The Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust St.) has lost its full-time librarian for the 2011-2012 school year. Luckily a combination of grassroots groups are stepping in to help out. The West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) will bring its celebrated program Open Books Open Minds to Lea. That means that volunteers will keep the library open and help younger students with reading and older students with research for school projects.
Click here if you are interested in volunteering at Lea through the WePAC program. WePAC asks for a minimum commitment of two hours every other week.
Also, the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools is sponsoring a book drive through the summer to provide more books for in-classroom libraries at Lea. You can drop off books at Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave.) during business hours or on the porch at 4317 Larchwood Ave. All books appropriate for children K-8 are appreciated. A group of teachers will go through the books over the summer and divide them into the appropriate grade levels.
West Philly residents Clare Hyre and Rania Campbell-Cobb want to build an organic rooftop farm on a warehouse in Southwest Philly. This would be a first in Philly and they need a little help.
The two accomplished farmers hope to use Cloud 9 Urban Rooftop Farm (Facebook link) to research urban farming best practices, educate folks on the benefits of rooftop farms and, of course, supply more fresh, locally grown food to West Philly. Read a lot more about the project here.
There are two ways you can help. Clare and Rania have started an online fundraising campaign to raise $5,000 to help cover the start-up costs. They are well over halfway there and need to raise the rest by month’s end. They also have some cool gifts for contributing. Go here to check it out.
Second, they are hosting a benefit BBQ tomorrow (Facebook link) at 4909 Warrington Ave. $7 gets you into the door and a plate of good food.
They hope to start building infrastructure this fall and start farming in the spring.
Please meet Emma, a sweet and fun loving Pitbull princess who is between one and two years old. Her owners surrendered her for adoption because they couldn’t care for her anymore.
Emma is the perfect combination of playful, energetic pup and mature, calm ex-momma dog. She has spunk and will let it shine when she gets the chance to play with another dog. She is very curious and interested in her surroundings – much like a puppy. At the same time, she settles down nicely and enjoys simply hanging out by your side. Getting her belly rubbed at the same time doesn’t hurt either.
Emma walks well on the leash. Since she weighs only about 45 lbs, she is very manageable with or without an easy walk harness.
She appears to be house trained and she is great in the car. There is nothing better than a dog that will roll up in the back seat and take a nap.
She knows “sit”, “down” and “no”. She is super smart! She learned each one of these commands in the matter of 15 – 20 minutes. Fortunately, she is very treat motivated – or in human language: Emma is a foodie – which makes training her extremely easy.
Emma is already spayed, microchipped & up to date on all of her shots and therefore ready to go home (with you).
If you want to adopt Emma please stop by the PSPCA’s Animal Care & Control Team (111 W. Hunting Park Avenue) or call: 267-385-3800. You can also consider fostering if you can’t adopt her permanently. Fostering saves not only Emma’s life but also the life of the dog that would move into her kennel at ACCT.
Erik Ruin, the current 40th Street Artist-in-Resident, invites neighbors to the opening of his new exhibition tonight, from 7 to 9 p.m., at a temporary storefront gallery at 4212 Chestnut Street (below the Scribe Video Center).
The exhibition, titled “Staring at the Cracks,” features a combination of prints, projections and sound to tell stories of solitary confinement. Ruin managed to construct a unique environment to share the emotions and experiences of formerly incarcerated people.
Some rooms are populated with wall-size print installations, other rooms – by shadow-puppet and video projections by Ruin and award-winning Toronto filmmaker Brett Story.
Along with the installations speakers throughout the space will play snippets of audio interviews with men and women describing their experiences in solitary confinement. Finally, innovative klezmer and jazz trombonist Dan Blacksberg will play a unique and haunting bed of sound to enhance the dramatic atmosphere.
The exhibition will run until July 23 and will be the last in a series of exhibitions presented by Ruin as a 40th Street Artist-in-Resident. On July 23, Ruin will be bidding farewell with an all-day studio sale, live music, and closing reception (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.).
To read more about the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence program click here.
In case you haven’t already heard … tonight is the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll in West Philly. This thing (as the lines at participating shops and restaurants last month showed) has gotten big. People are coming from around the city. Our insider advice? Get there early. It starts at 5:30 p.m.
The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) has sent a letter to Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and Penn President Amy Gutmann to draw attention to the enrollment cap at the Penn Alexander School (4209 Spruce St.).
SHCA board members agreed last month to draft a response to the enrollment cap that would demand that children who live within the school’s boundaries be admitted to the school. The thrust of the letter includes that request. It reads:
“Any child living in the catchment area has the right to attend Penn Alexander and should have that right guaranteed from first grade through eighth grade.”
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