NORTH CAMDENMoving ForwardThe quarterly newsletter of Save Our Waterfront, Inc.

Volume 4 - Issue 1July 2013

Spring was beautiful and now summer is here. We had a busy winter in North Camden, many activities in the neighborhood, new housing plans for Phase 11 of the Meadows at Pyne Poynt Apartments, Tres Esquinas has sold 6 units and plans to complete 4 more, youth activities including our holiday celebration, park openings and a bright future planned for Pyne Poynt Park and Northgate Park with many improvements and a major face-lift.

As you can see in this edition of the newsletter, our young folks have been out and about, meeting our elected officials, senators, the Mayor, and our congressmen. We must prepare our youth to assume a leadership role in our neighborhood’s future. Lastly, Sarah Bryant of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, who helps to prepare the newsletter, is expecting a baby this month, and we wish her an easy delivery and a healthy baby.

SUMMER IN NORTH CAMDENBy Rodney Sadler, Executive Director, Save Our Waterfront

HOPEWORKS IS BLOSSOMINGBy Dan Rhoton, Hopeworks

As spring turns into summer, Hopeworks is turning up the heat on two of its key initiatives -- creating 35 youth jobs this summer, and creating an entirely new business -- Salesforce Services!

There are plenty of Salesforce.com consultants in the world, but we will be the first that will assist organizations with their Salesforce.com customizations with a team of youth trained at Hopeworks! Hopeworks is working with Salesforce.com to create a training curriculum that will focus on preparing youth for the ADM 201 certification exam. Hopeworks staff are Salesforce certified and have been working with nonprofits and youth for more than a decade now. Check out the services that we provide!

Salesforce.com Quickstart Customizations – Are you a small organization needing some basic functionality, but without a huge budget? Quickstart customizations allow you to select from a list of best practice solutions that can be built within your Salesforce.com organization.

Salesforce.com Customized Implementations – Is your organization looking for functionality that is unique? Do you want to track all aspects of your organization within Salesforce? Hopeworks’ Salesforce Experts will work with you to discover solutions for any type of organization.

Salesforce.com Remote Admin – Do you have Salesforce.com but not the manpower to effectively manage it? Are you an “accidental techie” and have questions concerning the difference between an object and app? Hopeworks’ Remote Admin solution may be right for you!

If you have any questions, please contact Dan Leibowitz, Salesforce Director at Dan.Leibowitz@hopeworks.org.

Save Our Waterfront (SOW), a 501(c)3 organization incorporated in 1990, is a coalition of individuals who live, work or worship in the North Camden neighborhood. Its mission is to serve as a unified and coherent voice for North Camden. SOW spearheaded the creation of the 2008 North Camden Neighborhood Plan. For more information, or to find out about volunteer opportunities, please contact Rod Sadler, Executive Director, at (609) 238-4031. To submit an article for consideration, please contact Rod Sadler, Executive Director of Save Our Waterfront at (609) 238-4031. All articles must pertain to North Camden, are subject to editing, and should be 100-250 words in length.

Community members enjoy Northgate Park during the Spring Fling, a part of Camden Earth Week 2013.

CELEBRATING PLANT ONE MILLION IN NORTH CAMDENBy Jessica Franzini, New Jersey Tree Foundation

Plant One Million is the first-ever regional “million tree” campaign in the United States, and Camden has been at the forefront of New Jersey’s efforts. On April 13th, with support from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the NJ Tree Foundation and the City of Camden partnered with several North Camden community groups to plant 40 large shade trees on seven city blocks. Check out the new trees at Tres Esquinas and Higher Ground Temple Church, located on N. 2nd Street between Vine and State Streets, or glance at the new trees that surround the perimeter of Cooper’s Poynt School! Other planting locations include North Camden homes along the 100 and 200 blocks of State Street, including several owned by Respond, Inc., and the 200 block of York Street.

Thank you to Mayor Dana Redd, Camden City Council, the Department of Public Works, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Camden Lutheran Housing, the SOW North Camden Greening Committee, Higher Ground Temple Church, Respond, Inc, and the 100 volunteers that made planting these trees possible! These cherry blossoms, hedge maples, and linden trees will grace North Camden streets for years to come.

Victoria and Eliot Rojas and their son Evan plant a tree in front of their home on N. 2nd Street.

Mayor Dana L. Redd and members of City Council welcome participants to the Plant One Million event.

New Jersey Tree Foundation Camden Director Jessica Franzini instructs volunteers on successful tree planting.

By Angel M. Osorio, DCCB & Friends of Northgate Park Member

One of North Camden’s most beautiful and treasured spaces is Northgate Park. The Friends of Northgate Park have worked together for two years to ensure that the park remains a neighborhood amenity. They monitor activity in the park, improve physical conditions, bringing art, landscaping, new playground equipment, youth programming and many community events. In addition, this group has developed an ambassadorship program where individuals from the community help to open and close the park.

On April 27, in celebration of the beginning of spring and to share many accomplishments, the Friends of Northgate Park sponsored an amazing community event. Over 400 people were in attendance; there was food catered by Respond, compliments of Camden Community Charter School, vendors, face painting by Rutgers Center for the Arts, countless activities by Camden County 4-H club and the Girl Scouts, a DJ sponsored by the YMCA and NJ Partnership for Healthy Kids, a mascot from Millennium Skate World, activities by the Children’s Garden and so much more.

It was an uplifting and beautiful day, demonstrating the infinite possibilities derived from working together to bring about positive change for the benefit of all. Our hope is to continue our work and to expand our model to every park in the city. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Friends of Northgate Park, or would like information about organizing a similar program in your neighborhood park, please contact Angel Osorio at osorio@camdendccb.org.

A CELEBRATION OF SAFE PLACES

Face painting at the Northgate Park Spring Fling.

NORTH CAMDENMoving ForwardBy Donna Helmes, Camden Redevelopment Agency

Opportunity is knocking and why not answer it? Introducing beautiful, new high-quality townhomes starting at just $60,000. Located in the Cooper’s Poynt neighborhood of North Camden the homes offer stunning views of the Camden Waterfront and Philadelphia skyline. By combining cost saving energy efficiency with attractive style this latest development from Camden Lutheran Housing Corporation makes these homes a perfect fit for a family like yours.

The 2-story, 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms are spacious and offer the right blend of comfort and value so desirable in a new house. Can anything beat the feeling of walking through the front door of your very own home? Your dream is closer than you think. Ask about the generous financial incentives available to assist with the purchase of your new home.

Please contact Camden Lutheran Housing Corporation for more information at 856-342-8088 or visit us at 800 Galindez Court, Camden, NJ 08102. We can’t wait to welcome you home!

WORK HERE. PLAY HERE. LIVE HERE

One of Camden Lutheran Housing Corporation’s newly constructed homes.

Children take part in a tug of war at Northgate Park.

Parents socialize at the Northgate Park Spring Fling.

By Sarah Bryant, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership

In an effort to both beautify North Camden’s Pyne Poynt Family School and address the regular rainwater ponding at its entrance, on April 24th the Camden SMART Initiative partnered with the Camden Board of Education and volunteers from the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority to plant a rain garden at the school. The planting was part of the Camden Earth Week 2013 celebration. The 525 s.f. rain garden will capture 47,000 gallons of rainwater annually that would normally pool in front of the school or tax the City’s aging and overburdened combined sewer system. After the planting, the New Jersey Tree Foundation planted six trees adjacent to the new garden to further beautify the school’s entrance.

The Initiative is a collaboration between the City of Camden, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program, New Jersey Tree Foundation, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, public-private partners, community organizations, and most importantly, Camden residents. The Initiative’s goal is to develop a comprehensive

CAMDEN SMART INITIATIVE PLANTS RAIN GARDEN AT PYNE POYNT FAMILY SCHOOL

CCMUA volunteers plant a rain garden at Pyne Poynt Family School as part of the Camden Earth Week 2013 festivities.

network of green and grey infrastructure projects throughout the City of Camden to address the City’s regular flooding problems and improve the quality of life for residents.

One of the new homes constructed by Camden Lutheran Housing Corporation.