We all remember that tragic evening on November 21, 2009 when Billy Panas was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer near Stokley Playground. Billy’s tragic death severely shook his family as well as the entire neighborhood. His mother, Karen Panas says that Stokley Playground located in the Port Richmond neighborhood was a place where her son used to love to play quite frequently.

Since Billy’s death, the Stokley Playground Advisory Board as well as the surrounding neighborhood has attempted to clean up Stokley and make it a full functioning park for everyone. On October 9 about 25-30 community members joined in cleaning Stokley. Betsy Berkery, president of the Stokley Playground Advisory Board says, “There were a lot of neighbors surrounding the playground that helped out; people just tired of seeing the playground looking the way it is and coming together to get some things done.”

Painting, cleaning up trash, and brain storming took place as the group worked to clean the playground. Betsy says the board is looking to dedicate a piece of the playground to Panas who grew up playing at Stokley. On Saturday, November 19, there will be a beef and beer to raise funds for “Give Back to the Community – In Loving Memory of Billy Panas, Jr.” and all the proceeds will go to improving Stokley in memory of Billy Panas. Karen Panas says she wanted to raise money for the community in which Billy grew up. Instead of doing a scholarship, she thought the funds raised would be best used to improve Stokley and this way, more community members would benefit as opposed to just the scholarship winner.

The genuine sense of community in the Port Richmond neighborhood stems from their joint passion for bettering this playground. The Board will be sending a message to the city by uniting together to improve Stokley. “We want to send a message to the city of Philadelphia,” says Betsy, and that message is “You can’t shut us out; we are a neighborhood that is often forgotten and we don’t want to be forgotten anymore.” Betsy also said she thought the city of Philadelphia often associates Stokley with crime but the children in the neighborhood are good and so is the playground.

Stokley is a vital source of community in which neighbors interact and develop bonds far beyond the swing set. “I was born and raised in this playground,” shared Betsy, “and I want generations after me to have the same fun times that I had in this playground.”

There has not been a city employee working at Stokley for the past couple years but when Betsy was a child, things were different. She says, “When I was a kid, there was someone who worked there and we had arts and crafts and brown-bagged lunches; it was a great playground.”

The Advisory Board and the Panas Family are seeing to it that the playground is getting the attention it deserves and the improvements it needs. You can purchase tickets for the “Give Back to the Community – In Loving Memory of Billy Panas, Jr.” benefit on November 19 by contacting: Bill and Karen Panas at 215-739-3476; Lisa Hodge at 856-879-5043; John and Bernice Panas at 215-426-7672; Debbie Ditro at 215-605-9371; or David Ditro at 267-456-5053. Tickets are $25.

If you cannot attend the event but would like to make a donation, please send all donations made payable to “Give Back to the Community-ILMOBPJR” and mail: c/o Debbie Ditro, 3109 Gaul Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134.

A business can sponsor a table at the event for the cost of $100 by contacting any of the individuals above.

The goal of this benefit and the Board’s mission is to provide the community with a place for intramural sports, movie nights, and other community activities at Stokley.

One of the activities already scheduled is a fall festival flea market which will be held on Sunday, October 30 and all proceeds will go to Stokley Playground. For more information on the market or to reserve a table, you can call Megan Andrews at 267-776-6114; tables are $15 and you can pay at the door.  Set up is 7:30 a.m.