a few questions about non profits :

1) Can FCDC or FGM show any actual success they have brought to Frankford?

2) Based on the actual Dollars the FCDC and FGM take in from grants and Gifts where does it all go besides the salaries for a few select people.

3) When the FCDC and FGM get these "wonderful" ideas such as taking peoples properties.... do they hold community meetings to discuss these ideas ? Or do they stay in the smoke filled rooms and divide the profits.

4) How do the FCDC and FGM decide who is their "FOR PROFIT" partners in their schemes ? Do they interview ? Advertise for Bids? Solicit Neighborhood Ideas ? How do they do it ??


At least Neighborhood Civic groups like The Northwood Civic Group , Hold meetings , publish agendas , distribute Newsletters , and generally keep the neighborhoods and Buisnesses informed whats going on .

Maybe the Non-Profits should do the same ............ Or

ARE THEY HIDING THE TRUE AGENDA ?????

The question is and has been for a very, very long time - What has the area, the community received or had benefit from all of this funding? Other than years of salaries, an ever increasing non profit business base in Frankford, a strong hold on every organization and committee that exists in the area and has anything to do with any decisions on spending - it all exists to benefit the non profit businesses. So, where are the answers? Where is the money?

And, just to add to the already thriving non profit businesses that are infiltrating Frankford - here is another one: Albeit, it's always to help. Let's remember that the 501(C)3 status of non profit does not mean that someone doesn't profit, even if some of the poor are getting a benefit, the organizations also benefit by tax exemption, opportunities for grants and other funding, and a pay check - something that the poor in the area could use, should there be real Business and Commerce encouraged in Frankford and not just non profit - profits.
A ray of hope
shines in Frankford
By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Some entrepreneurs open a new store in hope of striking it rich. Others aspire merely to earn a living for themselves and their families.
Frankford merchant Raymond Gant has neither of those goals. Rather, his only hope is to bring a "Ray of Hope" to Philadelphia’s most neglected citizens — those earning little or no income, who have no family or friends to take care of them, and whose homes are literally crumbling around them.
Gant’s recently founded Furniture for Hope Thrift Store — on Leiper Street at the corner of Ruan Street — may play a key role in helping him and his colleagues realize their humanitarian objectives.
All proceeds from sales at the modest corner shop and adjacent warehouse will benefit the Ray of Hope Project, a non-profit organization co-founded by Gant to offer badly needed home repairs to senior citizens and low-income families.
The thrift shop’s pre-owned inventory features something for just about anyone, all at extraordinarily low prices. And if you don’t find anything you like on your first visit, it’ll probably pay to return, since Gant is always restocking the shelves with newly donated merchandise as well as items obtained through a cooperative in which the shop participates.
Gant moved into Frankford about six years ago. That’s when he really got into community activism after years of running around the streets of his native North Philadelphia and paying a price for his poor lifestyle choices.
"Me and my neighbors started having little flea markets on the curb on Saturday mornings," Gant said. "People would donate stuff. At the time, my storage space was my living room. It just grew."
Around the same time, Gant developed a friendship with a financially successful Yardley man, Willard Bostock, whom he had met at a personal growth workshop.
Despite their obvious differences — Bostock a white, suburban man of considerable means and Gant a black man who grew up in one of the inner city’s most economically downtrodden areas — they shared at least two major interests.
They both liked attending Eagles games, and they both wanted to make a difference in the community. In October 2002, while driving home together from another Eagles game, they got to talking about how they might make that positive community impact.
"One of the things I saw in the community I came from, where people needed help, was that often people weren’t able to afford the high cost of contractors, and houses would just go to waste," Gant said. "We came up with the idea to help people get over some hurdles, to give them a start."
With little more than a pickup truck, a few tools and a strong collective will, the men created the Ray of Hope Project and began seeking deserving clients. The men adopted a hands-on approach, fixing roofs, drywall, flooring, plumbing, electrical circuitry, doors and windows, exterior walls and major appliances for folks who simply lacked the resources to hire professionals.
In time, they recruited a board of directors and created a charitable organization, registering it under the IRS’ 501(c)3 designation. With the help of dedicated volunteer tradesmen along with some former prison inmates, the organization has repaired more than 60 homes throughout the city since its founding.
"We help people with structural home repairs, where they have structural damage that puts them in an unsafe environment," Gant said.
Gant credits Myra Johns, who operates a Huntingdon Valley non-profit furniture store, for setting up Furniture for Hope with a one-year lease in its Frankford location. Gant found another benefactor in the former owner of a Paoli gift shop, Extra’sentials, which closed recently. The woman donated her leftover inventory to the cause.
Folks looking to furnish their home or simply to add to its décor may find a hidden treasure at Furniture for Hope.
The place offers kitchen sets, refrigerators, bedroom sets, armoires, microwave ovens, freezers, living room sets, lamps, rugs, mattresses and exercise equipment. Those are just some of the big items.
There are paintings and prints, baby supplies, televisions, books, jewelry, cameras, computer equipment, party supplies, greeting cards, glassware, picture frames, ice skates, die-cast cars, yo-yos, Olsen Twins videotapes and several sets of "daily decision" dice, which will tell you if you should do some chores or lounge around the house if you can’t decide on your own.
Everything’s in good condition or better. Most of the knickknack items cost only a dollar or two.
The shop is directly across the street from the Deni Playground. Gant can’t wait until the springtime when more foot traffic is sure to come his way.
"I’ve got a lot of kids around here," he said. "The kids in the neighborhood are my best customers. Every dollar they get, they run in here and see what they can get."
Keeping things running smoothly is still a struggle after two months in business.
"Traffic has been pretty good, but the thing is, I need to get some volunteers in here to work some hours," said Gant, who works full-time outside of Ray of Hope as a "vibrant community leader" for Greater Philadelphia Cares, a community volunteer resource organization.
Though Ray of Hope is a secular organization, the faithful Gant believes that the Lord will shepherd it through its growing pains.
"We’re trusting in God because he brought us a mighty long way in three and a half years," he said. ••
For more information about the Furniture for Hope Thrift Store and the Ray of Hope Project, visit www.rayofhopeproject.org or call 215-744-1039.
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com

Dragonfly, I have been reading your antagonistic crap for too long.

Here on the blog you remind me of the person hiding behind the invisable curtain in the Wizard of OZ.

I have attended just enough meetings in Frankford, and raised so much hell that they do not (or will not) invite me to another "Futures of Frankford" or Business Association meeting again, as I told them things that offended them. I told them the truth.

If you know so much, where were your spys that day?

And when it comes to Northwood -

Perhaps if you attended an NCA meeting, you would know what has been said, not what the editors allow to be printed in the Northeast Times and the News Gleaner. Most of what takes place at Northwood's meetings are cencored right out of print. I always wonder why?

The Northwood Civic Association held a meeting last night. The topic of discussion was Councilman Mariano, a not so popular subject, but someone has to have the balls to discuss it. I can't wait to see what gets printed (and cencored out) this week.

For the record, at last nights meeting I again brought up prisoner reentry and said (especially for all of you bloggers) that if the FGM/FCDC tries to put one of their prisoner reentry halfway houses in Northwood, I will see them in a courtroom. They are not wanted or welcome. I said much much more too.

Dragonfly, I think you see too much of Frankford through rose coloured stained glass windows. When it comes to Northwood you know nothing.

When it comes to Frankford, you talk the talk, because you are an insider, and a coward. With all the information you post here about all your friends in Frankford, I am supprised the FBI hasn't contacted you and started another investigation.

Northwood Civic Association Meetings are held every third Tuesday of the month, 7:00 p.m. at St. James Lutheren Church located on Castor Avenue and Pratt st.

If you want to attend a real Civic Association meeting you will be there.

I never hold anything back.

You can quote and accuse till we all die of boredom. Where are your answers.

Might as well let some of us up here get in on The Ray Of Hope. These senior citizens I feel so bad for.

You want crumbling? It's a coming here too in Mayfair. I can't fathom how these seniors some of which were veterans, and then worked all their lives end up like this.

Again PRIDE does keep many from even looking into means of help, but the mere fact that they HAVE to stinks.

Sorry you guys have all that going on down there. Always assume some of your neighbors have done time anyway, anywhere. It's a given.

Resident of Northwood,
Sorry about the confusion in the websites. www.mynorthwood.net actually is very informative and you do a fantastic job with updates.
I'm glad you were able to correct this error, many thought there was a connection with Northwood Civic, although the Norhtwood Civic website doesn't seem to get updated as often.
Great website on your part though! Thank you. And keep up the activisim. It is probably better that you are independent of a Civic group in your voice it gives you more freedom. Good for you! You do see the urgent need in Frankford that is sinking fast, we just hope it's not too late for Frankford, but it sure feels like it.

That's plain scarry.

How does concentrating felons after release all in one place help anybody?

I mean YIKES. I'm speechless.

When I first read the story about the prisoner reentry program it made a lot of sense.

These folks lived in Frankford before, were convicted of crimes, went to prison and are now getting out.

What could make more sense than a program to help them stay out of prison and become law abiding members of society.
Well, most importantly, there is no guarantee that only people who lived in Frankford will be coming back to Frankford. I think that the
existance of this program will make Frankford a more attractive location for former prisoners to settle.

Furthermore there is an incentive for the folks running this program in Frankford to make Frankford a destination because it increases their revenue stream.
That may be good for the prisoners and good for the folks making a living off these folks but probably not for the average citizen in this area.

The numbers thrown around about how many prisoners there will be don't mean all that much. If one more criminal moves into your neighborhood that is one too many.

Answer:

Prior to the NCA meeting on prisoner reentry, I had done so much research. I had educated myself on prisoner reentry so much, much more than Reverend Bowers and their group. It appeared to me that they were ignorant of what they were even talking about. Blinded by greed or need, they constantly denied that this was or is a Faith Based Initiative program. They did say that after their pilot project was set-up, they will be applying for funding from the Faith Based Initiative. The meeting got so loud from their shouting and cheerleading it was impossible for me to make a point. To them, this is just another money grab. Business as usual.

If the NCA had held our own meeting without inviting them, we would have been accused of shutting them out of the meeting. That is something that they have been guilty of doing to us and the community as a whole. As an afterthought it would have been the best idea.

The tactics being used by this conglomeration of ad-hoc, Faith Based non-profits are akin to Genghis Klan armies demanding a surrender to spare ones life prior to being over run and killed or assimilated by the likes of the "Borg"(in the old Si-Fi tv series "Star Track"). They project the join us, don’t resist us, it will be easier on you kind of attitude.

They now extend their open arms to us asking us to embrace their ideals, while flaunting what they think is impossible for the NCA to prevent. I refuse to accept something in which I believe is wrong and Unconstitutional.

Answer:

I had little choice but to let them run their mouths so that they could get it out of their systems. The meeting was comprised of 50% non-Northwood residents. This was not a meeting in which I was looking to vote on wether it is OK with Northwood. By our charter and by-laws, the NCA is compelled to oppose and fight against anything that detracts or devaluates property value or quality of life within Northwood and the surrounding communities. Therefore there is no need for a vote. It was of course the first public meeting on prisoner reentry in the Frankford area. How ironic that it occurred at the NCA!

Their first public announcement on the subject was a knee jerk reaction from a few weeks earlier. That move was forced on them by me. I raised so much hell at the Frankford Business Association and Futures of Frankford meetings in January and embarrassed and exposed them in front of the City Planing Commission and other City officials (that knew nothing about prisoner reentry). FGM/FCDC was forced into calling the News Gleaner to give a story, and to try to initiate damage control. I heard Rev. Catharine Bowers also sent out a mass mailing to the faithful Christian soldiers of her congregation.

The Faith Based Initative that is to fund prisoner reentry, gets it’s roots from an executive order issued by President Bush. It was a political ploy aimed directly at appeasing the Black Minorities in order to gain some political ground.

Prisoner Reentry Initiative is a four-year, $300 million initiative to reduce recidivism and the societal costs of reincarceration by helping inmates find work when they return to their communities. The President’s initiative, contained in his fiscal year 2005 budget, will harness the resources and experience of faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) in helping returning inmates contribute to society

See all the excerpts:

"Mayors Hold First National Forum on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives"

http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/us_mayo...aith_based.asp

PHILADELPHIA FAITH-BASED DIRECTOR CHARGED WITH THEFT BUT MAYOR EXPANDS CONTROVERSIAL PROGRAM - Web Posted: March 17, 2001

"Philadelphia Mayor John Street's aggressive faith-based program is alive and well, despite the fact that the man charged with operating the initiative has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of theft.

Rev. Randall E. McCaskill, 60, continued to draw his $96,000-a-year salary as deputy managing director in charge of the city's faith-based partnership, even after being quietly relieved of his duties 10 months ago..."

http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/faith9.htm

Here is their next [Mayors] meeting held May 07, 2004:

http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/us_mayo...04/cochran.asp

Helping the poor without harming their rights -

"Are First Amendment concerns about excessive government entanglement with religion nothing more than "constitutional niceties" that get in the way of helping the poor?

Believe it or not, that's the judgment of Philadelphia's mayor, John Street, as quoted in a recent column by George Will. And this from the birthplace of the Constitution.

It would appear that Mayor Street is fed up with those pesky First Amendment types who worry about government working too closely with religious groups.

The mayor isn't alone. Many in the White House and on Capitol Hill are also impatient with anyone who questions the constitutionality of President Bush's plan to allow religious groups to compete for federal dollars in delivering social services.

Street isn't waiting for these "niceties" to be settled by congressional legislation or court rulings. He's pushing ahead with plans to involve more religious groups in city programs in public schools, prisons and elsewhere. By the end of this year, the mayor anticipates that every public school in Philadelphia will be adopted by a "faith-based group." "

http://www.freedomforum.org/template...cumentID=14334

Press Briefing from the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives -

"President Bush today submitted a budget for 2006 that I think is compassionate, that continues to support partnerships between faith-based and community groups and government..."

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/160/story_16094_1.h tml

Northwood Civic Association problem is not with prisoner reentry, but in having a prisoner reentry program administered through a religious based organization such as the FGM/FCDC and then having it funded by tax dollars.
It is true that prisoners will get out of jail and come home to their respective communities because that is what happens anyway, with or without this "program."

Faith Based Initiative makes the ad-hoc religious based organizations subcontractors of government agencies without the restrictions or accountability of a normal government agency or subcontractor. This lack of accountability is not just limited the monies funding the projects, but extends into their ability to circumvent the exercise of fair labor practices and discrimination in employment. The ACLU has a slew of lawsuits pending in other states based on similar issues.

Just look:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...22&btnG=Search

Contrary to their belief, Northwood Civic Association and individuals are not powerless to stop this invasion and power grab launched by President Bush and his "Faith Based Initiative," and given to the liberal social engineers here in Frankford.

To be continued......

I Remain Your Most Humble and Obedient Servant

Joseph J. Menkevich

Northwood Civic Association President