There’s a chance to help your neighborhood park on the “Love Your Park” fall service day this Saturday (Nov. 14). Over 75 Philly parks need help, including many in West Philadelphia.

Friends of Clark Park is hosting a clean-up and beautification day in the park from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., and seeking community volunteers who can join them. Meeting is at 9 a.m. by the shed (45th and Regent). Please bring a trowel (if you have one).

If you live in Cedar Park, consider volunteering from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. in your neighborhood park. Community members are invited to celebrate fall and spend the day working alongside friends and neighbors to help clean and green Cedar Park. Your work may include raking leaves, putting the gardens to bed, planting perennials and bulbs and doing general clean up. All ages are welcome, and tools will be supplied. To RSVP, please email contact@cedarparkneighbors.org  Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a local non-profit that has been providing bike education and recreation opportunities to youth for nearly 20 years, has a new home. The organization has recently opened a new, larger community shop and bike education hub at 3939 Lancaster Ave. For many years West Philly’s NBW headquarters had been located in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on Locust Walk.

The new space’s grand opening celebration, which included community bike shop dedication, volunteer awards, and commemorative t-shirt screen printing, took place on Saturday:  Continue Reading

The Fall season of the Clark Park Youth Soccer League (CPYSL) begins on Saturday, Oct. 3, and the popular volunteer-run program is still looking for coaches. You don’t need serious soccer skills or coaching experience in order to apply. The Fall season continues until November 23. It takes place on Saturdays at Clark Park (45th and Chester), with age groups 5-6 and 6-7 playing from 10:30 a.m. to Noon, and age groups 7-8 and 9-11 playing from Noon to 1:30 p.m. Volunteer coaches are asked to commit to being there most of the Saturdays through the season, but the program will try to have three or four coaches assigned to each team so that you will always have backup. Everyone who likes to play soccer and enjoys running around and having fun with kids is welcome to apply.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy Neighborhood Bike Works.

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a nonprofit that offers bike education and recreation opportunities to West Philly youth, is seeking adult volunteers to help with their summer camp program. NBW’s Summer Cycling Day Camp, held from June 29 to August 21, offers youth ages 8 through 14 the opportunity to recondition and earn a bike, helmet, and lock in a two-week session. Youth complete our Earn-A-Bike curriculum, participate in fun outdoor activities, go on educational field trips, and learn about safe cycling, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles.

If you enjoy working with youth and want to develop or improve your mechanics or riding skills, this is a great opportunity for you. No experience is necessary – just a willingness to learn and potentially get your hands dirty! The camp will be held at NBW’s headquarters at 40th and Locust Walk from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays.

If you’re interested please contact Nadav Carmel at nadav@neighborhoodbikeworks.org or 215-386-0316.

A support group for a great local library is seeking feedback from community members and stakeholders that will help improve their work. The planning committee for the Friends of Walnut St West Library is asking for just five minutes of your time to share your thoughts about their work in bringing library services, programs and events in an online survey. The results of the survey will help shape the Friends’ support of the library over the next three to five years.

“The more we can learn about why or how people use the library (or don’t) and what community interests the library might meet, the better we can assess how to supplement the Friends’ support of the library moving forward,” the Friends of Walnut St West Library president Kathy Wheeler wrote in an email.

Another goal of the survey is to gather information on how folks learn about events so they can not only attend library programs but be able to volunteer their skills and time.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of Clark Park Youth Soccer League.

It’s hard to believe it, but youth soccer in Clark Park resumes in less than three weeks. The Clark Park Youth Soccer League‘s (CPYSL) spring season begins on Saturday, March 28, and registration is now open for children ages 5-11.

Since this is a low-cost program designed for local families of all socio-economic backgrounds, volunteer help is essential for its success. Just like in the previous seasons, CPYSL is seeking volunteer coaches for this spring. Here’s more information from the CPYSL’s online page:

“Clark Park Youth Soccer is a completely volunteer-run program. Parents and other adults are invited to join CPYSL as a coach or assistant, or to help with the administrative work of running the program. If you’re interested in coaching or volunteering in any fashion, email clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com.”

More information about the program and volunteer opportunities, can be found at: www.friendsofclarkpark.org/activities/youth-soccer