October 30th, 2013. Esperanza and Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Eastern Regional Medical Center announced a new long-term partnership in community development work in North Philadelphia. CTCA has committed to making a transformative contribution of $850,000 in grant funding over ten years to support the revitalization of neighborhood business corridors in the neighborhoods of Hunting Park and Feltonville.
The grant, which was presented at City Hall on October 30, will help strengthen and expand Esperanza’s existing community and economic development work on Feltonville’s Wyoming Avenue business corridor and Hunting Park’s 5th Street business corridor.
The Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr., President of Esperanza, states, “We are extremely grateful for CTCA’s generous financial support. CTCA is not just a funding partner; they are also a community member and our neighbor, with their Philadelphia hospital located on Wyoming Ave near Esperanza’s headquarters. We greatly appreciate the investment they made in this community by transforming a shuttered hospital into a life-giving cancer treatment center with almost a thousand employees.”
“CTCA has been and will continue to be committed to working with neighborhood leaders to positively impact our community.” said John McNeil, President and CEO of CTCA in Philadelphia. “It has been a privilege to work with Esperanza in this process, and we look forward to a decade of powerful impact that we can achieve together.”
This partnership is in conjunction with a City program that will support implementation of commercial corridor improvements recommended in Esperanza’s Hunting Park Neighborhood Strategic Plan 2022 and the 5th Street & Hunting Park Streetscape Master Plan. Streetscape improvements will include new lighting, street furniture, and plantings. The grant project also seeks to make the business districts more appealing to shoppers by funding a corridor cleaning attendant, increased publication of local business directories, and the placement of new banners along the street. Esperanza and CTCA will collaborate with businesses and other local stakeholders to leverage further investment in properties along the corridors.
Esperanza has administered a commercial corridor management program on 5th Street with funding from the City’s Commerce Department since 2008, and expanded to Wyoming Avenue in 2012. It currently provides development resources and technical assistance to more than 100 small businesses, supports the local Hunting Park Business Association, and has helped small business-owners access over $135,000 in grants, loans, and services since 2010.
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Esperanza, the premiere Hispanic Evangelical faith-based network in the country, was founded in 1987 by the Reverend Luis Cortés Jr. and the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity. With a national network of over 13,000 Hispanic congregations, faith and community based agencies, Esperanza is a leading voice for Hispanics in America
Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Inc. (CTCA) is a national network of hospitals focusing on complex and advanced stage cancer. CTCA offers a comprehensive, fully integrated approach to cancer treatment and serves patients from all 50 states at facilities located in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tulsa. Known for delivering the Mother Standard® of care and Patient Empowerment Medicine®, CTCA provides patients with information about cancer and their treatment options so they can control their treatment decisions. For more information about CTCA, go to www.cancercenter.com.