Chestnut Hill Community Fund: Protecting our past, securing our future

Posted 12/3/14

Workers hired by Friends of the Wissahickon help clear fallen trees in the park. by Sam Loth, Fund Drive Committee member Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods are special; The love and care that make …

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Chestnut Hill Community Fund: Protecting our past, securing our future

Posted
Workers hired by Friends of the Wissahickon help clear fallen trees in the park. Workers hired by Friends of the Wissahickon help clear fallen trees in the park.

by Sam Loth, Fund Drive Committee member

Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods are special; The love and care that make Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy and surroundings so unique is obvious. What is not so obvious are the efforts of thousands of community volunteers working through scores of nonprofit groups delivering that love and care.

Every year since 1972, your Chestnut Hill Community Fund (CHCF) mounts a fundraising campaign to provide support for these nonprofits to carry out their programs and activities. More than $2.2 million has been raised over the years to help Northwest Philadelphia remain loved and cared for.

Friends of the Wissahickon is a nonprofit that works to protect our past. The FOW has been around since 1924 and is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The 1,600 FOW Members are dedicated to “Preserving the natural beauty and wildness of the Wissahickon Valley” – all 1,800 acres and 57 miles of trails. The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department works in partnership with the FOW to renew historic structures, eliminate invasive species, monitor watershed issues, rehabilitate trails and additionally oversee park activities including biking, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, jogging and more. The FOW receives no operating funding from the Parks Department and remains an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Help preserve this special place that we all love with your donation to the Fund Drive.

Mt. Airy Learning Tree is a nonprofit that works to secure our future. Organized in 1981, MALT was founded with the notion that since knowledge is power, the best way to empower ourselves as citizens for the future, is to teach each other what we know. Neighbors teaching neighbors in a community setting is the model that has propelled MALT from a tiny group of volunteers to a fully grown force in our community. MALT conducts three semesters of annual courses in the fall, winter and spring with more than 275 courses a semester and a student body of all ages topping out at over 5,000 a year. MALT receives no direct city funding and remains an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Help continue to provide our citizens with knowledge and power for the future with your donation to the Fund Drive.

You can make a contribution in person or by mail to CHCF at 8434 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia 19118, online to www.chdashboard.com/member/login, or contact Noreen Spota at 215-248-8810. Thank you.

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