The Common Place

A Sacred Space to do Life Together

Formed in 2013, The Common Place (TCP) serves as a community hub in the heart of the neighborhood at 58th Street and Chester Avenue, and incorporated as its own nonprofit organization in 2015. Over the past four decades, residents of Southwest Philadelphia have faced rising inequities in healthcare, the local education system, and vocational opportunities. Through our core programs: after school tutoring, Saturday enrichment, summer camp, and orchestra, we offer a safe and healthy environment for children to reach their full potential. The Common Place has become a center for holistic mental, social, emotional, and physical development. We believe that caring for all aspects of the child and supporting families in that development will bring about the systemic change that is needed for the children of Southwest Philadelphia to become well-rounded, healthy, successful adults.

Alongside youth development programming, TCP serves as an important community hub that serves and lifts up our neighborhood. During the pandemic, TCP shifted focus from after school care to food insecurity, an urgent need expressed by our community. TCP became a distribution center for school breakfast and lunch, and established a weekly food pantry that still operates today. Alongside Trellis for Tomorrow, we designed and implemented Bunny’s Garden, an organic vegetable garden that supplies fresh produce in the midst of a food desert. We offer spiritual direction and mental health care services at low or no cost to the community.

To find out more about this dynamic ministry, please contact Rev. Ashley Rossi.