SOSNA News

We are thrilled to announce that thanks to the generosity of dozens of neighbors, our community is getting two new Big Bellies installed early in 2012! 16th and Christian Streets will be installed first, and hopefully soon thereafter 22nd and Carpenter Street. The latter requires coordination with City of Philadelphia officials regarding the exact placement with an eye towards the Park's forthcoming renovations. We appreciate your patience in advance.

Come help plan the launch of Phase III at the next Clean & Green meeting, Tuesday January 17 at 7 PM at the SOSNA office.

A big thank you to all who donated - during the "End of Year Matching Challenge" we received donations from 45 unique individuals ranging from $5 to $300 totaling $2,395. Not a bad haul for one month! Over the entirety of the Phase II campaign (which kicked off on May 3), we raised $4,500 from over 75 unique individual donors.

SOSNA salutes the following individuals, businesses and organizations for supporting Phase II of the Big Belly Campaign and for helping to make this a cleaner neighborhood for all:

We launched Phase II of the Big Belly Campaign on May 4th of this year and we want to achieve our goal of installing two new Big Bellies (at 16th and Christian and Julian Abele Park, 22nd and Carpenter) by the end of 2011. Including both checks and online donations, we've raised $2,000.00 thus far. We're also in talks with a potential "angel" investor willing to finance an entire unit. So, assuming that comes through, we need to raise $2,500 before December 31st, 2011.

Here's how we'll do it: you help us raise $1,250.00 and SOSNA will match! We've already got the money set aside ready to be used; all we need is your support.

Please donate and lets make this the cleanest neighborhood in the city!  As Keep America Beautiful informs us, litter begets litter and the availability of public trash and recycling receptacles impact someone's decision to litter significantly.

A big thank you to all who have supported this program so far! Remember, since SOSNA is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit, a portion, or all, of your donation may be tax deductible (please consult your tax advisor), and your name will be enshrined on the side of the new Big Belly units!

Need free mulch for your garden or tree pit? Or need some sod for compost?  Please help yourself to the free mulch and sod in the REAR YARD of 1801 Christian Street.  These materials have only seen ten-days of use as part of the Better Blocks Philly project.  Thanks for helping us re-use these materials around the neighborhood!

This Friday at 12 noon is the deadline to register (for free!!) for the 2011 Streetscape Competition!!!  It's free to enter!!!  Last year's winners got great gift certificates and prizes from business all around our neighborhood. 

Prizes are awarded in multiple categories: tree pit gardens, container gardens, window boxes, neighborhood business, and greenest blocks.

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS! To register, email andrewD AT southofsouth DOT org (or reply to an e-news blast) with your name, email, phone, address, and category(ies) in which you wish to compete. JUDGING WILL TAKE PLACE AUGUST 12-14 and prizes awarded in September.

For full instructions on how to register, to see winners from last year and their prizes, check out the Streetscape Competition home page.  Be sure to scroll all the way down to view a slideshow of all the winning entries!