Category: W 2nd Street
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Progress isn’t always fast—but it’s still progress.
Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Welcome to June! And… this isn’t the article I hoped I’d be writing right now. I hoped we’d have more definitive updates, more visible progress, more reasons to celebrate. But, after two decades of doing this work, I can’t say I’m surprised. Slow, sometimes excruciatingly painful progress is the norm, not Read more
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No, Don’t Do That! (The Joys of DIY Videography)
Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation “No, don’t do that. I don’t wanna do that. Stop that!”—actual quote from Rachel this week as we tried to film a simple video. Cut to: an accidental clip of the W 2nd St house project slowly spinning from sideways to upside down while both of us tried not to scream… Read more
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The Work of Change: Progress, Possibility, and What Comes Next
Selina Pedi-Smith with Isaias Gomez, Pellere Foundation When you’re deep in the cleanup of a long-neglected house, you learn to see progress in small victories—another wall stripped to the studs, another load of debris hauled away, a little light breaking through where there used to be none. For Isaias Gomez, who’s been hard at work Read more
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Turning Blight into Bright: How Restoring Homes Revitalizes Communities Turning Blight into Bright
You probably see them every day. They’re in every town, sometimes on almost every street. The houses with peeling paint, sagging roofs, and yards where the weeds have taken over. They’re hard to miss, and if we’re being honest, they can feel like a thorn in the side of an otherwise beautiful street, but here’s Read more
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Breathing New Life into 403 W 2nd St: Pellere Foundation’s First Blight Remediation Project
By Selina Pedi-Smith The Pellere Foundation is thrilled to announce the beginning of our first blight remediation project at 403 W 2nd St, a once-stunning Victorian home in the heart of Oil City. This property, generously donated by Sadie McLaughlin and her brother Ian McLaughlin, represents both a challenge and an opportunity—a chance to breathe Read more