$200,000 Grant from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to help complete the project
State Senator Christine Tartaglione and State Representative Jason Dawkins brought home the bacon when they presented a check for $200,000 to Joseph Marziello, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, on November 22nd.
Tartaglione and Dawkins invested a lot of time and influence to get the grant for the club. It is ear marked for the completion of the renovations that have been underway at the club for over a year now.
The work at the club has been one of the biggest construction projects in Frankford this year and it has already made a big difference.
From Marziello’s message on the Boys and Girls Clubs web site:
After establishing the new John and Katie Ericksen Family Literacy Center at our Northeast Frankford Club in March 2017, we began renovations to create a Kids Café, STEM Learning Lab and Technology Center at the Club. The improvements are on-track to be completed In October 2017 and will allow us to provide youth at Frankford with hot, home-cooked food daily while engaging them in critical STEM programming.
… Since renovations to the Northeast Frankford Club began, youth enrollment at the Club has increased by 50 percent, with the number of teens attending Club programming doubling.
I spoke with Marziello 2 years ago about his vision for the club. The building was in very poor shape at that point and, yet he was optimistic that he would raise the money and get the job done. He actually did what he said he was going to do.
Bellow is a video of the presentation. If you have seen it on Facebook, this is a shorter version of the same.
So this is what’s happening at the Globe Dye Works.
Artist Stacey Lee Weber is known for her work with metals and will be showcasing at the 2017 PMA Craft Show. Provided
“I am often inspired by my environment,” she says. “Currently the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia in the Globe Dye Works building [is inspiring me]. The row housing, electric wires dangling, trash on the street are all sources of inspiration.”
Read the rest of the story from the Metro at the link below.
A few years ago, after passing the skateboard park at Carmella Playground for the 1,000th time, I stopped by there to take some pictures. It was no big deal but I ended up staying two hours, watching the kids do their thing. They are the best of the lot, honing their skills there rather than down at Love Park. It was news to me, but this is a serious sport and some of our local guys, John Valentin, is right up there with the best.
A small company in the skateboarding world, is trying to have a big impact on kids by rewarding them with a skateboard for writing an essay on what it means to pay it forward.
Sk8Skins is small, self-funded company reaching out at the grassroots level. They are looking for financial help through IndieGoGo to offset the cost of design and manufacturing the skateboards to pass on to the kids. The fundraising drive is in progress now. More information is available at www.Sk8Skins.com or go directly to this this link for the fundraising page.
Join us and learn about the various financial resources of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), discuss relevant community issues & network with business owners!
Featured Speakers
Vaughn Taylor
Director, Business Development
PIDC
Tuesday, November 14, 201712:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Globe Dye Works
4500 Worth Street
Philadelphia, PA 19124
Lunch will be provided
RSVP to Ileana Garcia, Commercial Corridor Manager,
at 215-743-6580 or igarcia@fcdc@gmail.com
