Read the lastest from the Frankford CDC!

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.

This past week, the Frankford CDC had the pleasure of hosting two Frankford High students as part of a job shadowing program being run through the 9th grade academy and the Student Success Center. We tried to give them a taste of the working world as best we could, the fun and the not-so-fun. They helped us fold copies of the February edition of the Frankford Gazette, and also got to head to City Hall with us to attend a press conference with the Mayor.
 
One of our favorite things at the CDC is meeting and becoming friends with Frankford residents of all ages, and we especially love opportunities to engage young folks in our community. We hope the Frankford High students we spent the day with gained more than just a better understanding of the working world and what it means to operate in an office setting; we hope through our conversations with them, and through their excellent questions, they gained a new appreciation for Frankford, and for trying one’s best to do for others and be a constructive and active participant in one’s community. After all, we know that we learned a lot from them.

Our special thanks to Frankford High, and to the students we had the pleasure of spending the day with!

Michelle Feldman, Tracy O'Drain, Dan Lodise

The annual public board meeting of the Frankford Community Development Corporation was held at Aria Health on January 19th.  The meeting provides and opportunity for residents to come out to talk with the CDC about past accomplishments and future plans.

The board is presently made up of: Marie DeLany (President), Dan Lodise (Vice President), Patricia Miller (SEPTA), Terence McSherry (NET), Michael O’Brien (resident), Mike Galdi (Century 21 Realty), Herb Frayer (S&A Cleaners), Santo Caruso (Aria Health), Faye Allen (SPIN) and Fernando Torres (Mark My Flesh).  In addition Tracy O’Drain is the Managing Director.  Michell Feldman  is Corridor Manager and Special Events Coordinator.  Lisa DeMore is the Bookkeeper.

Some highlights:

• Significant progress in social media and marketing – The CDC has a revamped and useful web site and is a prominent Frankford resource on Facebook.
• The CDC is working closely with the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation to get people working.
• Has recruited new business (A Cupcake Wonderland and Philly Love Bar to the Globe)  to Frankford and assisted existing businesses (Avenue Shoes, Denbys, Gilberts, Just Good Scents, Quickie Mart, Simply Flawless).
• Raised the profile of Frankford with some significant special events like the Second Saturday festivals.
• Began work on the 4600 block of Frankford Avenue project.  Impact Services under an existing contract with the city will begin work this year on those improvements.
• New computer lab via PhillyRising came this month.

Dan Lodise announced at the end of the meeting that he will be stepping down as Vice President.  The board has room for several more members and I believe we need more residents on the board.  There were two exceptional people at the meeting who were interested in possibly joining.  I hope they do. Both are business women in Frankford.  Just the people we need.

Tracy and Michelle did a great Power Point presentation at the meeting that I recorded for my notes but it is so detailed I am including it below for your information if you care to see some of the details.

It works best in full screen and pause it at each slide if you need time to read them.