April 21, 2021
Philadelphia, PA – State Senator Christine Tartaglione announced a $50,000 Greenways Grant to the International WeLoveU Foundation on April 21, 2021. The Greenways, Trails, and Recreation Program grant from the Commonwealth will help fund WeLoveU’s upcoming project to revitalize a vacant lot in Philadelphia’s Castor Gardens neighborhood.
The triangular lot is at the intersection of Gilham Street, Cranford Avenue, and Loretto Avenue and is currently overgrown with weeds that have become a safety hazard for the community. The lot has also been the site of illegal dumping. It is an undefined property in city records and has no listed address or owner. The WeLoveU Foundation plans to construct a nature sensory path, gardens, and tree benches on the site, which will complement the nearby Tarken Recreation Center and provide a natural playscape for the community.
“The WeLoveU Foundation has developed a sensible solution for a site that has been an eyesore and a nuisance to the community for many years,” Senator Tartaglione said. “I am thrilled to deliver Commonwealth funding for this worthy cause.”
The total project is expected to cost $61,250.
“We’re very thankful to receive this grant from the Greenways, Trails, and Recreation Program. The grant will help us to transform an area that has remained vacant for nearly a century in the community of Northeast Philadelphia,” said a WeLoveU representative of the Philadelphia chapter. “Our hope is for the lot revitalization to bring a cleaner and brighter feeling into the community that neighbors can enjoy.”
The revitalization project is a part of WeLoveU’s Clean WORLD Movement. Through the Clean WORLD (Water, Oxygen, Region, Life and Descendants) Movement, WeLoveU focuses on five components to protect and improve the environment. WeLoveU carries out cleanups around streams and rivers to improve water quality, enrich ecosystem resilience and prevent droughts; plants trees and cleans up forests to reduce air pollution for clean oxygen; beautifies public areas in different regions; installs water pumps to supply water in water-scarce countries; and provides environmental education and scholarships to students to produce future environmental leaders.
About the International WeLoveU Foundation
Founder and Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah established the International WeLoveU Foundation in South Korea in 2001— which is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC)—as a vehicle to deliver love and happiness to neighbors in need. The Chairwoman took a grassroots approach by personally interacting with and caring for the needs of the global village. Through impactful volunteerism within the initiatives of blood drives, education, emergency relief, environmental protection, and international aid, the Chairwoman’s example of giving love has spread from the east to the west and planted itself in more than 50 countries to inspire a healthy and hopeful future. WeLoveU has received more than 100 honorary and presidential awards from various countries and governments, including the U.S. President’s Call to Service Award for volunteerism and the Green Apple Award for best environmental practice. For more information, visit weloveuusa.org.
About The Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program
The Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program was created under Act 13 of 2012, through which the Commonwealth Financing Authority distributes a portion of the Marcellus Legacy Fund. The Program supports planning, acquisition, development, rehabilitation, and repair of greenways, recreational trails, open space, parks, and beautification projects. For more information, visit https://dced.pa.gov/programs/greenways-trails-and-recreation-program-gtrp/