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  • August 16, 2023

For the Doers: A Guide to Germantown United CDC

Thanks to everyone who came out to GU’s For The Doers: Build A Better Germantown, our volunteer info session held on July 30, 2015. If you couldn’t be there but would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities and our work in general, you can now view a digital version of our presentation right here on our site.

The presentation includes an overview of GU’s strategic priorities, past accomplishments, and objectives for 2015/2016.

Download the presentation online as a PDF >>

For-the-Doers_A Guide-to-GUCDC

In the guide, you can learn more about the organization’s four committees and their functions:

  • Fundraising
  • Planning & Design
  • Programs & Promotions
  • Economic Development

Committee roles include:

  • Co-Chairs
  • Organizers
  • Day-of Volunteers
  • Community Connectors

Worth a look for anyone interested in keeping up-to-date with GU and getting involved!

The volunteer session was held at the Germantown Mennonite Meeting House, built in 1770. Learn more about the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust.
The volunteer session was held at the Germantown Mennonite Meeting House, built in 1770.
  • August 16, 2023

Volunteer in Germantown at the Philly Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 9

Update! The 9th annual Philly Spring Cleanup has been postponed until next Saturday, April 16th citywide due to weather. If you were planning on volunteering at one of the many Germantown-based cleanup projects check with the organizer to see if it’s being rescheduled. Germantown United CDC’s project, in collaboration with the Penn Knox Neighborhood Association has been moved to April 16. Read the full notice from the Streets Department >>

psc-share-400x600The 9th Annual Philly Spring Cleanup is set for Saturday, April 16th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (rescheduled from April 9th)! This is a great way for you, your family, your friends and your neighbors to get involved and do your part to keep our City looking its best. Dedication like yours, along with the can-do attitude of thousands of volunteers all over the city, is exactly what we need to meet our goals.

In Germantown there will be a huge presence felt all over the neighborhood with over a dozen official projects registered! Can you feel it? It’s momentum. Keep up the sweep up!

Germantown United CDC has one big project planned for the big day – we’ll be partnering with the Penn Knox Neighborhood Association on a cleanup of the Lower Germantown Business District along Germantown Avenue.

See the full list of Philly Spring Cleanup projects in Germantown below and sign up to volunteer!

Lower Germantown Business District Cleanup with Germantown United CDC & Penn Knox Neighborhood Association

Cleanup Location: 5300 Germantown Avenue

Join Germantown United CDC and Penn Knox Neighborhood Association‘s cleanup of the lower Germantown business district. Volunteers will clean the grounds of the historic Trinity Lutheran Church at 5300 Germantown Avenue and the stretch of Germantown Avenue between Penn Street and Seymour Street (5300, 5200, 5100, 5000 blocks of Germantown Ave). Supplies will be available for cleanup participants! This is a family-friendly volunteer group.

Register: Online at phillyspringcleanup.com | On Facebook at facebook.com/events/1667738116820412/

Questions for GUCDC or Penn Knox Neighborhood Association? Contact Germantown United CDC at [email protected] or 215-856-4303. Contact Penn Knox Neighborhood Assoc. at [email protected] or 215-833-3483.

2016.04.16_PhillySpringCleanup_GUCDC_PKNA

Volunteer for one of many other Philly Spring Cleanup project sites in Germantown! 

cleanup map

Sign up in advance or just show up to lend a hand!

1. 5200 Knox Street Block Clean Up
Location: 5200 Knox Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19144

2. Baynton Hill Clean Up
Location: Wister Train Station, Wister Station, Rufe St., E Penn St., Baynton St., Philadelphia, PA, 19144

3. 4800 Germantown Avenue Block Clean Up
4800 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19144 – Activities: clean up and bag trash and recyclables

4. Chew & Belfield Neighbors,Inc.
Location: 6211 W. Chew Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19138 – Activities: Clean empty lots, Prune And cut down trees, Paint curbs, Remove debris, Teach how to keep community clean & safe, Clean yards and alleys

5. Clean lot on Manheim and Tocoma St.
Southside Church, 5058 Wayne Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19120

6. Duval Improvement Association Neighborhoold Cleanup
Sherman & Pomona Streets (6328 Sherman), Philadelphia, PA, 19144
Activities: Cleanup various areas including under the railroad bridge at Pomona and Sherman Streets.

7. Educators and field Study Instructors Partner with Philly Spring Clean Up Volunteers at Awbury Arboretum
Location: Agricultural Village at Awbury Arboretum, Across from Septa’s Washington Lane Train Station, 901 E. washington Lane, Philadelphia, PA, 19138
Activities: Digging, cutting and pulling invasive plants

8. Germantown Ave. and Wayne Junction Clean Up
Location: Germantown Ave. and Stenton Ave., 4518 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19144
Activities: Cleaning up from Manheim and Germantown south to Stenton Ave. and Germantown Ave. and the Wayne Junction area.

9. Hood Cemetery Clean Up
Location: The Hood Cemetery, 4901 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19144, Philadelphia, PA, 19144
Activities: Street clean up down historic E Logan St, from Wakefield St to Germantown Ave, and along Germantown Ave from the corner of E Logan to New Germantown Pizza (4923 Germantown Ave).

10. Keep Lingelbach Community Clean
Location: Lingelbach Elementary School, 6340 Wayne Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19144
Activities: Clean area surrounding Lingelbach Elementary School that is most widely traveled by our students as they walk to and from school.

11. Let’s Get These lots clean!
Location: 126 E Herman St , Philadelphia, PA, 19144
Activities: Help clean up abandon lots in Germantown! We need help removing trash and cutting down over grown grass and bushes.

12. Lower Germantown Business District Cleanup with Germantown United CDC and Penn Knox Neighborhood Association
Location: Trinity Lutheran Church, 5300 Germantown Avenue, Between Penn St and Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA, 19144
Activities: sweeping and bagging up litter/trash along the sidewalk and street of the Germantown Avenue business corridor (5300, 5200, 5100, 5000 blocks); raking leaves, picking up sticks, general cleanup and maintenance of Trinity Lutheran Church grounds (5300 Germantown Avenue)

  • August 16, 2023

New pop-up cleanup campaign hits the streets

Friends of Germantown Northwest and Germantown United CDC are partnering on a new project called “Clean It Up Make It Safe” Germantown Pop-up Cleanup, a public health and safety campaign aimed at litter abatement within Lower Germantown. The grassroots project utilizes pop-up cleanups – volunteer efforts that appear suddenly or unexpectedly – along the commercial district to improve the beauty, cleanliness, and safety of the targeted area, build community, and inspire people to action.

These cleanups are managed by Friends of Germantown Northwest’s Keith Schenck, and supported by GU through the organization’s Lower Germantown Quality of Life Initiative which began in 2017.

How it works

“Clean It Up Make It Safe” events are highly visible flash cleanups within the commercial district and provide sidewalk sweeping, weeding, and litter and cigarette removal. Each cleanup is executed by a large group of volunteers and designed to:

  • Have an an immediate and positive physical impact in the community;
  • Generate excitement and community spirit;
  • Demonstrate leadership by example;
  • Encourage participation in community building; and
  • Challenge residents, merchants, and other stakeholders in greater Germantown to become involved in service and community-driven neighborhood improvement efforts.
Making a difference
Keith Schenck, Friends of Germantown NW

This summer, six pop-up cleanup projects were held.

More than 85 youth volunteers participated in the cleanup program.

Activities included:

  • Curbside cleaning and street sweeping along Germantown Ave, between Seymour St and Penn St
  • Maintenance of vacant lots along the 5100 block of Wakefield St, nearby Mastery Charter Wister Elementary
  • Clean-up of green spaces around street tree bases on Germantown Ave, between Penn St and Coulter St
  • Cleanup at Bringhurst Park, 200 E Bringhurst St, in collaboration with Trades for A Difference, included the installation of new benches, a “Little Free Library” book donation box, and painting of raised beds
  • Curbside cleaning around Mastery Charter Wister Elementary perimeter
Bringhurst Park, 200 E Bringhurst St, in East Germantown
A gold bench, in memory of good neighbor Veronica “Goldie” Wright

All supplies and equipment were provided by the city’s Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP) and purchased locally from Pik-A-Panel Tru Value (5000 Germantown Ave). Gtown Tees (5279 Germantown Ave) provided the “Germantown” hats and custom-printed safety vests.

Lower Germantown Avenue Business Corridor

This project is part of Germantown United CDC’s Lower Germantown Quality of Life Initiative, which began in 2017. The initiative aims to address quality of life issues having a negative effect on the lower Germantown Avenue business corridor, south of Coulter Street to Berkley St at Wayne Junction Station. These issues center on trash and litter, auto and pedestrian traffic safety, nuisance businesses, and crime.

  • August 16, 2023

Join the Board of Directors of Germantown United CDC

Germantown United CDC is currently looking for dedicated community members interested in serving on the Board of Directors. The organization is governed by a volunteer board which includes representatives of local businesses, educational and service institutions, and Germantown residents.

The mission of GUCDC is to promote and facilitate the revitalization of Germantown and its business corridors through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven approach to economic development.

If you believe in the mission and value of GUCDC, and would like to contribute your skills and talents, we have a chair for you on our board.

We seek board members who:

  • Are active advocates and ambassadors for the Germantown community.
  • Work collaboratively and can build meaningful partnerships.
  • Champion the importance of exceptional board leadership.
  • Are engaged in identifying and securing the resources necessary for GUCDC to advance its mission.

Committees:

GUCDC is also looking for volunteers to serve on various committees, including: programs, finance, fundraising, and real estate development. Serving on a committee is a good opportunity for volunteers that want to get to know the organization. Call Josanne Ford at (215) 856-4303 ext. 102 or email [email protected] to get started.

  • August 16, 2023

Reflecting on a Meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Thanks to everyone who joined our Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event on January 23rd! 

We had an AMAZING and INSPIRING group of volunteers turn out for our cleanup of the Central Germantown business district. We collected over 75 bags of trash in three hours! We’re talking big heavy duty contractor bags filled with trash littering our streets… Sad but true. Still, an impressive haul! 

This event would not have been possible without our community partners and sponsors. Please show them some love!

Partners:

  • I Love Thy Hood
  • Friends of Germantown NW
  • Depaul USA
  • With support from the City of Philadelphia‘s PHL Taking Care of Business Clean Corridors Program

Sponsors:

Check out this sweet video posted by GU’s Business Development Manager Matthew George AKA @ilovethyhood, which captures the energy of the day!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZxALoUJy56/