by Stan Cutler

Let’s focus on two exceptional Chestnut Hill assets: 1) the people of our community and 2) the branch library on Germantown Avenue. We achieve a beneficial synergy that enhances the value of both when the two are merged. How do we do this?

What makes us exceptional? Are we not the same as every other citizen of Philadelphia? Yes. Like everyone else, we care about our families, work hard, root for our teams. Like everyone else, we pay the bills, manage our emotions, deal with health problems, worry about crime and decadence and selfish politicians. In the most important sense, our humanity, we are exactly like everyone else. But we are, in general, better educated than folks in most communities.

Here's a comparison of education attainment in Chestnut Hill as compared to the city as a whole:

Chestnut Hill education – Out of 6,363 households

No high school – 2%

Some high school – 2%

Some college – 13%

Associate degree – 6%

Bachelor’s degree – 35%

Graduate degree – 42%

Philadelphia total education – Out of 648,151 households

No high school – 10%

Some high school – 22%

Some college – 25%

Associate degree – 8%

Bachelor’s degree – 20%

Graduate degree – 14%

(Info from point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/PA/Philadelphia)

The largest group of adults in Chestnut Hill are people with graduate degrees. So what?

Many of us have time on our hands. Some are retired. Some work part of the time. We are a community of talented, experienced, well-educated people. We, the Chestnut Hill Library Friends, believe these assets can be put to good use. We are talking to you.

Are you an educator, either active or retired, who wants to give a lecture on the most important things you know? Are you a creative professional, a writer or artist, who wants to share your work? Are you a business professional who has learned secrets of success that you think everyone ought to know? Are you an expert on a fascinating topic? Are you none of these but have ideas worth sharing? Package your ideas (i.e., presentation, lecture, demo, talk) and deliver it at the library at 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon.

We, the Chestnut Hill Library Friends, will be hosting a regular program in which local folks deliver their best ideas to their neighbors. We are looking for people to fill our schedule. This is a call for proposals. Send your idea to programs@chestnuthilllibraryfriends.org