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DRBC Cares for Its Communities: Staff Volunteers Assist Mercer County Children and City Park Tree Maintenance Along the Delaware

DRBC staff took a break from their normal duties centered around managing and protecting the shared interstate waters of the Delaware River Basin during August to offer assistance to area youth and an urban park.

Staff answered the call from The Salvation Army Trenton Citadel Corps to help children in Greater Mercer County be prepared to succeed in the classroom and reach their dreams by donating 25 backpacks and the school supplies needed to fill each backpack. The backpacks will be distributed at The Trenton Citadel Corps’ “Back to School Bash 2017” on Sept. 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. In the words of a Salvation Army representative, “We truly believe that events like these help us accomplish our mission to transforming lives.” The Salvation Army Trenton Citadel Corps serves the county where the DRBC office building is located.

Six DRBC staff volunteers also spent a morning helping the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation (PPR) with a maintenance program for 75 recently planted trees in Pennypack on the Delaware. Located along the Delaware River, this is a parcel of the larger Pennypack Park, which is one of the city’s watershed parks. The trees were planted in November 2016 and require a three-year maintenance program of watering, mulching, and other related activities to ensure their survival. As described on the PPR’s web site, “Volunteers are essential to the health, cleanliness and vitality of the city’s parks.”

DRBC's Carol Adamovic sorting through the school supply donations for the children's back-to-school backpacks. Photo by DRBC. DRBC's Denise McHugh and Carol Adamovic sorting the school supply donations. Photo by DRBC.  (from left to right) DRBC's Denise McHugh, Carol Adamovic, and Pat Rago sorting the school supplies for the backpacks to be distributed by The Salvation Army. Photo by DRBC. (from left to right) DRBC's Carol Adamovic, Pat Rago, and Denise McHugh sharing a laugh while sorting the back-to-school supplies to help area youth. Photo by DRBC. DRBC's Ken Najjar (left) and Philadelphia Dept. of Parks and Recreation's (PPR) Emma Schad applying mulch to one of the 75 recently planted trees. Photo by DRBC. (from left to right) DRBC's Shane McAleer and Ken Najjar watering one of the recently planted trees at Pennypack Park. Photo by DRBC. DRBC volunteers and PPR staff posing with the buckets used to water the newly planted trees. Photo by DRBC. (from left to right) DRBC's Donna Woolf and Ken Najjar helping with city park tree maintenance. Photo by DRBC.DRBC staff filling their water buckets for tree maintenance at Pennypack Park. Photo by DRBC.DRBC Intern Isabel Rodriguez filling some of the many buckets used by staff to water the newly planted city park trees. Photo by DRBC.DRBC volunteers helping Philadelphia Dept. of Parks and Recreation with its tree maintenance program at Pennypack Park. Photo by DRBC.View of the Delaware River from Pennypack Park in Philadelphia. Photo by DRBC.