It all began in 1983 with a group of passionate and dedicated community volunteers who wanted to assist the newly founded Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation by encouraging shoppers to return to the 7100 block of Ogontz Avenue and to foster community pride. This group was known as Friends of OARC and they worked closely with the OARC administration, the Board of Directors and the community to convert what had been a vacant strip mall into a bustling, vibrant shopping center.

From its inception, OARC has always worked diligently to maintain close relationships with the residents, business owners, and elected officials to advance its’ mission of stimulating economic development and improve the quality of life for the residents in West Oak Lane. By partnering with other organizations, (public and private) maintaining an open-door policy and a grass-roots style, OARC has been able to work smarter to accomplish our mission, and deal head-on with the challenges that face the West Oak Lane community.

  • We have over the last five years partnered with State Representative Isabella Fitzgerald to present or sponsor (5) neighborhood shredding events, Northwest Philly Spring Festival, Economic Empowerment Business Summit and have provided commercial space for community residents to use as polling locations.
  • We engaged educational programmers Urgent 365 to present Applying for College Seminars, Holistic Conflict Resolutions for West Oak Lane Charter School and Martin Luther King High School.
  • We partnered with Parkway Northwest High School (PNWHS), Malcolm Jenkins Foundation and Goalsetter to provide funds to the students of PNWHS to open bank accounts.
  • We partnered with Upper Room Missionary Baptist Church to provide weekly fresh foods for the community of West Oak Lane.

These are just some of the things that we have done or are still providing to the West Oak Lane Community. We are excited about the future of community engagement, so stop by soon to hear more of what we plan to do in the future.

Come check out what’s happening in West Oak Lane, and be a part of a pretty amazing community!