Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation Joins Rebuilding Together And Lowe’s To Build A Healthy Neighborhood For Philadelphia

Local news from the Ascentive team

Rebuilding Together, in partnership with the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation and  Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, announced  today that the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation is joining Rebuilding Together’s Building a Healthy Neighborhood project in the Overbrook neighborhood in Philadelphia.

The Building a Healthy Neighborhood project recruits hundreds of volunteers, local leaders and officials to rehabilitate nearly 30 homes in the Overbrook neighborhood June 14 – 16. The work will address local families’ critical needs, including major interior and exterior rehabilitations, accessibility modifications and energy efficient upgrades. The volunteers will also participate in community clean-up and the installation of a new playground at the Overbook Environmental Education Center in partnership with Carter Oosterhouse’s charity Carter’s Kids. The Building a Healthy Neighborhood mission is to demonstrate the positive effects of home and neighborhood revitalization on the overall health of homeowners, families and communities.

The Jon Bon Jovi (JBJ) Soul Foundation has come on board as a partner, bringing along knowledge of the City after having participated in various housing projects in the past throughout Philadelphia.  According to the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, the common theme of all of their past revitalization efforts has been to help strengthen the community by improving (or preserving) the housing stock and thus the lives of those within the community.

“We were excited for the opportunity to partner with Rebuilding Together on this project,” said Mimi Box, Executive Director of the JBJ Soul Foundation.  “Upon hearing about the work they were setting out to do, we realized this build fits in perfectly with our model for community revitalization and incorporates the elements we look for in each build in which we participate: 1) the housing component – and here will affect the lives of 30 homeowners; 2) services and community support through the Education Center; 3) making the homes more energy-efficient; and 4) the very large volunteer component.  Volunteerism is something that the JBJ Soul Foundation has long supported and is a cornerstone of our mission.”

“We are thrilled that the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation will be supporting Building A Healthy Neighborhood in Overbrook with Rebuilding Together and Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation,” said Gary A. Officer, president and CEO of Rebuilding Together. “To see the momentum build among our sponsors and volunteers and know that the effort we are making will help sustain a landmark Philadelphia neighborhood in a healthy and viable manner is inspiring.”

“Creating safe and healthy living environments in the homes impacted by the Building a Healthy Neighborhood project helps bring vitality to families, neighborhoods and communities,” said Marshall Croom, chairman of Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.  “Our Lowe’s Heroes network of employee volunteers will be hard at work with community volunteers in Philadelphia to help make a difference for the families of Overbrook.”

Volunteers from Lowe’s, Wells Fargo, Citrin Cooperman, Rebuilding Together’s CapacityCorps alumni, Choice Hotels, and HGTV and DIY Network, will revitalize the Overbrook neighborhood and community center, as part of Rebuilding Together’s mission to provide a safe and healthy home for every person.

Photo Credit

New Electronic Waste Recycler Opens in West Philadelphia

Tech News from the Ascentive team

On Monday, Covanta Energy Corporation, a world leader in the development and operation of Energy-from-Waste (also known as EfW) facilities and other renewable energy projects, announced the launch of a new business to responsibly recycle and dispose of electronic waste (also known as e-waste). ECOvanta, located on 58th Street in West Philadelphia, is a state-of-the-art recycling facility that properly recycles electronic waste such as computers, monitors, mobile phones, printers and televisions. The facility safely manages end-of-life electronics using a combination of manual disassembly and an automated shredding system to separate materials into commodities for recycling.

Numerous studies show that E-waste is the fastest growing segment of the municipal waste stream in the U.S. with over three million tons of electronics generated each year of which only 14% is recovered for recycling. The rest typically ends up in landfills. Electronics should not be disposed of in the trash because most contain heavy metals such as lead (avg. monitor contains 4-7 lbs. of lead), mercury and cadmium.

“It’s important to properly recycle electronic waste to ensure we protect our environment from potential harm. I’m happy to see that new businesses like ECOvanta are coming to Philadelphia. They are not only providing a solution to this issue, but they are also creating new investment in our community,” said Carlton Williams, deputy commissioner of sanitation, City of Philadelphia, Streets Department.

ECOvanta has successfully passed audits and has been recommended to receive the R2 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications.  These rigorous third-party certifications ensure that e-waste is being recycled responsibly and sustainably. Everything that comes through the ECOvanta facility is sold or recycled as a processed commodity according to R2 standards. ECOvanta also audits all downstream vendors to ensure that they too are recycling correctly.

“We are excited to be launching this new venture into e-waste recycling. It is a growing market and we see a great opportunity to a provide proper, responsible way to recycle and dispose of these materials as more and more people become aware of its importance. In addition, we are proud to be providing new green jobs in the City of Philadelphia,” said Seth Myones, Covanta Americas president.

ECOvanta also offers secure destruction services for customers who require assured and certified destruction of their electronic equipment. Customers can follow the secure chain of custody process to track and identify material as it moves through the system. The process eliminates risks to information integrity by completely sanitizing hard drives or other storage media using a leading software program that meets all regulated destruction standards prior to manual disassembly and shredding.

The facility serves customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic, New York/New Jersey and New England regions.

Photo Credit

 

Keeping Children with Food Allergies Safe

Summer Safety tips from the Ascentive team

Food allergies are no laughing matter. People with food allergies can have serious or even life-threatening reactions after eating or coming into contact with certain foods. So how do you keep your children with food allergies safe when they’re away from home? Dropping your kid off at school, daycare, or camp means that you are giving up control over what food your child comes in contact with. Here are five important ways to keep children with food allergies safe.

1) Teach Proper Safety
Keeping children with food allergies safe starts with your child. In addition to teaching your kids to avoid foods that they are allergic to, show them how to wash their hands thoroughly before and after eating, and how to use an Epipen, an auto-Injector used for the emergency treatment of a severe allergic reaction. And remind your child to never share utensils or drinking straws with other kids, eat their friends’ snacks on the bus, or sample unusual foods brought into school.

2) Institutional Food Allergy Management Plan
Every institution that supports children in some way should have a Food Allergy Management Plan. This plan includes policies regarding the use of food throughout the day and in various activities, where medications will be kept, and protocols for contacting emergency services and parents in the event of a child having an allergic reaction. These institutions should also ensure that there is phone access in case of a severe allergic reaction that requires a call to 911.

3) Staff Training
In addition to the institution’s management plan, education about food allergies and their treatment should be provided to every staff member of the institution that supervises children. This training should also include drills for food-allergic reactions so the staff may practice implementing emergency plans and using the Epipen.

4) No Cross Contact
Avoiding cross contact requires thoroughly cleaning utensils, cookware, glassware, storage containers, and other food preparation materials used with a food allergen before the item is used to prepare or non-allergenic meals. Washing food storage containers and dishes in a dishwasher or hand washing them with hot water and liquid dish soap is generally adequate to remove these allergens.

5) Food Allergy Action Plan
Every child who has a food allergy should have a personalized Food Allergy Action Plan. This plan should include a recent photo of the child, a list of their allergies, signs and symptoms the child might experience during a reaction, appropriate treatment instructions from the child’s doctor, and emergency contact information for the child’s parents/caregivers and doctor. The plan should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to reflect changes in the child’s allergies as well as the age-appropriateness of medication doses.

Ascentive Around the City- The Ben Franklin Bridge

Erica from Ascentive shares photos from around the city

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge is crosses the Delaware river from Philadelphia, PA to Camden, NJ.   The bridge was completed on July 1, 1926 and held the title of World’s Longest Suspension Bridge until 1929.  The bridge is 533 meters long and accommodates passenger motor vehicles, railway trains, and pedestrians.

Here is a view of the Ben Franklin from the Ascentive offices!  Such a pretty view to see everyday.

A view of the city skyline from the Pedestrian Walkway headed into Camden, NJ.  It’s amazing to be able to turn around and see the skyline.

A picture along the walkway.  This is a popular route for runners and biking enthusiasts.  It’s also just a nice walk

A final view as we turned around to head off the bridge in Philadelphia.  I highly recommend taking the opportunity to walk across this massive bridge.  It does get pretty windy though!

The bridge also dedicates it’s lighting to specific causes at any given time.  On  June 1-5 it will have blue lighting to support the annual Badges of Honor 5K Run and Walk.  For more information, click here

Ascentive Around the City- Fonthill Castle

Erica from Ascentive shares pictures of one of her favorite places, Fonthill Castle and Museum

Fonthill was built between 1908-1912 as the home of Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930).  Mercer was an archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramist, scholar and antiquarian.  He built Fonthill both as his home and as a showplace for his collection of tiles and prints.  Fonthill is located in Doylestown, PA and is about 20 minutes from the city.

This is the view as you drive onto the castle grounds.  It’s been raining all week in the Philadelphia area so these pictures were taken in March of this year.  As you can imagine, the greenery this time of year makes this view even more spectacular.

This is the view looking at the front of Fonthill.  The castle was designed completely by Mercer himself, he hand picked all of the materials used and architectural style.  The building is an eclectic mix of Medieval, Gothic, and Byzantine architectural styles.

Fonthill does not allow pictures to be taken from inside the castle (unfortunate, I know).  As you step out onto one of the balconies, you can clearly see that the entire castle is built using poured reinforced concrete.  Inside, many pieces of furniture such as bookcases and desks were also built using concrete.  Mercer was big on using recycled materials, he may have even been one of our earliest “green” living advocates.

The balcony above the second story is the same balcony that the previous picture was taken from.  The view of this castle from almost any angle is just amazing.

Fonthill offers tours of the castle and it’s grounds 7 days a week.  For more information about Fonthill or visiting the castle, click here.