LFCDC Sponsors Community Health Fair in Germantown!

Despite the fact that it was a Monday, crowds were drawn to Liberation Fellowship Community Development Corporation's Health Fair today at Vernon Park in Germantown. Free hoagies, bottles of water, face painting and music were provided to neighbors of the Germantown vicinity who stopped by for HIV, STD, Blood Pressure, Hepatitis C, Hearing and Dental testing.

Organizations represented at the fair included: Positive Voices of Philadelphia, Inc., Positive Women's Network, Circle of Care, Drexel University's UJIMA Coalition, The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, The Office of Doctor A.V. Hankins M.D., FACP and the Hispanic Health Network. Each table offered advice and brochures for passers-by. Hearing screening was provided by Britt Cardwell. LFCDC conducted so many free HIV tests, that we ran out of test forms! Children had their faces painted by resident artist Minika Hull whose colorful flowers made each child walk away smiling! We offer a special thank you to Lynn Fields Harris, Executive Director of Center In The Park whose staff loaned us tables for the fair.

Major kudos go to Health Fair Organizer Dawna Edwards-Watson an AmeriCorps Volunteer LFCDC staff member and founder of Positive Voices of Philadelphia, Inc. whose tireless efforts yielded an extremely successful event.

GGBA PETITION DRIVE GARNERS OVER 1,000 SIGNATURES

John Elliott Churchville, Interim President of The Greater Germantown Business Association, Inc. (GGBA) announced today that the GGBA Petition drive in opposition to the placement of Save-A-Lot and Dollar Tree stores at Chelten and Pulaski Avenues has garnered over 1,000 signatures. “With the support of many neighbors and neighborhood block groups, the Petition drive has reached at least 1,000 people in just 8 days,” Churchville said. “I am particularly thankful for the support that our State Representative Rosita Youngblood has given to this community. She was the only public official whom we reached out to who took a stand on behalf of our community against the Pulaski Partners’ Save-A-Lot/Dollar Tree plan,” said Churchville. “When our elected representatives stand with us on issues about which we are very concerned, we need to recognize and applaud them for that stand. We don’t hesitate to laud Representative Youngblood for being a true representative of the will of the people in her legislative district.”

Churchville noted that many individuals, from block captains to whole blocks of people, joined with GGBA in its effort to halt the development of low-end stores in Germantown that actually inhibit mid- to high-end stores’ locating in the Germantown community. “Low-end stores breed more low-end stores. No mid-end or upper-end store will compete with a low-end,” said Churchville.

“GGBA is grateful to all the residents and community groups who have supported its Petition campaign. We look forward to building a continuing, inclusive relationship, so that business owners, residents and community groups can work together to upgrade our beloved Germantown community.”

The mission of GBBA is to build a strong, inclusive, culturally diverse business association that will positively influence the sustainable economic development of the Greater Germantown Business Corridor. Its vision is to create a vibrant, diverse and safe atmosphere that invites consumers and businesses from every ethnic and cultural background to locate, live, work, eat, shop, learn and play in the Greater Germantown community.

Liberation Fellowship Supports The Greater Germantown Business Association's Petition Drive to Stop Sav-A-Lot Placement at Chelten & Pulaski Avenues

Germantown residents, community activists and organizations have expressed outrage at the proposed Sav-A-Lot store that is planned for a mini-mall at Chelten and Pulaski Avenues. In response to our own and the community's concern about what is proposed and how it was proposed without any community or local business input, The Greater Germantown Business Association (GGBA) is initiating a petition drive to collect 1,000 signatures of community residents to duplicate and send to our elected officials.

We take the position that if, as a united community, we do not want this facility in our neighborhood we have the power to stop it. If you agree with our position, please visit GGBA's website at www.greatergermantownba.com download and print out the Petition in the EVENTS & NEWS page.

Feel free to have your friends, neighbors and colleagues who live in the Germantown area sign it. (Our student interns will also be circulating the petition in the neighborhood.) We believe that with the support of the many residents and community-based organizations in the Germantown area, together we can stop the plans that were made behind our back and without our input. Join us and watch as together our united action will change what was planned without our consent.

LFCDC Co-Sponsors Training for Front-Line HIV/AIDS Care Workers and Advocates

On Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 9:00, city wide HIV Testers, Care Providers, Case Managers and Social Workers gathered together at Christ Community Baptist Church. The church, located at 1224-30 N. 41st Street between Girard and Parkside Avenues where Reverend Arthur White ( a long time HIV/AIDS prevention and education advocate) presides, hosted our three hour training seminar, the first of 10 scheduled monthly this year. The training was jointly sponsored by the Health Federation of Philadelphia and Liberation Fellowship Community Development Corporation as an effort to empower, encourage and enhance the skills of HIV front-line advocates.

This month’s topic was: HIV medications: How they Work, Common Side Effects and Adherence Issues. Renetta Mosley, Patient and Community Affairs Manager of Brystol-Myers Squibb was the guest speaker. In addition to presenting information about various medications and their side effects, Renetta stressed why it is so necessary to advise clients to ask their physicians questions specific to their reactions to medications, as well as their knowing themselves what it is they are taking. She also emphasized the importance of medication information being understood by staff members in order for them to pass the knowledge along to their clients, with an ultimate goal of replacing the feeling of being overwhelmed to empowered.

Next Meeting
Topic:
HIV Science Review and Latest Developments
Time:
Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.
Place:
Christ Community Baptist Church - 1224-30 N. 41st St. Philadelphia, PA 19104
Guest Speaker:
Roberta Laguerre-Frederique, MD – Clinical Director Dorothy Mann Center for Pediatric and Adolescent HIV at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children