On Tuesday, January 3, at 6:30pm the Passyunk Square Civic Association will host its monthly general membership meeting at the South Philadelphia Older Adult Center (East Passyunk Avenue and Dickinson Street). Whether you’re celebrating your first or fiftieth New Year as a Passyunk Square resident, make getting involved in your neighborhood one of your goals for 2012. Attending a general membership meeting is a great way to get started. You’ll find out the latest news for what’s going on in the neighborhood, meet some of your fellow Passyunk Square residents and hear from our featured presenter.

For this month we’ll have updates of upcoming zoning committee cases, development projects in the neighborhood, news from the town watch front and more!

From the Better-Late-Than-Never News Desk:

Congratulations to Dan Wallace and Alys Kirsh – two of our volunteers from the November 19th Tree Planting – who each won a pair of tickets to the Philadelphia Flyers vs. Carolina Hurricanes on November 21st at the Wachovia Center. Though the game didn’t quite turn out the way Flyers fans would have wanted it to, Dan and his guest and Alys and her guest had the opportunity to enjoy the spectacle from the cozy confines of the Mayor’s Box.

Special thanks to the City of Philadelphia for providing the Passyunk Square Civic Association with these tickets. The PSCA Board decided the best use of these tickets would be to recognize a couple of its many dedicated volunteers for their hard work. If any more of these great opportunities come our way (Sixers basketball is back, right?) we’ll be on the look out for more great volunteers to share with.

Your Christmas tree has treated you to another great holiday season, don’t return the favor by sending it to rot in some landfill. Treecycle it! On Saturday, January 7th from 10am to 4pm, you can bring your tree to Columbus Square park (corner of 13th and Reed streets) and have it turned into wood chips and mulch that will be used in local parks and gardens.

A $5 donation is suggested to cover the costs of the tree chipping. Please be sure to remove all decorations (they don’t make good mulch). Unfortunately, we can’t take early drop-offs so make your plans now to be there between 10am and 4pm. Please note that the City of Philadelphia does not recycle trees left at the curb.

Do you have a couple hours you can offer to help out with this event? We’re looking for a few good volunteers. Email contact@passyunk.org if you’re interested.

Thank you for all you’ve done to make 2011 a successful year! We could not have done it without those of you who volunteered to make our many projects and events a success.  As 2011 draws to a close and you make your end of the year decisions about charitable donations please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation to the Passyunk Square Civic Association. Put your money to work making your neighborhood a better place to live. If charity begins at home, the next place it goes is right outside your door to your home community.

Here’s just a few of the achievements that your support in 2011 made possible:

• Capitolo greening project and Gold Star Park monthly clean-ups and plantings
• Continuation of weekly sidewalk litter pick-up program
• Partnership with Passyunk Revitalization Corporation for corner trash cans and street cleaning
• Summer music at Gold Star Park
• E-waste event and Christmas tree chipping
• Zoning group improvements / increased involvement
• Over a dozen different social events that brought neighbors together for fun and fellowship

The PSCA is a volunteer-led and self-funded non-profit. We run on your donations of money and time! Every dollar raised will directly support weekly litter pick-up, tree planting and maintenance, education reform, neighborhood beautification and more! Please consider giving a $35 donation to the Passyunk Square Civic Association.  It’s easy to give. Just click on this link to donate to us through our safe, secure Paypal account. Your donations are greatly appreciated!  And special thanks to those that gave last year (a list of donors and more details about the Civic Association’s accomplishments can also be found on our website)!

Is See-Click-Fix just not getting it done for you? Are you someone who notices the slightest changes to properties and businesses on the blocks surrounding your house? Have you seen an increase in illegal bandit signs (will they REALLY buy my house in seven seconds?) or dumping? Are you wondering what can be done about it? The answer: Passyunk Square Civic Association Town Watch. And we’re looking for a few dedicated volunteers to take leadership roles on our Town Watch Committee.

Wanted: Two or three outgoing, organized, energetic and vigilant volunteers to share in the task of organizing and leading our monthly neighborhood town watch events. The ideal candidate would have one hour per month (or every other month depending on how many leaders we can get) to lead a group of other like-minded folks for a stroll around the neighborhood to find and report property crimes, dumping, blight, damaged streets and sidewalks, potential illegal construction or non-permitted businesses. The town watch leader for the month will act as a point of contact for other volunteers who want to participate and will choose what section of the neighborhood the group will focus on. In addition to one hour of on-the-street work, the town watch leader will submit the findings of the group to the City through its 3-1-1 system. The Civic Association can be the direct link between the Town Watch leaders and the people at the City who can get things taken care of quickly.

Our next scheduled Town Watch walk is Saturday, January 14 from 11am to noon. We already have a few people who are interested in participating but we’re still looking for some good leaders to guide the group. The Board will provide advice and suggestions for first-time leaders to help them get adjusted to the job. It’s the best thing YOU can do for the neighborhood with the shortest monthly time commitment. Please email us at contact@passyunk.org OR chat with a board member after the general membership meeting on January 3.