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That’s the Spirit: Denise Edeline and the Art of Volunteerism


To enter the Portside Arts Center during its annual summer camp is to experience something much like family.  The soft pitter-patter of children’s feet rushing up the stairs subsumed by the much louder chatter of tiny, excited voices fresh from the pool is quelled by the big sisters and brothers of the volunteer staff, and Portside’s maternal force, director Kim Creighton.  As Creighton asserts, the volunteers are integral to Portside’s functioning–the success of the nonprofit organization hinges on two forces, “Volunteers and the kindness of the community.”  The perfect combination of these two forces is Denise Edeline, a consummate volunteer in both Port Richmond and her home community of Fishtown.

“She’s always helping out–it doesn’t matter who,” asserted Edeline’s mother, Lisa.  “She baby-sits, shovels snow for neighbors in the wintertime, goes to the store for people who have trouble going themselves, helps her grandmother and aunt,” and the list goes on and on.  Perhaps most impressively, Denise devotes her entire summer to volunteering at the Portside Arts Center, something she has done for the past four years.  “I started camping at Portside when I was twelve,” says Denise, now entering her junior year at Franklin Towne Charter High School.  “I camped for one week, and then was made a volunteer.”

“We immediately saw her maturity and ability to help out,” said Creighton, who is now planning to integrate Denise into a more full-time position in the office over the winter.

Help out she certainly does.  Her daily duties start before the kids arrive and end long after they’ve left for the day.  “I set up and get supplies ready, help kids with things they don’t know and demonstrate different projects, supervise the kids when they go to the playground or the pool, give out lunch and snacks, and clean up after the kids go home.”  Her greatest reward for all her hard work is, “Seeing the smiles on all the kids’ faces and seeing what they can accomplish,” Denise said.

On a larger scale Denise is involved with the creation, maintenance, and promotion of several of Portside’s art projects.  Most recently the school entered an art contest to celebrate the Ben Franklin Bridge’s 85th anniversary in which the students, along with the help of Denise and Kim, of course, constructed a painted, scale model of the bridge, complete with miniature trains and trucks, all of which was made with recycled materials.  “It proved how good kids can be with art,” Denise commented.  So too does the inclusion of artwork from Portside’s last six weeks of camp in an upcoming exhibit at the Vwvoffka Gallery on Frankford Avenue as well as the 4th Annual Lehigh Avenue Arts Festival, which will take place on September 17–a perfect present for Denise, whose birthday falls one day before.

The success of such projects mirrors the success of the Portside Arts Center as a whole, which Denise has worked hard to foster.  “In the three previous years we had between nine and fifteen campers,” says Creighton.  “This year we have had between 20 and 28 consistently.”  Aside from working with the children, Denise has also been very active in nearly every other Portside-related endeavor.  “She helps with all festivals, carnivals, and fundraising,” said Creighton, who pointed to some of the work Portside has done to give back to the community.  Last year’s fundraiser for scholarships for community members of limited resources awarded over $3,000 in scholarships to children, teens, and adults.  Furthermore, Portside has been working on a Positive Image Program for girls in the community.  The Center is in the grant-writing process to establish a once-weekly meeting for local girls, and Denise has been invaluable for the insight she was able to give regarding the problems she sees girls in the community facing everyday.

An artist herself, Denise cites the Portside Arts Center as a source of inspiration for her own work.  She says that working on mosaics is her favorite artistic activity, and that she regularly paints in her free time.  Now in the process of thinking about which college to attend, Denise says that she is thinking of becoming an art teacher, but is still not sure what she wants to do.  Great training, should she choose this career path, is the class she is likely to teach next summer.  “I’m already working on projects for next year,” Denise said.

Ever modest, she pointed to Creighton and the rest of Portside’s paid and volunteer staff as essential for the Center’s continuing success.  Among these are volunteers Nancy Duong, Deeva Williams, Julie Ruiz–another camper-turned-volunteer–Jean Marie Murray, Jim Garvey, and Assistant Director Jenna Wilchinsky, who does quite a bit of volunteer work herself.  Denise thanks them as well as everyone else who has contributed to the Portside Arts Center, which has given her crucial support to continue being a shining example for children and peers alike.  “I’ll never stop volunteering,” said Denise.

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