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Talk about a Difference Maker, Etrulia (Trudy) Gay has been making difference in the lives of Point Breeze’s children for decades. And it may have all started with an Easter Egg Hunt at Wharton Square, 2300 Wharton St., about 29 years ago.
“We decided to have an Easter egg hunt here, so we had to clean it up first and that was a job. It was a mess. The trees were dead, there were branches everywhere, the benches were broken and there was trash everywhere,” she said, sitting in the Square’s rec center, which has nearly doubled in size since she and her husband Robert started using it as a potent and effective community-galvanizing headquarters.
“When we got here the building was much smaller,” she said, sitting in her office space that’s full of City-bestowed accolades and photos of her standing with mayors, city councilmen, and chiefs of police. “We started begging for a building because there were so many children. They added some more space and two more bathrooms and these two rooms – it works out pretty good now,” she added while her husband watched TV across the hall and scooted out squirrels.
He praised her “feeding program”: “She didn’t think it was a feeding thing because she thought it was degrading. She called it a cooking class and she cooks better meals here than we have at home,” he joked, pointing out one of her most successful initiatives at the center. They work on weights and measurements, nutrition, and using tools like a can opener or a knife.
“[There are] so many things they’ve never tasted,” she gushed, noting grilled cheese and tomato soup were huge hits last week.
Gay has been in South Philly her whole life with a brief jump north. 27th and South, 24th and Naudain, 21st and Naudain, she rattled off a few intersections she’s called home. And as a sibling to nine sisters and one brother, her nurturing nature started early.
“You always have to protect them and it started with my siblings – we used to do so many things together as a family and I don’t think they do those things now,” she said, noting that she functions as a second mom, big sister, aunt or wise babysitter for dozens of families.
She’s led Brownie troupes, Girl Scouts, welcomed oldies nights in the park, and run grief/loss groups and championed cultural programs.
“We’ve had awareness programs and they’re very important to me because they don’t know a lot about their cultural and personal awareness – they don’t know a lot. I focus a lot on the children, they’re my main focus,” she said and, with amazing humbleness, added “I often say when I leave, I hope someone comes in and does a better job than I did.”
Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
2014 Difference Makers
/ L. Jay Agnes / Christine M. Beady / Jessica Calter / Mikki Capo /
/ Barbara Capozzi / Giovanna Cavaliere /
/ Christopher DiCapua / Marlo and Jason Dilks / Marie DiStefano / Beth Dougherty /
/ Cornell Drummond / Maureen Fratantoni / Etrulia (Trudy) Gay / Jess Gould /
/ David and Lisa Grainge / Richie Lazer / Tim Lidiak /
/ Shane Martin / Laura McColgan / Akhenaton Mikell / Russell Shoemaker / Lionel Simmons / Tom Wyatt/
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