Issue 48, May 2019 Friends Center Tenant Newsletter
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NOTE
On June 1st, we welcome the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania as our newest tenant. The Housing Alliance is a statewide coalition working to provide leadership and a common voice for policies, practices and resources to ensure that all Pennsylvanians, especially those with low incomes, have access to safe, decent and affordable homes.
One of our longtime tenants, Community Ventures, is a member of the Housing Alliance, making for a nice connection. (See below for some exciting news about Community Ventures’ work!)
– Chris Mohr, Executive Director
AROUND FRIENDS CENTER
Holiday Reminders:
- Friends Center will close for Memorial Day on 5/27.
- There will be no air conditioning in the main office building & Meetinghouse on Saturday, 5/25.
- 1520 Race Street air conditioning will run as usual.
- 2019 Holiday Schedule
QuakerSpeak Videos Filmed at Friends Center
The QuakerSpeak video series brings weekly interviews on contemporary topics to YouTube. The channel has over 2 million views to date. Many of the videos have been filmed in whole or in part at Friends Center. We’ve compiled a list of some of them here.
Get Informed, Get Inspired, Get Involved!
Date: Saturday, May 4
Time: 10am – 3pm
Location: Friends Center
Friends Committee on National Legislation and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Legislative Policy Collaborative invite you to organize and mobilize with FCNL:
- how to make your voice heard by your Members of Congress
- Keynote: Hannah Graf Evans, FCNL’s lobbyist on Immigration and Refugee Policy
- Identify opportunities to impact national legislative policy on current issues.
- Build relationships with other energized people from your congressional district
Lunch and childcare can be provided if noted on your RSVP.
EQUITY PARTNER NEWS
American Friends Service Committee
Happy 102nd Birthday AFSC! We thank you for all that you do and wish you many more successful years of changing the world! 3/30/1917
PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING
Quakers Got Talent Fundraiser
Kurtz Center for the performing Arts
William Penn Charter School, 3000 W. Schoolhouse Ln, Philadelphia Pa
Date: Monday June 17, 2109
Doors Open: 7:30 Show time: 8pm
We are bringing Broadway to Philadelphia for a fundraiser to benefit PYM programs. Roy Zatcoff will perform with his daughter Rachel Zatcoff, who made her Broadway debut as Christine in “Phantom of the Opera” and is currently starring in an off-Broadway Yiddish version of “Fiddler on the Roof.” The slam poetry artist Zenaida Peterson and the singer-songwriter/NPR Tiny Desk Contest finalist Emily Drinker will add their talents to the mix.
CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETING
Panel on Meeting-School Relations
Saturday May 11, 2019
Drew Smith, Executive Director of Friends Council on Education, and other panelists. (Time to be determined)
In the works for next fall: Sessions on the history of public education, of Friends education, and an overview of the history of education in philadelphia to imform us about what is going on and how we got to where we are.
TENANT NEWS
Community Ventures Wins PACDC Blue Ribbon Award
Congratulations to the staff, board and residents of Community Ventures on winning a 2019 Blue Ribbon Award from the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC)! Centennial Village is a 51 unit mixed-use development that has transformed the West Parkside neighborhood. Community Ventures has transformed 44 previously vacant and blighted lots and buildings into a rejuvenated, vibrant block of affordable housing and commercial space.
http://www.community-ventures.org/pacdc-award/
After School All Stars: Hoop-a-thon, June 1
ASAS Philadelphia & Camden will host our 2nd annual All-Star Hoop-a-Thon at the historical Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania on June 1, 10 am–12:30 pm. All funds raised will expand ASAS’ programs and services for Title 1 students in our region. Register at https://afterschoolallstars.org/philcam-hoopathon19/.
CASA Annual Gala, May 8
At its annual gala, CASA will honor its 2019 “Champion for Children” Vai Sikahema, anchor of NBC10 Philadelphia News Today, former Philadelphia Eagles player and host of the weekly feature Wednesday’s Child. We will also honor our 2019 Outstanding CASA Advocates Allison Davenport and Jennifer Bellot. CASA Philadelphia is a volunteer-driven community organization serving abused and neglected children in foster care across our City. Our volunteers are in the courts, the schools, and every neighborhood speaking out on behalf of abused kids. Because of these volunteers, children attend class, stay connected to loved ones, and can return to a safe, permanent home sooner. More info.
EVENTS OUTSIDE FRIENDS CENTER
2019 FRIENDS CONFERENCE ON RELIGION AND PSYCHOLOGY:
The Mystical & Spiritual Dimensions of Trauma & Healing
May 24-27, 2019
Pendle Hill, Wallingford, PA FCRP is one of the oldest conferences in the U.S. dedicated to individual spiritual exploration with a focus on in-depth psychology, specifically Jungian psychology. The plenary speaker will be Donald Kalsched, Jungian Analyst. Interest Groups will meet on a wide range of topics including Creative Writing and Mindful Movement, Tai Chi, Death & Dying, the Joy of Movement, and Poetry Discussion. http://fcrp.quaker.org/