December 2022

Celebrate Kwanzaa with your Community this Friday! 

People’s Emergency Center Neighborhood Advisory Committee and community members from Belmont, Mantua, Mill Creek, Saunders Park, and West Powelton will gather at Community Education Center (CEC) (3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia) on Friday, 12/09 for live music, resources and turkey and wreath giveaways to complete every holiday gathering!  

At 5:30pm the Kwanzaa Fire & Ice Celebration comes into full swing with a holiday music performance by the incomparable Kenneth Sykes. Throughout the event there will be a bonfire fed by burning away any negativity of the past year written down on slips of paper. It is the seventh annual event.   

Illuminating West Philadelphia 

LumiNature returns to the Philadelphia Zoo for another season of breathtaking sights, sounds, and surprises! In the Our Neck of the Woods exhibit, explore beautifully decorated trees created by students, families and neighborhood partners throughout West Philadelphia. This year, PEC was invited to participate and each community group chose a unique wildlife design to celebrate an animal for all to see. 

PEC’s Tree theme is "Rising above them all... the giraffe.” 

As the tallest mammal in the animal kingdom, the giraffe reaches lofty heights, sometimes as high as 18 feet. Thus, giraffes are symbols of aspiration! The giraffe’s spirit inspires us to reach for the highest branch. At PEC, we believe that, with hope, we all have the capacity to go further and higher than you ever thought possible. PEC’s tree was decorated by community members and PEC Staff!

Don’t forget to VOTE for the PEC Tree (#6) through January 1st!  

Metro’s Best Philly 2022 Festival Award Goes to the

Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival

The 2022 Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival drew 3,000 attendees to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Saunders Park Greene (39th & Powelton) on Saturday, July 16 from Noon to 7pm, the second-largest crowd in 16 seasons of performances. The Festival, presented by Wells Fargo, celebrated West Philadelphia and jazz musicians. The all-day event was free and open to the public, organized by People’s Emergency Center (PEC), The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and a committee of community members, with technical assistance from Nu Millennium Media Productions. Additional sponsors include Citizens, Comcast Universal, Penn Live Arts, Penn Museum, and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Congratulations to The Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival Planning Committee! And thanks to all of you for your support and voting! 

Updates about next year’s Festival will be posted to @LancAveJazzFest on Facebook. 

Netter Center for Community Partnerships Day of Service

The Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Penn sponsored a day of service during homecoming and alumni weekend. School supplies, toiletries and other items were collected for residents and youths at PEC and YSI. Pictured here (l to r): Isabel Sampson-Mapp, Netter Center Associate Director, Dr. Ira Harkavy, Associate Vice President and Netter Center Founding Director, and Bernadine Hawes, Penn Alumnae and Board Chair of the PEC Community Development Corporation. 

Mayoral Candidate Allan Domb Visits Lancaster Avenue Businesses 

On November 11th, Philadelphia mayoral candidate, Allen Domb toured the Lancaster Avenue with Corridor Manager, Dante Leonard. The tour began with a meeting at Plush Events, 4087 Lancaster Avenue. In attendance were owners from La Pearl Beauty Emporium, Kanvas Event Center, Kevyn Michael Boutique, MMPartners LLC, Mr. Dump Truck, BQ Lancaster Ave and Unity Kids. 

The conversation was very engaging discussing overarching themes surrounding safety, blight, gentrification and overall capacity building for businesses. Domb agreed to come back for more engagement in the future, and about the possibility of creating something like the Center City District in this neighborhood as a pilot program, if elected. He also said that he would be more than willing to attend another convening of businesses and other mayoral candidates on the corridor in the future. 

LISC and Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino Awards New Grant to Lancaster Ave Business, Redemption Body Wellness

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is rolling out a new grant program in partnership with Gran Coramino™ Tequila—a brand founded by entrepreneur and comedian Kevin Hart and 11th generation tequila maker Juan Domingo Beckmann—to fuel small businesses and address the disparities that have long affected Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. As part of the listening tour, the Coramino Fund awarded four early grants of $10,000 to local entrepreneurs to support their small businesses including Lancaster Avenue’s own Redemption Body Wellness. CONGRATS TO MARTIN BOYD JR. and Redemption Body Wellness!  

PHEAA Workshop (SHOW ME THE MONEY!)

December 20th

5pm - 7:30pm

Rowan House - Community Room or Online!

7th Annual Holiday Home Decorating Contest

Let your creativity flourish during the 7th Annual NAC Holiday Home Decorating Contest. Kickoff is 12/1/22 and contest ends on 12/21/22. Categories include Best Home Interior and Exterior and Best Decorated Block.

For more info, contact Kevin B at [email protected]

Bridges to Wealth 

Bridges to Wealth meetings are on the second Monday of each month starting at 5:00pm on zoom.  Bridges to Wealth aims to close the wealth gap community by community. Contact Kevin Brown at 267-777-5820 or [email protected]. 

Next meeting Monday, December 12.

Time: 5PM-6PM 

Meeting ID: 861 4971 1616 

Passcode: 101595 

One tap mobile: +16469313860 

Men's Coffee Talk 

Save the date of Tuesday, December 13th (11AM-12PM). Contact Kevin Brown at 267-777-5820 or [email protected] for more information. 

Zoom Link: bit.ly/PECCOFFEETALK  

Meeting ID: 884 5082 8600  

Passcode: 903741  

One tap mobile: +16468769923 

Neighborhood Advisory Sub-Committee Resources

Sponsored in part by the City of Phila, Division of Housing and Community Development

NAC General Meeting

​The NAC general meeting happens on the second Monday of each month at 6:00pm and is your space to learn about resources, discuss neighborhood issues, and create community solutions. Contact Kevin at 267-777-5820 or [email protected] for the meeting link.

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Appointments for Assistance with Resources

Available Monday-Friday, ​between 9am and 5:30pm

Call 267-777-5477 to make an appointment with the NAC Manager for:

• Rent and property tax rebates
• Referrals for disability and unemployment
• Property tax relief
• 311 services and help
• Connecting to help with pay utility bills
• Free credit repair and debt negotiation
• Internet and computer access
• Reporting litter, unsafe, or vacant lots/buildings
• Referrals for food stamps and cash assistance
• Employment programs
• Food relief 

Check out our Upcoming Contests and Holiday Events at

https://www.pec-cares.org/events.html

Ultra Silk Gallery presents Starry Nights Concert Series featuring V. Shayne Frederick 

Sunday, December 11, 2022 

3808 Lancaster Avenue

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Starry Nights Musical Concerts are great fun for audiences of all ages. Concert-goers will have the opportunity to be awed and entertained by a collection of the music industry's most talented local & international luminaries as fairy lights, Moroccan lanterns and warm candles fill the gallery creating an intimate and unparalleled listening experience.  We are delighted to start our concert series with the incomparable V. Shayne Frederick as we take a special first class listen of his new album "The King Suite", debuting on all platforms December 8th, 2022. 

Entry: $20 for Online Ticket, $30 at the Door 

(V.I.P and Virtual Concert Tickets are available)

The NAC hosted a Block Captain's Brunch on December 3rd with guest speaker, Registrar of Wills, Tracey Gordon. The resource fair focused on home preservation, wellness and safety in collaboration with the United Block Captain Association.

New Year, New Name!

PEC and YSI will change our name to:

HopePHL (pronounced "hopeful") in 2023.

More information soon to come.

Give the Gift of HOPE this Season!

Check out the ways you can support PEC this holiday season:

https://www.pec-cares.org/wishlists.html