Partners & Supporters

Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia & LaSalle University

In April 2008, OARC partnered with Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia and LaSalle University to expand on the re-development of East Germantown. Habitat Philadelphia recently purchased two properties from OARC that will be transformed into three bedroom homes with the support of Habitat volunteers and partner families as well as Beneficial Bank, a new Build Day sponsor of the project. By late summer, the newly renovated homes will be available for sale to Habitat partner families via zero interest mortgages. 

The expansion came out of a model for partnership that includes Habitat Philadelphia as the developer, OARC as the community development planner, and LaSalle University as an institutional anchor with a commitment to stabilizing and improving the neighborhoods surrounding its campus.

The Friends of OARC

Friends of OARC is the volunteer component of the organization that concerned residents created in 1983 to encourage community support for the revitalization of the Ogontz Plaza, which was then a vacant retail and commercial strip. Friends of OARC organized the first Super Saturday Street Fair the same year to encourage shoppers to return to Ogontz Avenue and to foster community pride.

Friends of OARC works to improve the quality of life for community residents by providing a variety of events and activities. Friends of OARC has organized the following:

  • West Oak Lane Community Festival, "Super Saturday"
  • Jazz Concerts
  • Gospelramas
  • Family Education Workshops
  • Youth Talent Shows
  • Book Drives for West Oak Lane Charter School (WOLCS)

Friends of OARC current and future activities are as follows:

  • Family Fun Night
  • Health Fair
  • Umoja Day (with WOLCS Parent Organization)
  • West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival

Additional Supporters

  • Strategic Alliance for the Elderly (SAFE)
  • Nicetown Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC)