President's Message: Wrapping Up an Action-Packed Year

By Monica Allison,President, Cedar Park Neighbors

This year is going by sooo fast! It's hard to believe that we are entering the final holiday season of the year, and what an action packed year it has been. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed our last newsletter which was circulated throughout the entire Cedar Park Community. We hope you had a chance to enjoy the Cedar Park Fair as well. In that newsletter, we began the conversation about our Holiday Basket outreach that we do yearly. Please donate what you can so that we can feed families who may not be in the position to have a great holiday dinner otherwise.

Our last Meet & Greet was held on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at Dock Street. We want to thank our host for making Cedar Park Neighbors feel welcome. We enjoyed ourselves in your establishment. We are looking forward to planning more Meet & Greet opportunities in 2010. The final Park activity for the year, Fall Into Your Park, will be held on Saturday, November 21, 2009, from 10am to noon. We will put gardens to bed and gather leaves for composting. So if you need leaves, meet us at Cedar Park and come out to help and don’t forget to bring a rake.

As we approach the end of another year, we want to thank all of the volunteers, board members and neighbors for all they have done to help Cedar Park Neighbors continue to be a productive organization in this community. We would like to thank Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who fought to get lighting west of 50th street to 52nd street. We want to thank State Representative James Roebuck for all he has helped us accomplish through this year. Also, if you missed it, we had a great time with Senator Anthony H Williams at The Gold Standard in October. We thank him for his continued support as well.

Please be sure to join us for a general Membership Meeting to be held on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:00 at the Calvary Center at 48th and Baltimore Ave. There are some exciting plans to share about the new year and we need your input. In particular, 2010 is the 50th Anniversary of Cedar Park Neighbors and 2011 is the 100th anniversary of Cedar Park. We want to take this opportunity to celebrate what has been and to vision the future together. Join us as we get into the anniversary spirit and anticipate activities for the coming year.

Lastly, we are entering the winter season. Please check on sick and shut in neighbors, shovel your elderly neighbors walks and steps when it snows, and be of good cheer throughout the upcoming holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Kwanza, and Happy New Year to all! Patronize the businesses in our neighborhood, and remember: There's always something good happening in Cedar Park. See you next year!

Community Achievement Association Helps Improve Quality of Life

By Shawn Kelly, President
Community Achievement Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We have been working with Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell to improve the quality of life in her district by eradicating "Blight". Our initiative has been providing the following services for the past three years: cleaning vacant lots, abandoned houses, removal of debris from short-dumping (that is illegal dumping), daily street cleaning beautification and representing the community in zoning issues. The target areas are the western section of Cedar Park (52nd and Whitby-52nd and Pine St) and Baltimore Ave (50th -58th streets). The community is now illuminated and feels a sense of wellbeing.

Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Breaks Ground for New Building

Officials from the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union (PFCU) recently gathered at 5000 Baltimore Avenue to break ground for a new building to be reconstructed on their same location.
The new LEED-certified branch will replace their former building and better serve West Philadelphia residents and businesses. LEED promotes sustainability performance in key areas including: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Present for the ceremony were members of PFCU’s Board of Directors and Senior Management, including President/CEO James McAneney. “We made a decision to rebuild because of space limitations at the former branch,” said McAneney. “The reconstruction gives us the opportunity to provide a more spacious interior for members and businesses and to accommodate our expanding line of product offerings.”
The new branch will feature six teller stations, six platform desks and also include a greeter station, self-service coin machine, internet café area, express services and plasma screens that will feature daily live news feeds and marketing promotions. Outside of the building, two walk-up 24-hour ATMs will be available. Construction of the building is underway, and PFCU officials plan to open the doors of the new facility in Spring 2010.
PFCU was founded in 1951 and is currently among the top credit unions in the city. For more information, visit pfcu.com or call 215-934-3500 or 800-832-PFCU (outside the metropolitan area).

CPN General Membership Meeting Dec. 2nd

Wednesday, December 2, 20097:00 – 8:30 pm Calvary Church 48th and Baltimore Avenue

Our membership meeting will focus on Cedar Park’s Past, Present and Future. We have some big anniversaries coming up and we invite members to help shape planning for upcoming activities. 2010 is the 50th Anniversary for Cedar Park Neighbors and 2011 will be the 100th Anniversary of Cedar Park, our community green space. These are big milestones and we want to honor history, hard work and visions for the future with activities beginning fall, 2009. We will also preview a new media piece promoting the Baltimore Avenue commercial corridor and discuss the potential for a visioning study for the western portion of the commercial corridor west, from 49th to 52nd Street.

We need your voice and your ideas! Please plan to be with us on December 2.

Cedar Park Neighbor Holiday Food Basket Outreach

By Victoria Iannotta, Holiday Basket Committee Co-Chair On December 19th, Cedar Park Neighbors will distribute holiday food baskets to those in our community who are in need this holiday season. If anyone would like to help assemble and prepare the baskets, please meet us at St Francis de Sales School auditorium at 9 a.m. on December 19th. Everyone is most welcome.

If you are aware of a neighbor or friend who could benefit from a food basket, please ask them to contact one of the organizations that partner with us in this program. You will find the names and numbers in the form below.

Most importantly, if you are able to help support this outreach program, you will be contributing in a positive, real way to the happiness of another this holiday season.

Thank you very much and Happy Holidays!!