New name represents a return to organization’s roots
Effective immediately, Mt. Airy USA announced a name change for the organization that more directly reflects its work as a Community Development Corporation: Mt. Airy CDC. The new identity includes a new logo and branding, as well as a forthcoming new website, to be launched in March. The name also brings the nonprofit organization closer to its origins.
“When we started as Mt. Airy Village Development Corporation in 1980, we were an outgrowth of a collaboration between East and West Mt. Airy Neighbors to improve the commercial corridor,” said Brad Copeland, Mt. Airy CDC’s executive director. “This new name pays tribute to those early days, while demonstrating our ongoing commitment to the community.”
For nearly 40 years, the newly renamed Mt. Airy CDC has offered programs and services designed to enrich the Mt. Airy neighborhood, including streetscape improvements along historic Germantown Avenue, leading the Mt. Airy 2025 Neighborhood Action Plan, and a “core four” set of program areas:
• Housing Counseling, including first-time homebuyer workshops, foreclosure prevention, and one-on-one budget & credit counseling. The program won the statewide 2016-17 Best Agency in Pennsylvania award from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
• Community Programs, including activating Lovett Park space with free community events, the Mt. Airy Reads! literary initiative, the Healthy Aging Coalition, and popular public events like Moonlight Movies and Supper Sessions on the Avenue.
• Business Services, including management of the Go Mt. Airy Business Association, the PhillyiHub business and entrepreneurship training program, and the Work Mt. Airy coworking space.
• Real Estate and Infrastructure, including the renovation and repopulation of several historic buildings, a long term commitment to supporting Lovett Library & Park, development of the Wissahickon Charter School, and a block-long storefront improvement project on Vernon Road, and six new bus shelters across Northwest Philadelphia. The organization has also entered a long-term agreement to create the Sedgwick Arts Center at the historic Sedgwick Theater; details to come.
The organization will continue communicating its efforts through the popular @GoMtAiry social media channels and a new website that will launch in March. The new Mt. Airy CDC website, logo, and branding package come from Pixel Parlor, a design studio based in Fishtown. The design suite includes new illustrations of leaves from native trees found in Mt. Airy and the Wissahickon, carrying the organization’s previous designs forward.
“We’re very excited about our new look and identity,” said Howard Treatman, president of Mt. Airy CDC’s board of directors. “As Mt. Airy CDC, we’ll carry our mission forward with a brand that more clearly communicates what we do.”
About Mt. Airy CDC
Founded in 1980, the Mt. Airy Community Development Corporation has a mission to preserve, empower, and enrich a vibrant and diverse Mt. Airy. The organization provides housing counseling and financial literacy services, advances real estate development and infrastructure improvements, promotes small businesses, and facilitates community engagement through public events and programs serving people of all ages. For more information, visit mtairycdc.org or see @GoMtAiry on social media.
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