Maj. John Cranford of the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia thanked company officials for "one of the largest donations the Salvation Army of Philadelphia has ever received" — 30 truckloads of furniture and other items for use at its facilities around the city.
Looking around at the new offices, Cranford said, "This is a whole lot nicer than on Broad Street."
Company officials said money raised from book and art sales at the Broad Street location was donated to the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Kathy McGady, associate vice president of the United Way, hailed Interstate General Media's generosity, describing the company as an "organization that walks, truly walks, the talk." She credited the company for choosing "to make a difference in the community as part of your move."
Joye Nottage, executive director of the Philadelphia Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Nonviolence Inc., thanked the company for donating school supplies to the organization, which promotes education and King's philosophy of nonviolence. She said the supplies would be used for the organization's annual summer college prep program. "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts," she said.
Other recipients of donations were YouthBuild Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police, and the Institute for the Development of African American Youth Inc., which offers programs for at-risk youth in the city.
Lewis Katz, a managing partner of Interstate General Media, said the company also donated its archive of newspaper articles and photos to the Temple University Urban Archives collection. Katz said the archive was "one of the company's most important assets, our history." He said the collection would be available to university students and the general public. "Thank you for taking care of one of our most precious assets," he said.
Managing partner George E. Norcross III praised the company's new home. "There aren't many newspaper companies holding events like this," Norcross said. "The facilities we're in are exceptional."
Contact Vernon Clark at 215-854-5717 or vclark@phillynews.com.
