A local real estate mogul has used a personal line of credit to fund over $2 million worth of loans to upstart entrepreneurs in Germantown. It's part of a holistic training program that encourages local residents to rehab homes and keeps dollars in the community. Now the idea is spreading.
An arts organization that began 37 years ago around a kitchen table now drives this rural region's thriving creative community. While programming, live music and tourist attractions draw visitors, a growing slate of small businesses reap the rewards. It's a promising synthesis of economic development and cultural enrichment.
This innovative new tool helps municipalities turn vacant and crumbling properties into assets. In Dauphin County, the new Land Bank is developing homes and commercial spaces, and folding the profits into its next project.
This shuttered institution -- long a locus of holiday cheer, school shopping and family meals -- will be transformed into the The Lackawanna County Government Center at the Globe. It's a huge boon for the area, bringing 700 employees and thousands of visitors back downtown.
A student athlete turned school counselor, Linsey Covert knows the deep impact it makes on a young person when they're part of a team. She's taking that philosophy into local schools in an effort to combat bullying, increase attendance and decrease behavior incidents.
Looking to get hands on? These community-centric spaces are giving Pennsylvanians young and old the opportunity to build, create, craft, manufacture and design. Whether you're in Altoona, Philadelphia or State College, there's probably a makerspace near you.
This passionate Philadelphian -- and co-founder of the Little Giant Creative boutique marketing and branding agency -- is working to blend hip-hop, social justice and entrepreneurship with a new initiative.
The four-county region is looking beyond tourism to build a diverse, dynamic economy.
A sojourn in Steel City stars a huge reuse project on the North Side, eats from different eras, a giant inflatable pickle and plenty of gorgeous vistas.
Every year, this four-acre plot in Southwest Philadelphia produces 12,000 pounds of food, welcomes 10,000 school kids, employs 22 high school interns, hosts 45 families in a community garden, distributes 80,000 seedlings, supplies 50 farmstands and welcomes 1500 volunteers. And that's only the beginning.