Akyra Murray (photo from Westcatholic.org)

A West Philadelphia woman, Akyra Murray, 18, was confirmed as one of the victims of the mass shooting that happened on early Sunday morning at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fl.

Akyra graduated from West Catholic High School last week and was on a family vacation in Florida to celebrate graduation and visit her brother, according to information posted on the West Catholic High School website.

“… Akyra was a superstar who was a leader amongst her classmates and teammates,” the posting on the website reads. “She was an honors student whom graduated third in her class, and a 1,000 point scorer on the Lady Burrs basketball team. Akyra recently signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Mercyhurst College. May God bless Akyra’s soul and provide comfort to all family and friends during this very troubling time.”

The school will be holding a vigil service on Wednesday, June 15, at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium to honor Akyra’s memory. Out of respect for those closest to Akyra, the vigil will be private to the school and family community only.

There will be a vigil for the Orlando massacre victims tonight at City Hall (meeting at the North East corner), from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. If you can please bring a candle. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.

A University City High School graduate, Patience Carter, was wounded in the shooting and is expected to recover.

Photo © Jacques-Jean Tiziou / www.jjtiziou.net

UPDATE: Tonight’s performance by the Bernard Samuels Trio has been cancelled due to wet weather. Progressive Movement is scheduled to perform next Friday, June 10.

This is a reminder that Cedar Park Neighbors will be holding two of their biggest annual events this weekend.

Cedar Park Jazz Nights will kick off this Friday at 6 p.m. with a performance by Bernard Samuels Trio. This is a free weekly event, happening every Friday from 6 -8 p.m. at Cedar park (49th and Baltimore). Please bring your blanket or chair and enjoy live music by Philly’s best jazz musicians and guests. More information and performance lineup through July 29, read this post.

On Sunday, June 5, neighbors are invited to support local youth who are heading out to college this fall at the Annual Gary Bronson Scholarship Fundraiser, which will be held from 4-6 p.m. at St. Francis De Sales Parrish School Auditorium (917 S. 47th St.). There will be live music, food, drink and an opportunity to meet your community.

The Gary Bronson Memorial Scholarship Fund is named in honor of the visionary Cedar Park resident who founded the CPN Scholarship Committee in 1988. This scholarship fund supports young adults living in Cedar Park who are committed to pursuing higher education. The scholarship provides them with both mentorship and financial support to help them be successful in their post-secondary endeavors. You can purchase tickets for the event ($40; free for children under 12) or make donations to the fund here. Tickets will also be available at the door.

We’re happy to pass along information on two local causes that support community education.

Metropolitan owner Jim Lily and PIC executive director Debbie Green (photo courtesy PIC).

The Parent Infant Center (PIC) at 42nd and Locust recently received a generous and heartfelt gift from a local business. Metropolitan Bakery & Café’s owner Jim Lily sent a touching letter to PIC’s Executive Director Debbie Green and presented a $600 donation for PIC’s Cindy Fund. In his letter, Lily wrote about his close relationship with PIC (his daughter participated in the after-school program there) and about his friendship with former executive director Cindy Roberts who passed away in February. Roberts and Lily were also neighbors; they lived across the street from each other.

University City’s Metropolitan celebrated its 12th anniversary on April 26, and a portion of sales on that day made up this donation. Read more about this wonderful gesture on the PIC website.

The Cindy Fund was established in memory of Roberts, who was passionate about children and families and believed in equal access to quality preschool for all families, regardless of income. To learn more about the Cindy Fund, go here.  Continue Reading

Instead of dumping unwanted stuff bring it to PennMoves locations until June 1.

This is this time of year again when we say good-bye to many of our neighbors and start welcoming new ones. Those who are leaving usually leave a lot of stuff behind, so if you are one of those people and are looking for information on how to get rid of stuff you don’t want to take with you or if you want to pick up what has been left, read on.

Since 2008, PennMoves has collected unwanted items from students, such as clothing, furniture, appliances, books, etc., at the end of each school year, and this year is no exception. The collections began on April 27 and will go on until June 1 at various locations across Penn’s campus. Not only students can bring their stuff, off-campus residents are also welcome to drop off items at one of the donation sites.

Since 2013, PennMoves has been working with Goodwill instead of organizing a big sale of all the collected stuff (much to the disappointment of many locals). The last sale was held in June 2012. In addition to clothing and housewares, you can also bring used electronics, functional or not. PennMoves is also teaming up with Philabundance, and is collecting nonperishable, unopened food. Also, in support of The Vietnam Book Drive Project, books of all kinds will be collected to be shipped to Vietnam for use in classrooms and free libraries.  Continue Reading

Philly PAWS, a local pet rescue organization, is raising money for its Grays Ferry location. The Grays Ferry shelter is undergoing a major overhaul that “includes creating a new dog adoption and foster care office, replacing a broken washer with a commercial-grade machine, and replacing old computers and furniture,” according to the PAWS website.

When the renovations are complete, the Grays Ferry location will be able to accommodate a growing staff, serve more adopters, and rescue more homeless pets.

Their goal is to raise $7,500 and they have already raised $5,100 as of 3:45 p.m. on Thursday. Every contribution to this project will be matched thanks to the generosity of two anonymous PAWS donors.

If you want to help, go to this page for more information and to donate.

Photo courtesy of the Bicycle Coalition

UPDATE: Ride for Reading has been postponed until Thursday, May 12 due to rain in the forecast for Tuesday.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is hosting a variety of events for Bike Month this month. On Tuesday, May 10 Thursday, May 12 they are hosting their fourth annual Ride for Reading, which will support Andrew Hamilton Elementary School in West Philadelphia.

Currently, the Bicycle Coalition is recruiting volunteers who can help transport books to the school located at 56th and Spruce. Volunteers will gather at Rittenhouse Square at 7:45 a.m. The ride will be followed by a short presentation about healthy minds and healthy bodies at 9 a.m., and then the volunteers will distribute the books to children. Every child will take home at least one book.

The mission of Ride for Reading is to promote literacy and healthy living by donating books via bicycle to schools. Check out this link for more info and to sign up.