The Deputy Editors of the Mighty Post, a blogging site for Philadelphia’s youth that launched in early February, arrive at their headquarters in South Street, a Mecca of shops and eateries, for their weekly Monday meetings. They begin brainstorming ideas to write for future posts. Prom, politics, and education are only a few topics that…
Kevin Wilkins remembers the summer day long ago when he stared down a member of The Valley, a notorious gang that inhabited the streets of North Philadelphia in the ’60s and ’70s. He was around 16 at the time. The gang tested him and his peers from his North Philly neighborhood by beating them. It…
Not far from a bustling street and directly across from a heavily populated neighborhood sits a community beautifully decorated with sculptures and murals by The Village of Arts and Humanities. Deep within their North Philadelphia community, students of the Spells Writing Lab prepare for a daily routine of writing, reading, and other engaging activities. “I…
Immigration pros from Community Legal Services and HIAS Pennsylvania clarify who is eligible for benefits such as a healthcare and SNAP.
After a tour of duty in Iraq, Sylvester Mobley came back home to Philadelphia with an idea: To improve his community by helping inner-city youth become master coders.
[bctt tweet=”Spin-off blogs based on Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York” have become a trend among some amateur photographers, including junior biology major Kaniz Pramanik.”] Pramanik created “Humans of Temple University,” which she said tells a variety of stories through pictures and short interviews as a way to showcase how diverse her peers are. Her…
What’s the next level of community reporting? For many, printed text and visuals make complex issues clear. Others absorb information best with audio and video. And the internet brings news to screens we touch. PlanPhilly decided to bring stories to life by tapping into another sense, taste, as well as memory. We focused on two…
In Philadelphia, there’s no shortage of need to help people facing economic hardships. See: the stagnant poverty rate, increasing hunger, a difficult-to-navigate affordable housing crisis. Thankfully, there are also a wealth of nonprofits and other social service organizations eager to step in year-round — and especially on holidays associated with meals, comfort and community. But…