| The Presidents Page |
| February 20, 2008 - Wynnefield Recreation and Activities Center Campaign Begins |
| Dear Wynnefield Residents Association Member: |
| It is time to make a major push to bring a green recreation center into Wynnefield. Most people find it hard to believe that Wynnefield, with almost 20,000 residents, has never had a recreation center. |
| The Wynnefield Residents Association celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and since then, we have been focusing our efforts on finding a way to bring a first class recreation center to the community. A lot of time and effort has gone into finding all potential sights, getting input from the community on its needs and wants, and attempting to identify major sources of funding. |
| We are going to launch our campaign to bring a green recreation center to Wynnefield by presenting an Eco-Ethical Fashion Show on Saturday, March 29th at 3:00 p.m. at the Forum Theater on the campus of St. Joseph’s University. This exciting event is being put on by Bel Esprit, an international designer showroom that brings together fashion designers from North America, Europe and Africa that adhere to certain ethical principles: protect the environment and respect all its inhabitants, and assure that every step of production provides a living wage to workers. |
| Part of our goa1 is to use this event to raise awareness of our desperate need to have a green recreation center in Wynnefield. We need a place where the entire community can gather and engage in indoor and outdoor activities. We also need a safe haven where children and their parents can feel they are in a safe place. Ideally, the center should provide programs for citizens of all ages. The Wynnefield Residents Association would like to see the new green recreation center be built with the latest in high technology and to be environmentally friendly throughout. |
| Will you become a partner in this campaign by voicing your support? Please fill out the enclosed form and send it back to us. (Make some copies of the form and ask your friends and neighbors to also voice their support). |
| Sincerely, |
| signed |
| Peter J. Rescorl |
| President, Wynnefield Residents Association |
| May, 2007 - Community Recreation Center |
During his remarks at the WRA 50th Anniversary Banquet, WRA President, Peter Rescorl, described a new WRA initiative. During the coming year, he said, WRA will spearhead a drive to establish a Community Recreation Center for all of the residents of Wynnefield. A key to the development of a Wynnefield Recreation Center will be funding. City, State, Federal Government, Private Foundation, and Business participation will be required. WRA will be identifying funding sources, and developing and coordinating the activities of the the many groups expected to be involved. Since President Rescorl's announcement, WRA has formed a Recreation Center Planning Committee which is meeting regularly to (1) locate potential sites for the facility (2) identify potential funding sources and (3) develop funding proposals. The committee is also in the process of reviewing local playground/community center projects under construction or recently completed. The anticipated $50,000 feasibility grant from State Senator Vincent J. Hughes will be used to support the planning stages of the Recreation Center initiative. President Rescorl expects this activity to be an ongoing priority for WRA. Like the John C. Anderson Center, which WRA opened in 1984, it will take considerable time and energy to bring a Recreation Center to fruition. |
Welcome Letter From the President - September 2005 |
| One of my goals has always been to make where I live a better place. With that in mind, I look forward to the coming year and encourage each of you to become more involved with the W .R.A. and support us in any way possible: attend a meeting, volunteerto help on a committee, encourage your neighbors to become new or returning members. |
| Please come out and join us for this fall's first board meeting on Tuesday. September 20th. Mark your calendars now for the rest of the year as the board meetings have been scheduled for every third Tuesday of the month at the Anderson Cultural Center. All meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. and all members are welcome at everv board meeting We can all be proud to be a part of the Wynnefield Residents Association, a civic group that has been around for almost fifty years and has evolved over time into something quite remarkable. In the last year alone, a new computer technology center has been established and a new website is being developed and soon to be launched. This summer, our camp program had another very successful year and the WRA sponsored for the first time a National Night Out program held at the Mann School on August 2nd. Most recently, the last two "Welcome to Wynnefield" signs were finally put in place, one in front of the Rite Aid on City Avenue and the other in front of the Settlement Music School on Wynnefield Avenue. We just received a $2000.00 grant from the Philadelphia Activities Fund and St.Joseph's University very generously donated a new copy machine that will go a long way in helpig our office continue runnig smoothly. |
| The coming year is full of promise. Along with all of our successful committees such as zoning and security, we should be able to re-establish active committees for grant writing and neighborhood beatification. We have an opportunity to develop an after school program to get young people involved with planting trees and flowers throughout Wynnefield. Our technology center should make it easier to put out a good newsletter and our new web site should help us better connect with the entire community . Your energy will make WRA successful and truly make where we live a better place. |
| Thank you for all of your support. |
| (signed) |
| Peter J. Rescorl, President, 215-477-1579 |
About our new Website - October, 2005 Those of you who saw the preview of this new Website during the September Board meeting will recognize that some changes have already occurred. That's good. In order for this site to be of real value to the community, it's information needs to be timely and informative. Your Web Manager's job is to keep the pages technically correct and attractive. It's the community's job to share news, comments and information. Committee Chairs and Officers should see that their reports are available. Block Captain's need to tell us about their activities. Program Managers, we'd love to advertise your project. Get your data to the WRA office or pick up a Site Suggestion form there. You can do it, you can help. Let's make our site and our community something of which to be even more proud. And let us not forget, many thanks to St Joseph's University for providing computer space and hosting this site.