The Puerto Rican Day Parade was held in Center City Philadelphia on Sept. 30.
The Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of Philadelphia, Concilio, organized the the parade, which has been the city’s oldest outdoor event in honor of Puerto Rican and Latino Heritage.
The theme “Renacer de Puerto Rico,” meaning the Rebirth of Puerto Rico, was chosen because of the damage Hurricane Maria caused throughout Puerto Rico on Sept. 16, 2017.
The parade highlighted the resilience of those living in and descending from Puerto Rico and the motivation for the revival of their homeland. Donations for the victims were collected from the crowd.
“It is a reaffirmation of our culture and today shows that we are here and we will survive,” said Angel L. Ortiz, former Philadelphia City Councilwoman.
Performers included youth groups, community and school organizations, corporate sponsors and more. Each group showed their pride by wearing Puerto Rico’s colors, waving flags and playing traditional music.
“This is supposed to be a country where everyone is welcome no matter their color, background, whatever,” said Julio Santiago, a performer who is part of the Puerto Rico Classic. “Today shows that we are all brothers and sisters here together,”
Veronica Lamerio brought her son to the parade with her to show him that his culture is something to celebrate.
“We have to be proud of where we come from and it’s my job to expose my son to our culture, the music and traditions,” Lamerio said. “He’s only half Puerto Rican, but it is important to me that he is proud of that side of him and knows what it means to be Puerto Rican.”
The sixth annual March to End Rape Culture (MTERC) in Philadelphia brought sexual assault survivors and allies together for a protest event featuring speakers from local survivor advocacy and social justice groups on Sept. 29.
Demonstrators filled the Thomas Paine Plaza holding bright, handmade signs with messages like “stop victim blaming” and “break the silence, end sexual violence.”
Amanda Spitfire, a trauma counselor with Project SAFE and one of MTERC’s co-organizers, believes that the March’s growing impact was evidenced by the mid-event departure of counter-protesters for the first time in its history.
“When people come together in community to rise against violence, things physically, literally, politically change,” Spitfire said. “We need community-building and power-building to resist the kind of violence that we all have to put up with on a daily basis.”
Among the event’s keynote speakers was Kempis “Ghani” Songster, who was released from the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Graterford in December 2017 and is now a paralegal at the Amistad Law Project.
During his incarceration at Graterford, Songster was made aware of instances of sexual assault perpetrated by both guards and other inmates.
Songster’s speech emphasized inclusion for survivors of prison sexual assault in larger conversations about rape culture. He also called on men to become allies to women in the movement against rape culture, a sentiment that earned an extended round of applause across the plaza.
A small crowd of St. Joe’s students and faculty gathered for a healthy eating discussion and recipe demonstration performed by a representative from Family Food LLC on Sept. 27.
Staffed with registered dietitians, Family Food provides individuals, families and large organizations with reliable nutritional counseling.
Jennifer Lengyel RDN gave the demonstration on behalf of Family Food, sharing her food preparation expertise, healthy tips and an autumn recipe.
Family Food provides affordable dietary services for St. Joe’s faculty, extending the cura personalis, or care for the whole person mantra to all staff members of the community.
Every St. Joe’s employee is covered under the university’s insurance program, which includes six complimentary dietary consultations with Family Food dietitians per year.
Lengyel said the purpose of the model of Family Food is to inform individuals and organizations so that they can make healthy choices and improve their quality of life.
“We want it to be affordable or free to clients, so we source our clients through insurance,” Lengyel said. “We come to their site so it’s easy for employees, or we go to the home. It makes a service that is covered by insurance more accessible.”
Family Food works with many schools in Philadelphia and surrounding areas, including the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore College, Villanova University and Temple University, along with organizations such as AmeriHealth, QVC and Septa.
In addition, they hold personal consultations, helping cater to the unique dietary needs of individuals and families.
The National Audubon Society and Philadelphia’s Outward Bound School joined forces for the grand opening of the Discovery Center, a wildlife sanctuary and educational hub located in East Fairmount Park on Sept. 28.
The Discovery Center was built around what used to be known as the East Park Reservoir, but because of its central location to the neighborhood, the lake is in the process of being renamed the Strawberry Mansion Reservoir.
The Discovery Center aims to become an institution within the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood which borders Fairmount Park to the east. It took the first step by hosting its inaugural community meeting on Oct. 2.
“We like to think of it as three legs,” said Damien Ruffner, the educational manager at the site. “Audubon is one, Philadelphia Outward Bound is another. But that third leg is the Strawberry Mansion community. This site has belonged to the Strawberry Mansion community for so long and what we don’t want to do is take the community component out. We want them to really be engaged so they can take a sense of ownership over it. ”
The Discovery Center will be operated by Greg Goldman, the Pa. executive director of the National Audubon Society, while Ruffner will play a major role in the day to day operations of the center. The Outward Bound School, which will have its home base at the Discovery Center, will be lead by Executive Director Meg Wise.
