and are reaching out to connect with their families and support the local communities. Early education and care are provided for children aged 6 weeks – 12 years. Academies are open year-round from 6 AM until 6 PM (may vary slightly by location). Juana Ramos, Area Business Director, explained that Brightside Academy opened in 1999 at this location. The name “Academy” is very important to staff as they provide an educational environment, work to enhance their own qualifications through staff development and work to reach higher levels in the Keystone Stars program. Keystone Stars is a PA Early Learning initiative that gives accreditation to day-care centers based on the highest performance level they achieve – Star 1 through Star 4.
I had a chance to speak with parents who are unanimously very pleased with this facility. They feel staff are pleasant, there is a family atmosphere and they recommended them highly. One mother has had three children in Brightside Academy and the oldest is now 11. We visited a class where a student was celebrating an 8th birthday and cupcakes had been shared!
The Northeast EARN Center (located on Frankford Avenue) had representatives and a table of information at the event. This agency provides support for those transitioning from welfare to work in northeast Philadelphia. You must be referred to them by your caseworker if you are receiving assistance from the Department of Public Welfare. If you have any questions or think you might be eligible, talk to your caseworker.
For more information, visit their website at Brightside Academy or call 215.289.0641 or 877.868.2273. Kudos to all those involved in this event! Our Frankford community is the better for them!
As part of its efforts to keep the arts alive in Philadelphia schools, the Picasso Project, an arts advocacy program of Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), presented $50,083 in grants to 13 Philadelphia public schools on January 17th at the World Café Live.
Public Citizens for Children and Youth presented a $2,500 check presented to the students and staff Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School for their arts project “Sankofa Rewind: A Cinematic Journey from Self discovery to Social Action.” They are joined by (back row, from left) John Duffy of the office of State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-2), Jojy Varghese (3rd from left) and (far right) Zach Epps of the office of State Representative Tony Payton, Jr. (D-179); and (next to Epps) Picasso Project Coordinator Gretchen Elise Walker. (Photo by Ellie Seif)
On December 22, 2011, the Frankford High School Senior Committee hosted a fundraiser at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on the BLVD. It raised around $1000! The fundraiser was for the senior class of 2012. The money will be used for various senior activities. The fundraiser was open to the public. There was a huge turn out from the Frankford high school students, staff, and faculty. Over 50 people from Frankford attended.
Frankford Pioneer Battalion
1LT Lee Nguyen
S-5 Public Affairs Officer
Mayor Nutter and Managing Director Negron visited Frankford on Friday January 6th to cut the ribbon on the new community computer center at the office of the Frankford CDC at Griscom and Harrison Streets. This was the culmination of a PhillyRising project which began last year by listing the needs of the community based on meetings with residents.
The majority of the residents of Frankford do not have internet access. The Free Library Branch does offer some service which is very well utilized all day long by students and others but those facilities cannot come close to meeting the demand. The new computer center will help to close the gap.
There are 9 workstations (donated by the Temple University Computer Recycling Center) now available on the second floor with some peripherals. A schedule of hours the center will be open has yet to be established but will be posted shortly by the CDC. In addition, there will be specific events scheduled for the public to come in for help with things like tax preparation and college financial aid forms.
The video below is about 14 minutes with the comments by Manny Citron of PhillyRising who coordinated the project with the CDC. Managing Director Negron and Mayor Nutter speak and Tracy O’Drain completes the presentation. You can hear some of the details of the project. I had to edit the Mayor’s comments a bit for length.
