Michele Dowell, CCF Board Member & Longtime Overbrook Park Resident:
I have been a resident of Overbrook Park for more than 20 years, and I am thankful that the Cobbs Creek Foundation has taken on the project of restoring the golf course to its previous glory.
When I moved to Overbrook Park, the view of the golf course was what sold me on buying my home. Unfortunately, it quickly became a nuisance. Golf balls ended up on my property and broke my windows. The previous managers of the course always gave the neighbors a hard time when we brought up our concerns. Then when that management left, the golf course turned into a blight to our neighborhood.
Then the Cobbs Creek Foundation came on board.
Now, I serve as a community advocate as a board member of the Overbrook Park Civic Association, and a board member for the Cobbs Creek Foundation. I fully support the Cobbs Creek Foundation’s vision: the educational programming, the return of golf to the course, the environmental impact and the economic opportunities that will follow.
I know there will be chances for the community and beyond to learn the sport and gain education along the way. The behind-the-scenes work being done to open the Learning Lab is laying the foundation for something exciting in our city.
For those who might not know much about this project yet, I tell them to keep an open mind and watch what the Cobbs Creek Foundation is doing. Their actions match their words.
I encourage all in my community to find ways to volunteer to be a part of this great initiative, and to spread the word. This project is about thinking big and dreaming big.
Bryan T. Jefferies, Volunteer:
I just heard of the course within the last year due to my own study. I have never played golf, but recently had a career change into the finance industry, and golf has become an extremely popular topic in my world. I was looking for golf courses in the area that were not too far, but also willing to happily accept people from diverse backgrounds. Since I’m Black and come from a midwestern blue-collar background myself, I never really knew anyone who played. That made Cobbs Creek perfect for me. Its West Philly locale and mission to be inclusive made it the right place for me and I love to help the community as much as I can, so the added attempt to get people to join along with mission initiatives was the cherry on top for me.
I joined the Morris Park clean up and met not only some people from the Cobbs Creek Foundation but also a host of others that were extremely welcoming, like some members of the Green Ladies Golf Club.
I love any chance to clean up the neighborhood and environment. I think Philadelphia especially has the connotation of being dirty or run down and that keeps people from wanting to do anything to fix it – but it also keeps people from realizing the beauty that already lies within it.
The economic opportunity for the West Philadelphia community that will come from having a beacon of commerce in that area will bring a lot of people who wouldn’t normally visit the neighborhood. This will give a financial boost to the area. Selfishly, it will provide me personally with the opportunity of being able to network with golfers which will help me in my work. And it will be great to have a place where I can learn to play golf, since I am a true novice in every sense of the word!
Educationally, this will also help the actual people of Philadelphia gain access to resources that historically they have been excluded from.
There are few projects that come with the chance to improve your community, gain and grow a robust personal and professional network, and do so while learning a new pastime, all the while you’re smack dab in the midst of one of the most historic cities on American soil. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone with a better offer than that.
Russell Crockett Jr, Committee Chairman of the Charlie Sifford Scholarship Fund:
The Charlie Sifford Scholarship Fund was established in 2022 as part of the centennial celebration of the life and legacy of PGA golf professional Dr. Charles L. Sifford. The Cobbs Creek Foundation serves as the fiscal sponsor of the scholarship, serving as the custodians of the scholarship account, sending scholarship funds to the student that are selected by our committee, and providing other related support services for the fund. Cobbs Creek golf course was Dr Sifford’s home course when he became a professional golfer in the mid 1940s, and while he and his family lived in the Philadelphia community for over 15 years.
During my time as the committee chair, I have established a close relationship with members of the Cobbs Creek Foundation team – folks who have been fantastic in supporting the scholarship fund and growing Dr. Sifford’s legacy. Our broad vision for the fund is to one day establish Dr. Sifford’s foundation in the mold of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which impacts the lives of more than 25 college students through scholarships, internships, and leadership development. To achieve this vision, we will work to grow the scholarship fund to an endowment level that can support increasing the number of awarded scholarships, while also partnering with our sponsors to provide internship and leadership development opportunities for our Sifford Scholars. We are in an exciting and early stage of development toward this vision.
Currently, the biggest challenge we face in reaching our vision for the Sifford Scholarship Fund is that many of our potential supporters are not yet aware we exist. However, we will continue to build our reputation, using many elements of Dr Sifford’s legacy to allow people to get to learn more about him. We believe that the more Dr Sifford’s incredible story is understood, the more likely it is for new partners to support our vision to help our Sifford Scholars reach their full potential.