As part of the “Kids Rock for Kids” rock concert series, on Tuesday, Aug. 27 and Wednesday, Aug. 28 more than 100 student musicians, age 8-17, will perform at World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut Street) to raise money for West Philly’s HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy. Twenty-five teenage rock bands and seven Glee groups will perform. The shows are a collaboration between World Cafe Live and Music Training Center, where the performers study. Both shows start at 6:30 p.m. and end at 9.

HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy, which is located in the Spruce Hill neighborhood at 44th & Baltimore, serves children through age 21 and uses special education, therapy programs and state-of-the-art assistive technology to maximize each child’s abilities and help prepare them for a full, active life in their community.

World Cafe Live’s “Kids Rock for Kids” rock concert series, which raises awareness and money for a different children’s medical charity in the Philadelphia area, debuted in 2006. To date, more than 20 concerts have raised over $10,000 for 24 different charities.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids. Please note that ticket sales do not include a donation; HMS volunteers will ask for donations during the concert that will benefit HMS’s Scholarship Fund. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

West Philadelphia’s People’s Emergency Center is holding a school supply drive for current and new children who come to PEC throughout the school year. The following donations are accepted: school uniforms, children’s shoes and other clothing, school supplies, gift cards or monetary contributions. All donations are needed by September 5, 2013, delivered to 3902 Spring Garden Street. See the flyer below for more details.

For any additional information, please contact Meredith Pollock at: mpollock@pec-cares.org or 267-777-5829.

UPDATED 8/20/13 at 9 a.m.: Last Friday, NBC Philadelphia reported that Indiegogo reinstated Meyers‘ campaign as it “is indeed in compliance with Indiegogo’s terms of service,” according to a statement issued to the media outlet. According to Meyers, the crowdsourcing site only returned donations made through PayPal to both campaigns, totaling about $1,500, and waived all fees associated with the fundraiser. “I’m happy, but frustrated, it took them 20 days to respond and I do not get all the donations I lost,” she told West Philly Local.

7/29/13: A week ago, Jessica Meyers went from squatter to homeowner.

The 28-year-old Syracuse native landed the winning bid for her makeshift West Philly home at 52^nd and Funston Streets during Philadelphia Housing Authority’s July 16 auction. The legally abandoned PHA-owned site was one of 196 properties the housing authority was selling off at First District Plaza, 3801 Market Street, and there was no way she’d let possible ownership slip through the cracks. After all, Meyers has squatted in that house for eight years, and has spent countless time and energy refurbishing it into a livable space shared with friends and traveling punks.  Continue Reading

We recently published information about two school supply drives in West Philadelphia to help local families in need get ready for the new school year. Here’s information on two other back-to-school drives and fundraising efforts happening in the area.

The Nehemiah Davis Foundation (NDF), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works hard to serve our city through efforts such as the Back-to-school Book Bag Giveaway, annual Thanksgiving dinners for veterans, seniors and homeless, an annual Christmas toy drive for youth, and more. On Sept. 1, 2013, NDF will be holding its Fifth Annual “Back-to-School Book Bag Giveaway” at Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine). Community volunteers will help to distribute donated book bags filled with schools supplies and clothing to over 300 local children.

During the event, NDF will also provide entertainment, free food and haircuts for all of the families who attend (see flyer for more information).

NDF would appreciate donations of school supplies, book bags, or clothes for the giveaway. Book bags are especially wanted so if you can donate one it would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be dropped off at Myra Herbal Wellness, 666 N. 52nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19131. Monetary donations are also accepted at: www.gofundme/neodaviso.

Families Forward, a local organization that assists homeless families and runs 75 transitional and permanent family residential units in West Philadelphia, is working hard on preparing their children for school as the school bells ring in 2013-2014. In the past, the School District of Philadelphia provided school uniforms vouchers to homeless children and children in transitional housing, but this year they have cut that funding dramatically, according to Families Forward’s Director of Fund Development Grace Hightower. Children K-8 will only receive $20 (previously it was $50) and students 9-12 will only receive $30 (previously it was $75).

Gifts of $50 can help Families Forward purchase two uniform pants, two shirts and a pair of shoes to help a child have a great start to the school year. Gift cards to Forman Mills are also a great way to help with purchasing school uniforms.

Typically, used items are accepted at Families Forward, but this is not the case with back to school. Donors are asked to collect NEW:

• Backpacks (youth and teen)
• Black and white composition books (MEAD)
• Plastic scissors
• Crayons (basic colors)
• Markers (erasable)
• Glue sticks
• Pencils and pencil cases
• Ink pens (Blue or Black)
• Highlighters
• Rulers
• 3 Ring Binders and dividers
• Loose leaf paper
• Folders (with side pockets)
• Index Cards/poster board
• Flash Drives
• Calculators
• Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Tissues/Hand sanitizer

If you would like to organize a drive or have any questions please contact Grace Hightower by phone at 215-240-4828 or email at: ghightower@taphilly.org. Donations can be delivered until August 30, 2013 to 111 N. 49th Street; Philadelphia, PA 19139. Gifts can also be made at www.familiesforwardphilly.org.

Editor’s Note: This week we received a classified ad from neighbor Jena Laske, who was looking for a musician to take ownership of her father’s prized 12-string. We asked Jena to tell us more. She sent the note below.

Hi West Philly Folks,

I’m giving away my father’s 12 string Yamaha guitar. Just to let you know a little bit about my dad, his name was Thomas. He had a mass of curly red hair. When he was a teenager, he was quite a heartthrob and played and sang at small town bars around the Adirondack mountains where my grandparents had a cabin on Seventh Lake. He was only 22 when I was born and I have memories sitting on the floor as a youngster listening to him sing Jim Croce’s “I Got a Name” and an old folk song, “Froggy Went a ‘Courtin’.”

I remember going with my Dad to pick out this guitar. It came with a case that was bright red and furry inside. Unfortunately, the stitches rotted a few years back and I left the case on 49th and Cedar for someone else to refurbish – so the guitar does not have a case.

My father died from cancer at 30 around 1979 or ’80. Although I have wanted to play his Yamaha for a long time, I just never learned to do it well.  I would like to offer this guitar to someone who really loves to play. It still resonates well, although there are slight issues with the neck which make the strings tight and hard to hold down.

If you are interested, please write me a short essay about why you want this guitar. You agree never to sell it, but to pass it on to a musician should you decide to part with it someday.

As my father would say, Sat Nam

Jena

The new school year is scheduled to start in a month, Sept. 9 (fingers crossed that the budget crisis is resolved soon) and there are some efforts in the area to help many local families get ready. So far we’ve heard of two school supply drives to help West Philly families with school children. If you know of more school supply collections/drives, please drop us an email (editor@westphillylocal.com) or leave a comment below.

ACHIEVEability’s Backpack and Book Donation Drive

Photo courtesy ACHIEVEability.

You can help ACHIEVEability to support more than 250 school-age youth and community residents by donating to their Backpack and Book Donation Drive. If donating a backpack please consider including the following school supplies: spiral bound notebooks, loose leaf paper, composition books, pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, calculators, pencil sharpeners, glue, etc. If donating a new or gently used book, please ensure that it is appropriate reading material for school age children (K-12).

Donations for the backpack and book donation drive can be delivered to ACHIEVEability’s administrative office located at 35 N. 60th Street (between Market and Arch Streets). If you have questions, please contact ACHIEVEability Events Manager Brian Hoskins at brian.hoskins@achieveability.org or 215-748-8814.

Penn School Supply Drive

Through Friday, Aug. 16, multiple locations across the University of Pennsylvania campus will serve as drop-off points for the Penn Volunteers in Public Service’s annual back-to-school drive.

The school supply drive collects basic back-to-school items such as binders, dividers, dictionaries, staplers, glue, tape, calculators, crayons, pencils, pens, paper, rulers, notebooks, book covers, markers, folders, lunch boxes or bags, school bags or backpacks, umbrellas and blank CDs or DVDs. The preference is for new items, but they would also accept “gently used” items like book bags (they have to be in really good condition).

The supplies will be distributed to nearby schools, after-school programs and other organizations in West Philadelphia. One of the schools in West Philadelphia that will receive a portion of the collection is the Henry C. Lea Elementary School.

There are a lot of drop-off locations, so please check out this link for more information.