Friends of Vernon Park

$2.675m Increase for Parks & Rec Approved by City Council Committee!

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

We have reason to celebrate! On November 14th, City Council’s Appropriations Committee voted to approve a mid-year Transfer Ordinance effectively increasing the Department of Parks and Recreation’s operating budget for FY 2013 by $2.675 Million. The Parks Alliance fully anticipates that the Bill will be approved by City Council and signed by Mayor Nutter in the coming weeks. This is a momentous first step in addressing decades of underfunding of Philadelphia’s parks and recreation.

The Parks Alliance applauds those Councilmembers who have stuck with this issue making good on their commitments to Park and Recreation, Mayor Nutter for his commitment to work with Council to make this critical investment, the high performing Department of Parks and Recreation, and all the park and recreation supporters from neighborhoods across Philadelphia for working together to make this happen. The ordinance, Bill 120818, will be given first reading at City Council on November 15th. We will be in touch with further updates.

For more information, read the Metro article, “City Council committee approves $2.6m hike in Parks and Recreation funding”

It’s Time to Celebrate!

The Philadelphia Parks Alliance and Celebration 2012 Co-Chairs Sharon Gallagher, Mark Alan Hughes and Randi and Bill Marrazzo invite you to join us on December 2, 2012. Enjoy an evening of live music, fabulous food, and a sneak peak at the Parks Alliance’s new ParkStories program.

Click on the image below for more information, tickets or sponsorships!

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Flea Market featured on Newsworks

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

Flea Market featured on Newsworks

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We’ve extended registration for vendors through Saturday, October 20th!

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

Vendors Register Online Here:

Download the application here

programs@friendsofvernonpark.org

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Parks for cash’ bill dead, Philly’s green space is safe for now

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

Metro – ‘Parks for cash’ bill dead, Philly’s green space is safe for now.

from the Parks Alliance:

With your help, the Parks Alliance:

-Sent 1700 email letters to our PA State Senators
-Worked with Senate staff to express constituent concerns and review potential amendments
-Inspired 4 news articles on this legislation
-Sent official organizational letters to all PA State Senators
-Spread the word about this legislation through multiple email blasts and social media outreach
-Joined a coalition of 84 organizations, led by the Pennsylvania Association of Land Trusts (PALTA), in actively opposing HB 2224

Thanks for all of your hard work and outreach on this issue!

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Please Tell Pennsylvania Senators that our Parks are Not for Sale!

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

From http://www.philaparks.org/:

The PA State legislature is considering a bill that would put acres of Pennsylvania’s parks, open spaces, trails, and other public lands at risk for quick sale by cash-strapped local governments. Yesterday the Senate Appropriations Committee approved House Bill 2224, the Parks for Cash Bill, which the full Senate will review early next week. If passed, the bill will go to Governor Corbett for his signature. Read about this issue in Ronnie Polaneczky’s recent column “Bill would place parks at the whim of pols.” Please contact your Senator even if you have already done so– there is no limit on the number of letters you can send! Continue reading →

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Free Tree Tenders Classes for those living in the TTF watershed: Germantowners, This Means You!

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

Free Tree Tenders Classes for those living in the TTF watershed

by Abington, PA Shade Tree Commission on Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 12:40am ·

The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTF) works with many larger stakeholders in Philadelphia and Montgomery County to improve our watershed. Because trees play such a significant role in watershed health by absorbing and filtering stormwater before it reaches our streams, we work with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR), and others to support their groundbreaking tree planting efforts, including Plant One Million,Tree Tenders, and TreePhilly.

For example, the Germantown Tree Tenders group, started and supported by TTF, has planted 65 trees. Working through TreePhilly, we have surveyed thousands of tree planting locations in West Oak Lane. Continue reading →

Posted in Upcoming Events | 1 Comment

Fall Flea Market October 27, 2012

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

Join us as a vendor. 50% registration fees through October 10!

Vendors Register Online Here:

Download the application here

programs@friendsofvernonpark.org

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A Great Day in the Park

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

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Special Thanks to all of our activity leaders and community partners, food truck vendors (delicious!), picnic guests, neighbors, and helping hands. We had a great time in the Park and look forward to organizing the next Family Fun Day. Your support of the efforts of Friends of Vernon Park makes gatherings like this a wonderful community experience.

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Family Fun Day September 15th!

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

Family Fun Day is an event sponsored by the Friends of Vernon Park to encourage our neighbors to enjoy the ever improving, always beautiful park. Our hope is that the result will be increased usage of the park by the community around it.

The activities will all be in contained areas, and will not interfere with anyone who simply wants to sit back and relax. At the same time, expressing your interest in the events you will participate in will help us to be ready for you. Please get a free “ticket” (no need to print it or anything) letting us know what you’ll engage in, so we can help the activity facilitator to be prepared.

Field events will include kickball and dodge ball. We will also have jump ropes, hop scotch, and king ball for people to play thoughout the day, and face painters will be on site. Check back in to learn what food vendors will be there.

If you are interested in volunteering to help with activities that day, you can send an email through this event page, or to programs@friendsofvernonpark.org. You can also visit http://www.friendsofvernonpark.org for more information about this and other events and activities, and to volunteer or to join the Friends group.

Posted in Upcoming Events | 4 Comments

Wednesday’s Work Day

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Friends of Vernon Park

We were extremely lucky to have the 10-person team from the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) yesterday. They worked really hard at cleaning out drains, clearing the edges of the paths and weeding the garden beds around the Center in the Park, Vernon House and the rose garden.
Larken Wright Kennedy, a VISTA volunteer with the Parks and Recreation Department, did a great job leading the group.

Please see the wonderful article by Newsworks in the “In the News” tab or by following this link.

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