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Brotherly Love

West Philly business news: West Philly Favorites campaign underway; VIX Emporium to close for two months after holidays

December 22, 2020

In addition to the Holiday Gift Card Promotion (running through Dec. 24) and West Philly Forward Fundraising campaign where you can donate directly to local businesses and organizations, University City District has recently launched another campaign supporting West Philly businesses – West Philly Favorites.

The new campaign features a curated series of gift packs filled with handcrafted and locally produced items from small neighborhood businesses, including VIX Emporium, Renata’s Kitchen, Jezabel’s Cafe, Metropolitan Bakery, Snapdragon Flowers, and more. All proceeds from sales of West Philly Favorites packs go to participating businesses.  Continue Reading

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Winter storm is coming… Food, winter gear giveaway this Wednesday at Malcolm X Park

December 15, 2020

City councilmember Jamie Gauthier is teaming up with former councilmember Jannie Blackwell and AHARI, a non-profit organization supporting veterans at-risk, to offer free food and winter gear (hats, scarves, gloves and socks) to anyone in need this Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Malcolm X. Park (52nd and Larchwood). The event is scheduled due to the winter storm expected to hit our area tomorrow afternoon.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and go on as long as food supplies last. See the flier for more information.

Due to the inclement weather and cold temperatures setting in in the area this week, the City of Philadelphia has declared the first Code Blue of the cold weather season. If you see someone who needs shelter, please call the Philadelphia Homeless Outreach Hotline at 215-232-1984.

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Shop Black Business Friday: Ordering food from Black-owned restaurants, EatOkra app, and more

December 11, 2020

Newly constructed Bookers’ Greenhouse Patio (Photo from Bookers’ Instagram page).

The City of Philadelphia has declared all Fridays in December as a “Shop Black Business Friday“, an initiative that aims to support Black-owned businesses, which have been hit very hard during the pandemic. One of the ways to support Black businesses in your community is to order food from Black-owned restaurants.

There are so many great Black-owned restaurants in West Philly. Some of them, like Bookers’ Restaurant and Bar (50th and Baltimore) and 48th Street Grille (48th and Pine) are still open for outdoor dining, as long as the weather is not too cold. Bookers’ recently built a greenhouse patio with open air flow, heaters and socially distanced tables (see photo).  Continue Reading

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Cedar Park Holiday Food Drive underway (with COVID-19 changes)

December 7, 2020

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The Cedar Park Neighbors community organization has launched their 2020 Holiday Food Drive, the event held annually since 1985. This year, the food drive and volunteer event that brings holiday meals to dozens of neighborhood families every year, has some changes due to health safety reasons for both recipient families and volunteers and the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, in lieu of holiday food baskets, CPN will work with their community partners to distribute grocery store gift cards safely to families.  Continue Reading

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Show your love to local non-profits on #GivingTuesday

December 1, 2020

Today is #GivingTuesday, a chance to let not-for-profit organizations know that we appreciate their work.

Please check our list of West Philly-based non-profits here and support them with a donation or signing up to volunteer. We’ll also be posting messages from local organizations throughout the day (see below).

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Support local writers at Blue Stoop’s virtual fundraiser on Dec. 5

November 28, 2020

Blue Stoop, a nonprofit organization and home to Philly literary community started by two West Philly writers, is holding its virtual winter fundraiser “Words of Revolution; Words of Solace” on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 7-9 p.m. Join Blue Stoop to hear readings from 10 of the most exciting voices writing in and around Philadelphia today: Brittney Cooper, Myriam Gurba, Anne Ishii, Airea Matthews, Trapeta Mayson, Kiley Reid, Nikil Saval, Eric Smith, Amber Sparks, and Elissa Washuta.

This is not another typical Zoom event – in fact, this will be an innovative video program produced by award winning Philadelphia cinematographer Aly Spengler.  Continue Reading

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