In Philadelphia, at least, there seems to be one in every neighborhood: The little old lady who sweeps the sidewalk every Saturday morning, for instance. Or maybe the family man next door, who surprises you on snowy days by shoveling your stoop before you've even gotten out of bed. At the offices of
Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, a nonprofit whose mission involves "engag[ing] individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments," those kindly neighbors are lovingly referred to as community leaders. And from now until March 21, KPB is asking anyone who happens to know such a neighbor to nominate them for its
Token Appreciation Awards. The award winners will be presented with a medallion on April 1 during a recognition ceremony at which Miss America 2011,
Teresa Scanlon, will appear as a special guest.
"I wanted to fill a void," says Phoebe Coles, the nonprofit's executive director, when asked how the awards came to be. "I realized there were so many people in the city doing good work. And they don't necessarily get recognized, even in their neighborhoods."
In 2008, when KPB first celebrated the city's community leaders, there was "a really nice cross-section of people that were nominated," says Coles, including the bicycle activist
Russell Meddin. And yet unfortunately, there were no kids nominated in 2008; that's a situation Coles hopes to rectify this time around. "I'm particular about trying to find some people to highlight the youth in their community who are doing good work," she says. "Because I know there's a lot of them out there!"
To nominate a selfless someone in your part of Philadelphia, simply send a nomination note of 50 words or less to
[email protected]. And let's put that whole "Filthadelphia" thing to rest, once and for all. (For complete nomination instructions, click
here.)
Source: Phoebe Coles, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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