A few weeks ago Steve and I were enjoying a meeting on the lawn at High Point when a friend walked over to chat, and the conversation inevitably turned to WMAN. While we always love discussing our work, what struck us most about this particular conversation was our friend’s parting comment, “WMAN is just icing on the cake for West Mt Airy”.

We’ve both been rolling those words around in our minds ever since, especially when the larger world often feels so oppressive and bleak and any progress, even at the local level, feels like such a slog. Although the implication is that WMAN is indeed making our amazing neighborhood even better, it also suggests that our work is not essential. Yet it seems to us that tiny, grassroots community organizations like ours are MORE ESSENTIAL than ever--acting as a binding agent rather than just a final flourish!

What do you think? As you read through our yearly highlights below, please ask yourself: Is WMAN doing things that matter? Is WMAN serving our community well? Is there anything else that you think we should be doing? And then let us know what you think!

Thank you for all of the time, energy, and love you pour in this magical little corner of the world and for allowing us to be servant leaders for our community. We sincerely hope that you see deep and lasting value in our initiatives and that we can count on your generosity in the year ahead– we can’t do any of this without you.

Last year, we started tackling tree equity across NW Philly; coordinated mapping of green spaces, tree canopy cover, and heat islands; partnered on the planting of 67 trees; expanded our team of Tree Ambassadors who visited more than 850 residences on heat island blocks to speak with neighbors about planting and maintaining trees; and established partnerships with other NW climate action groups. 

We formed the Northwest Tenant Advocacy Group; which included hosting four community tenant meetings of more than 300 tenants, multiple advocacy groups, and tenant rights organizations.

We created the Save the Train Coalition, organizing activities and collective action for a coalition of more than 7500 residents, 70 organizations and 13 elected officials to advocate for preserving the Chestnut Hill West regional rail line and securing full funding for SEPTA.

We led community-wide traffic calming efforts and successfully advocated for significant safety improvements on Lincoln Drive and Emlen Circle, and supported implementation of safety improvements to our most dangerous intersections and crosswalks, especially around Mt Airy schools.

We successfully 30 historic apartment buildings to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and partnered with Mt Airy Learning Tree on the West Mt Airy Historic House Tour, which featured six historic homes and was attended by more than 300 visitors. 

Finally, we hosted community classes on the future of Mt. Airy and are leading community conversations about a rezoning task force for our commercial corridors.