It’s springtime, that means time to plant! The PSCA will be holding our annual plant sale at Urban Jungle, 1526-30 E Passyunk Ave, on Saturday May 4th from 10-2pm. A portion of the sales will benefit the work of the Passyunk Square Civic Association. Urban Jungle, a sponsor of PSCA, offers beautiful plants and knowledgeable expertise to help you create your urban gardens. Mark your calendar and plan on doing your spring plant shopping with us on May 4th.

Thanks to you, Passyunk Square Civic Association has had another successful year!  We have accomplished so much and look forward to continuing to make our community an even better place to live in 2013.  Whether you chipped in at a clean-up, participated in our home tour, volunteered on a committee, or simply attended our general meetings and shared your ideas, you were critical to our success and we hope you will keep on participating.

The PSCA is a volunteer-led and self-funded non-profit, and 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 making a fully tax-deductable donation to the Passyunk Square Civic Association, to help us maintain our momentum.  You can donate on our website, or send us a check payable to Passyunk Square Civic Association, at P.O. Box 18052, Philadelphia, PA 19147.  If your company or organization participates in the annual United Way Appeal, Passyunk Square Civic Association is a listed donor.  Or, if your company offers a match program, we hope you will consider our organization.  Whatever way you decide to contribute, we will put every dollar to good use here in our community. 

Just a reminder, there are only a few days left to make a 2012 tax deductible donation to the PSCA.  You can make your donation right now by using the PayPal button on the right sidebar under “Donate to PSCA”.  If you have any trouble, please email us at give@passyunk.org
  
Here are some of our great accomplishments this past year and a look ahead:

Greening/Beautification

• Planted over 80 trees, and pruned and watered many more. Started pruning club..
• Created Passyunk Gardens working with the Camden Children’s Garden. Held regular Sunday hours and hosted several well-received events, such as Leekapalooza and various potlucks.
• Arranged and funded the Eder Muniz mural at Capitolo playground.

Cleaning

• Continued weekly sidewalk litter pick-up program!
• Held targeted block and park clean-ups.
• Held e-waste recycling event and Christmas tree chipping.
• Created the Trash Think Tank, to educate local businesses that offer food or beverage take-out about new code requirements to provide a trash receptacle outside of their premises during business hours – separate from the big belly or city trash cans;  a collaborative effort with LoMo, Newbold, and East Passyunk Crossing civic associations.

Education

• Held Education Forum with the Jackson School principal, Philadelphia School participants included PSCA Education Committee, Education Voters of Pennsylvania, and Juntos.  Recruited education volunteers.  We held a supply drive to make sure every student has the tools they need for a successful year.

Planning

• Became a Registered Community Organization through the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
• Created an online business directory with 145 local businesses.
• Installed bike racks in front of several businesses through the city’s adopt-a-rack program.
• Designed and installed new neighborhood “Welcome to Passyunk Square” signage.

Fundraising/Events

• Held Fall Home Tour – this year’s tour was in conjunction with Design Philly – great turnout!
• Held PSCA Plant Sale (in collaboration with Urban Jungle)
• New this year – Holiday Tree sale at Urban Jungle
• Hosted Arden theatre social event

Community Outreach

• Conducted parking safety survey, working with the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
• Reinvigorated our Town Watch program.
• Started the Neighborhood Ambassador Program.
• Applied for and received a $3000 Activities Fund grant for the purpose of translating meeting minutes and other announcements into Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese.

Communications

• Grew our online social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.
• Grew our email distribution list.
• Updated website on a regular basis.
• Sent monthly e-blast newsletter.
• Started an opt-in text message service

Sponsorship Program

• Started the Business Sponsorship program for businesses in the civic area.
• Signed on 15 sponsors in inaugural year; seven of the 15 made multi-year commitments.

Board Governance

• Recruited new Board members and rewrote PSCA Bylaws.

the year ahead

• Fill education committee volunteer positions in the coming year.
• Grow the Neighborhood Ambassador Program
• Translate meeting minutes and other materials into Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
• Hold events that attract a greater diversity of residents.
• Expand our email distribution list and online media presence, and increase general meeting attendance.
• Plan a springtime art show and a pet-related event.
• Coordinate events between our three parks. Explore a pop up park.

Your donations keep us running for you!

Thanks so much for your support!

Pam Zenzola, President
Angel D’Ippolito, Vice President

Stop by Urban Jungle on Saturday, December 1st  from 2pm-6pm to buy your Christmas Tree and all the trimmings!  Proceeds from the sale will go to support Passyunk Square Civic Association services and programs. It’s a great time to find just the right tree, unique ornaments, and all the trimmings to make your tree a show stopper this year.  To help you get into the mood, there will be carolers singing all the traditional holiday songs and Santa will be visiting the event from 4:00 to 4:30!

Wanted: Singers for our Passyunk Square Chorus!  You don’t have to be a great singer, just want to have fun and sing holiday carols with neighbors.  If interested, please contact garytumolo@comcast.net

In the next month we will be sending out letters for  our annual appeal to our membership.  Consider partnering with the Passyunk Square Civic Association by donating whatever you can to help us continue to provide vital services and programs for our community.  If your company does a matching funds program, please use this to match your generous donation or if your organization is part of the United Way Drive – the PSCA is now a listed organization that you can choose to direct your dollars to.  Whatever you can give, and in whatever way you choose, your donations will go toward programming and services with our greatest thanks and  appreciation.  If you have any questions about our annual appeal, or our sponsorship program, please contact Ilene Wilder at give@passyunk.org

We’re giving you a summer vacation from General Meetings for July and August, so we’ll see you in September with updates from our committees who have been busy working straight through these hot months to make Passyunk Square even better!  Speaking of committees, our 2012 Board of Directors and Committees have been announced:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pam Zenzola, President
Angel D’Ippolito, Vice-President Outreach
Sarah Anton, Treasurer and Beautification Committee Co-Chair
Karin Morris, Secretary and Planning Committee Chair
Christine Knapp, Immediate Past President
Andrew Emma, Beautification Committee Co-Chair
Chris DiCapua, Parks Liaison
Ilene Wilder, Fundraising and Events Committee Chair
Carmela Fioretti, Trash and Recycling Committee
Cassie Knox, Communications Committee Chair

COMMITTEES
Beautification Clean-ups, plantings, banners, block efforts
co-chairs: Andrew Emma and Sarah Anton
Communications Public relations, external communication
chair: Cassie Knox
Zoning Monitoring zoning change requests
chair: John Digiulio
Outreach Giving every resident of the neighborhood a chance to become involved
chair: Angel D’Ippolito
Safety / Passyunk Square Town Watch
chair: Kim Davis
Trash & Recycling
chair: Carmela Fioretti
Planning Convening stakeholders to help choose what we want the area to look like in the future
chair: Karin Morris
Fund Raising/Sapling Program For association activities
chair: Ilene Wilder
Education Supporting schools in the neighborhood
chair: Open

Saturday, May 5th, 10am – 2pm
Urban Jungle

Come shop for your plants and flowers at Urban Jungle, 1528 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147. Support our local nursery and the Passyunk Square Civic Association.  Proceeds from plant sales will go to support PSCA programming.

New this year, buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win free landscape design consultation* by Urban Jungle.   Proceeds from the raffle will go to support PSCA programming.

*Urban Jungle is your full-service neighborhood garden center, located on E Passyunk in South Philly, they are exclusively dedicated to gardening in the city!  Patios, courtyards, roof decks, railings, windows, walls, even interiors, we green it all.  This offer is good for a one hour on-site consultation with their staff Urban Landscape Designer, Becky Bourdeau.  A $100 value, Becky will walk and talk with you about the best way to beautify and bring your space alive, with suggestions for materials, plants, and long-term care.  Call 215-952-0811 to schedule your consultation today! .

And after you buy your plants on May 5th, learn how best to care for them on May 6th at…

————————————————————————

The South Philly Food Co-op’s Container Garden Workshop
Sunday, May 6, 2pm to 4pm
Passyunk Gardens

Do you want to try your hand at growing plants but donít have lots of space? Think you need a yard or raised bed to grow food?

Think again!

Join Sarah DeGiorgis, who has been blogging for over a year at SouthPhillyFoodCoop.org about growing in containers, as she shows you what type of containers to use, what plants to choose and information about sun and watering. They’ll also cover transplantation and maintenance of your new container garden. They’ll have soil, seeds and tools and attendees are encouraged to bring their own containers. They don’t have to be traditional pots! Anything that can hold soil and water, has drainage holes in the bottom and is made of something non-porous is just fine. Email general@southphillyfoodcoop.org for more information.

$5 suggested donation will go directly to the Co-op.

Columbus Square Park

Time for spring cleaning!  Reserve your spot at the Columbus Square Park Flea Market, Saturday April 28^th -  8 am to 1 pm .  $20 for one spot / $30 for two  – reserved in advance.  $5 additional day of.  Call 215-685-1890 or email columbussquarerec@gmail.com to reserve your space today.

Gold Star Park
Space available for vendors
$10 per space (bring your own table)
Email goldstarpark@passyunk.org to reserve your space

Saturday, May 5th
10am – 1pm

What: Passyunk Square Civic Association 8th Annual Plant Sale sponsored by Urban Jungle
Where: Urban Jungle, 1528 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147
When: 10 am to 2 pm Saturday, May 5th.

It’s springtime – time to plant! Come shop for your plants and flowers at Urban Jungle. Support our local nursery and the Passyunk Square Civic Association. Proceeds from plant sales will go to support PSCA programming. New this year, buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win free landscape design consultation* by Urban Jungle. Proceeds from the raffle will go to support PSCA programming.

*Urban Jungle is your full-service neighborhood garden center, located on E Passyunk in South Philly, they are exclusively dedicated to gardening in the city! Patios, courtyards, roof decks, railings, windows, walls, even interiors, we green it all. This offer is good for a one hour on-site consultation with their staff Urban Landscape Designer, Becky Bourdeau. A $100 value, Becky will walk and talk with you about the best way to beautify and bring your space alive, with suggestions for materials, plants, and long-term care. Call 215-952-0811 to schedule your consultation today!

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)!