Meet FoCP’s New Officers & Directors for 2017

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2016-boardFRIENDS OF CLARK PARK elected its annual Officers & Directors on Oct. 25 at its public Membership Meeting at Griffith Hall on USciences campus.

Elected to new office or continuing from last year’s election, 18 Officers & Directors will guide West Philadelphia’s premier regional park until October 2017. We rounded up 14 of them after the meeting & here they are, R-L:

Kevin Kearney, Tony West, Fran Byers & Chip Natarajan, Directors; Frank Chance, Secretary; Barbara Nolan, Vice President; Mary Anne Lucey, Milan Marvelous & Darryl Stovall, Directors; Lisa McDonald Hanes, President; & Don Webster, Ari Kessler, Jean Marie Kouassi, Samir Thaker & Kevin Roche, Directors.

P.S.: Those who missed the photo-op are still very much part of the park team!

North Park Is Under Construction

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central-plaza-2Starting Monday, the Central Plaza of the North Park (“A Park”) will be under construction for two related projects: installing long-awaited permanent chess tables to replace the ratty units the players now employ; & restoring the layer of stone fines (gravel) that now covers the plaza, which was installed in 2009 & has worn thin.

Your FRIENDS OF CLARK PARK membership dollars at work! A rough estimate of the cost is $15,000.

This is in addition to the soil-restoration project in the Parks on Tap beergarden area near 44th St. That’s coming out of the money the beergarden made for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Dept.

For further updates on park-improvement needs & plans, come to Monday’s public General Membership Mtg. tomorrow, Monday evening, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at Griffith Hall, USciences, 43rd St. & Kingsessing Mall. Attendance is free & open to all.

Any questions? Call Tony West at (267) 456-5687.

Clark Park Youth Soccer: Registration Update

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Walk-in registration for Clark Park Youth Soccer will take place on Saturday, September 24th, from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm, in Rosenberger Hall (the brick building on 43rd Street near the basketball court. Those registering in person on Saturday can pay by cash or check; we cannot accept credit/debit card payments.

At this time, our 5-6 and 6-7 age groups are nearly full; there is plenty of room still for children ages 8 to 11!

Please see our Soccer web page for registration links, and for more information about the program, or email clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com .

Registration Open: Clark Park Youth Soccer

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Registration is now underway for the fall season of Clark Park Youth Soccer. This Friends of Clark Park-sponsored program — now in it’s 20th year — is a family-friendly, non-competitive program for children ages 5 to 11. The program takes place in the Clark Park “Bowl” on Saturdays, 10:30 to Noon for ages 5 to 7, and Noon to 1:30 for ages 8 to 11. Volunteer coaches provide instruction on the basic skills of soccer, with scrimmage games between teams in each age group; children of any ability are encouraged to join in.

The soccer program is very popular, drawing families from the neighborhood and all around the city; families are urged to register early to ensure that there is space available for their children. The Fall season will begin on Saturday, September 24th and continue through November 19th. Visit our soccer page for registration links, details about the program and costs, including information about assistance available for families with financial need. Please contact clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com with any questions, or if you’re interested in volunteering.

Help Philly get $300M for parks, rec centers & libraries today

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A message from our friends at the Philadelphia Parks Alliance —

Tomorrow (5/25/16), Philadelphia City Council is holding important committee votes on budget revenue plans, which could fund more than $300 million in capital funding for parks, recreation centers, and libraries. This would be the largest direct investment in our community infrastructure in the history of our city. To fund this landmark initiative, along with sweeping expansions of Pre-K, the creation of new community schools, and the reduction of pension debt, Mayor Kenney has proposed a $0.03 per ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages–to date the only proposal which fully funds all of these initiatives. We need your voice at City Hall NOW to help get the sugar drink tax passed.

YES, I CAN BE AT CITY COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY 5/25 AT 1PM

YES, I WILL CONTACT MY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

Read more here >>

Fight for the Sugary Drinks Tax to Rebuild Our Parks & Schools!

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PhiladelphiansForAFairFutureEven West Philly Bernie Sanders fans can get behind one of Hillary Clinton’s ideas!

Hillary Clinton has announced she is “very supportive” of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed Sugary Drinks Tax as the best way to rebuild the city’s bedraggled parks & recreation centers, as well as toget pre-K services for all young children.

The Democratic Presidential frontrunner told a packed forum in Philadelphia Wednesday evening: “I’m very supportive of the Mayor’s proposal to tax soda. I mean, we need universal pre-school. And if that’s a way to do it, that’s how we should do it.”

“This is major step forward for all Philadelphians who believe that we must invest in our children and in our neighborhoods, and we appreciate Secretary Clinton’s support for the plan to expand pre-K services throughout the city,” said Kevin Feeley, spokesman for Philadelphians for a Fair Future, the coalition of more than 50 citywide organizations supporting the proposed tax to fund investments in pre-K, community schools, & revitalized recreation centers, parks & libraries. “Her support helps the public understand that there is a critical need for these investments, and the proposed Sugary Drinks Tax is the fairest and most effective way to pay for them.”

The Sugary Drinks Tax is a means to pay for a bond issue that will lead to a $500 million investment to restore parks & education all across Philadelphia. It means jobs. It means families. It means growth. It means boosting real-estate values. It’s huge. We need it now.

FRIENDS OF CLARK PARK solidly backs this creative public policy & urges all park-lovers to let City Council know they demand it. It’s time we ended a lifetime of neglect for Philadelphia’s precious green spaces! We’ve been cheated before; enough is enough.

Philadelphians for a Fair Future represents a growing coalition of organizations from all walks of life in Philadelphia, including: Public Citizens for Children and Youth; the Philadelphia Parks Alliance; the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers; Education Voters of Pennsylvania; the Service Employees International Union; Center for Popular Democracy; the Alliance of Community Service Providers; the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children; Men United for a Better Philadelphia; Ceiba; Action United; Aspira; the Center for Science in the Public Interest; FOP Lodge 5; Firefighters Local 22; District Councils 33 and 47, AFSCME; Youth United for Change; and multiple community-development corporations and small-business owners from throughout the city.

The coalition’s activities are focused on raising public awareness about the importance of the Mayor’s budget investments and the need to enact the Sugary Drinks Tax as the only fair way to pay for them.

Clark Park Soccer weather update

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Because of the rain, today’s soccer sessions are cancelled, but we will still be doing walk-in registration and t-shirt pick up from 10:00 to 12:30 in Rosenberger Hall. Please note that teams for ages 5-7 are completely full; we are only accepting registration for children ages 8 to 11.