22nd Annual Richard Allen Homes Reunion to Feature Documentary Film Release about the North Central Philadelphia Housing Development

PHILADELPHIA, July 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,000 persons are expected to attend the 22nd Annual Richard Allen Homes Reunion, Saturday, August 4, 2012, from 12 noon to 7:00 pm, at Lemon Hill, 33rd and Poplar Streets, in Fairmount Park, here, as The Original Richard Allen Committee, hosts its annual picnic, and introduces its brand-new video documentary, which includes images of the housing project dating back to the 1940s, and interviews with 21 current and former residents, including Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and legendary jazz saxophonist Bootsie Barnes.

The video, which is titled "Richard Allen Homes: An Extended Urban Family," has a run time of 45 minutes and discusses the origins and the social and economic climate at the development, over a 71-year period. It provides a rare opportunity for those who have never lived in public housing to gain a perspective on what life was like in the housing projects, over the past seven decades.

The day-long event will also feature free food for all guests, college scholarships and U.S. savings bonds awards, a presentation ceremony for the never-before-seen video, and a community award presentation.

At 4:00 pm, the organization will award 18 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students, a boy and a girl from each class, with U.S. Savings Bonds. The K-through-seventh-grade students will each receive a $50 bond, while the two eighth-grade students will each receive a $100 bond.

In addition, two college-bound students, Ryan Barksdale-White, and Baseeman C. Tolbert-Hassan will receive a $500 scholarship, each, to assist them in purchasing school supplies and books, for the upcoming school year. Barksdale-White, who graduated from Northeast High School, will attend nearby Neumann College. Hassan, who attended Philadelphia Electronics & Technology Charter School, will attend the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The Original Richard Allen Committee, Inc. was founded 23 years ago by a small group of former residents of the housing development, which is located between 9th and 12th Streets, from Fairmount Avenue to Poplar Street, in North Central Philadelphia.

For additional information on the 22nd Annual Richard Allen Homes Picnic, the video and souvenirs of the event, please visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Original-Richard-Allen-Committee/161611113975235.

WHO:  

• Frank Williams, president, Original Richard Allen Committee, Inc.
• More than 2,000 former and current residents and their families
• Bootsie Barnes, Jazz tenor saxophone legend, former resident
• Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, former resident

WHEN:             Saturday, August 4, 2012

                        12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

                        Video Presentation – 3:00 pm

                        Award Presentations – 4:00 pm

WHERE:           Lemon Hill, Fairmount Park

                        33rd and Poplar St.

                        Philadelphia, PA 19130

Contact: Billy Brown (267) 625-6701
Original Richard Allen Committee, Inc.

Dominique Landry
(215) 751-0140
[email protected]

SOURCE Original Richard Allen Committee