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The Bryn Mawr Beautiful Foundation is a memorial tribute to Philip Gianacova, a Bryn Mawr business owner. Phil spent many days and nights picking up trash, sweeping streets and planting flowers, all in an effort to keep Bryn Mawr Beautiful. When Phil suddenly passed away in January 1993, his family requested that in lieu of flowers, the people of Bryn Mawr find a way to continue his efforts to beautify Bryn Mawr. In March 1994 Lower Merion Township approved the construction of a brick and flagstone memorial garden, on Township property, next to the Community Center on Bryn Mawr Ave. On April 14, 1994 Bryn Mawr Beautiful was incorporated and on September 30, 1994 the Philip Gianacova Memorial Garden was dedicated.
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Shortly thereafter, Bryn Mawr Beautiful developed a flower program
consisting of 12 concrete planters, 25 light post hanging baskets and 25 flower boxes, placed on public walls, fences and the railroad bridge. We signed on to the Pennsylvania State Adopt-A-Highway clean up program, which is done four times a year, from Commerce Bank in Haverford to McDonalds in Rosemont. At Lower Merion Township's request, Bryn Mawr Beautiful has also assumed responsibly for maintaining the Gazebo Garden, next to the Community Center, and the Hayden Lane garden, next to Suburban Hardware.
Bryn Mawr Beautiful maintains all the baskets, provides all the flowers and waters all the plants daily during the growing season. This year's pansie planting is Saturday, March 26th, 2011; then perennials in June. Although most of the garden maintenance is done by volunteers, we have found that the heat of summer requires the employment of 2 or 3 people to water all the baskets and boxes daily.
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Over the years we have also expanded our efforts to keep the sidewalks clean. With the donation of a sidewalk sweeper, from Bryn Mawr Trust Co., we now vacuum the sidewalks in Bryn Mawr weekly. In the fall we clean the parking cut outs of leaves and debris, so material does not freeze and become an obstruction to people parking on Lancaster Ave. During the Christmas season, the baskets and boxes are cleaned of flowers and filled with pine and spruce greens to help provide a holiday spirit.
Our program is run entirely by volunteers and our major funding comes from Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr Rotary, Aqua, and a few Business owners. Bryn Mawr Beautiful is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Our annual budget for flowers and daily watering project is $8,500. We hope to continue this valuable program and interest more people to volunteer their time and contribute to our funding.
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