When Elaine Fox was approached by local volunteers inquiring about community projects, she had one thought in mind: freshening up the exterior of Rising Sun Health Center. “We were thrilled at the chance to have some help in cleaning up the health center’s landscape. We needed new plants–new everything,” says Fox, vice president of specialized health services at PHMC.

The health center was in need of some helping hands–preferably with green thumbs.”

On Saturday, July 12, 2008, a large group of volunteers from Health Leadership Network of the Delaware Valley (HLNDV) came together with PHMC staff to beautify Rising Sun Health Center in Northeast Philadelphia. From 8:30 a.m. until noon, Brad Baker, Certified Pennsylvania Horticulturist, guided the eager volunteers in redesigning the health center’s landscape. He also brought in the materials at wholesale cost.
Rising Sun Health Center provides quality, comprehensive health services to people underserved by traditional health care providers. It serves a broad immigrant community. Due to standard wear and tear, the health center was in need of some helping hands–preferably with green thumbs.

HLNDV often provides volunteers for community projects, and as member and volunteer organizer David Balinksi explains, “Typical projects include non-skilled manual labor such as painting, moving, planting, and any other creative projects to benefit the community.”
For Dorphine Hayward, a resident of Hill Creek, a housing project adjacent to the center, helping to beautify Rising Sun was a dream come true. “We had nothing out there in front of the building,” she recalls. “A health center should look nice.” As the president of Hill Creek’s resident council board, Hayward helped initiate the project and is very pleased with the results. “It’s beautiful! Everything turned out really good.”

Within a few hours, the volunteers planted new flowers and bushes around the facility, helping Rising Sun to truly shine. “This was a long-awaited dream come true,” says Fox.