Community fund a way to spread generosity around the Hill
by JAMES STURDIVANT
Marianne Dwyer speaks in no uncertain terms about the importance of the Chestnut Hill Community Fund.
"It helps us tremendously. It keeps us going," Dwyer, the only paid staff member of Teenagers, Inc., told the Local recently.
"The fund keeps us vital and current in trying to improve our offerings to the population of teens that I deal with ... [which] is pretty varied and always changing," she said.
Dwyer's sentiments are echoed by representatives from many of Chestnut Hill's most important institutions, from the Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club to the Friends of the Children's Park at Jenks School. The fund is recognized as providing a vital source of income that allows for the activities and services Hillers have come to count on over the years to continue.
Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club president Dennis Primavera said the money his organization received from the fund this year was used to refurbish baseball equipment. The money also helps the organization to keep its fees affordable for its 1,300 participating families, 80 percent of whom reside in Northwest Philadelphia.
"It allows us to keep our costs down and our fees down to the parents ... we don't want to be in the position of having to turn anybody away from a sport, and [so] we really count on this," he said.
Monika Hemmers, board president of the Friends of the Children's Park in Chestnut Hill, said that the fund money they receive goes to maintaining the playground and gardens surrounding Jenks School, and also goes to special projects such as new tree plantings.
"We got money to plant new trees between the playground and the garden, to provide more shade for the children," she said. "This year, we had a fire -- arson -- three times, so we needed to replace the slides. Once a year, we have to re-mulch the playground, so it helps with that," she said.
For Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels, the fund means the ability to provide hot meals to area shut-ins.
"Volunteers deliver five days a week to people in Chestnut Hill and the surrounding area. We ask them to pay, but there are some people who can't ... that's where the money we have goes, to subsidize the people who can't pay or only pay a little," said Chestnut Hill Meals of Wheels vice chair Mary Cunningham. "We never turn anybody down, so we appreciate any money we get," she added.
Over the years, the fund has supported a host of important projects, including the police bike patrol, the friends of Wyndmoor and St. Martin's train stations, Run for the Hill of It, green space and street tree maintenance and local blood drives, not to mention the annual Pastorius Park concert series.
"It's the place where you get the biggest bang for your dollar if you want to build a healthy community," Chestnut Hill Community Association president Maxine Dornemann said. "I see it as an investment. We put our money where our heart is, and our heart is here."
During this holiday season, there may be no better way to express the spirit of giving than through a donation to the Fund, the nonprofit wing of the CHCA.
The annual community fund drive kicked off just before Thanksgiving with mailings to everyone in the 19118 Zip code, as well as many residents of surrounding communities. Many people will also be getting phone calls in the coming weeks. The drive runs through mid-January.
Fund drive chair Brien Tilley said that he hopes to make this year's effort the most successful ever.
"All donations are appreciated," Tilley stressed. "Every donation will be used at the optimum level. It's reflective of the spirit of Chestnut Hill if everyone contributes whatever they can."
The fund has set a goal of $125,000, a total that Tilley said is needed to meet all of the requests for money that the fund's board of directors expects to receive.
"Organizations like the senior center really rely on some level of underwriting from the community, and we don't want to let people down. We want the community association to reach out and impact everything from the senior center to Teenagers, Inc., Pastorius Park concerts to skating parties.
"We want to be able to say 'yes,' and with the support of the community, we will be able to," he said.
For the first time this year, donors can make payments in installments by using their credit card. Monthly, quarterly or biannual installment plans can be worked out (or regular donations made) by calling 215-248-8810 or by going to the community association's Web site: www.chestnuthill.org. Checks made out to the CHCF can be mailed to 8434 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa 19118.
Tilley said that a contribution to the community fund is a sure-fire way to know that dollars are being used "wisely and broadly," to further the hard work of the many people who have made the Hill such a great place to live.
It's left to Tilley, moreover, to speak the final word for the many local organizations that benefit from the effort:
"In the end, I'd just like to say thanks."
