This sweet little black cat (possibly female) with a white marking on her neck has been hanging around 47th and Locust for days, according to West Philly Local reader Sarah. Last night the cat was camped out on Sarah’s doormat when she got home.

Sarah was afraid that the cat wouldn’t survive the cold, so she brought her in and she’s now living in her basement. If this is your cat or if you have any information about her, please contact Sarah at: soupsquash@yahoo.com.

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday a national day of giving, #GivingTuesday, is being celebrated today. It’s a chance for thousands of people and businesses to participate in charitable activities. You can show support for your local non-profit organizations who work hard daily helping many children, adults and pets and keeping our neighborhoods safe, green and clean.

West Philadelphia is home to many great non-profits and it’s hard for us to pick out any particular ones, so we encourage you to visit our “Civic Life” page for the list of such organizations and support them with your donation. But we’d like to mention a few organizations who reached out to us to tell us about their participation in the #GivingTuesday campaign and the importance of their work. Here they are: Bartram’s Garden, University City District, ACHIEVEability, Red Cross Philadelphia, Rock to the Future.

The University of Pennsylvania’s community outreach office is hosting a community meeting on Thursday morning, Dec. 5, to discuss public school initiatives, including its program at the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust).

The meeting will run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut). Representatives of Penn’s Graduate School of Education, Lea School University Partnership and Netter Center for Community Partnerships will be there to talk about their programs.

Thursday’s meeting is part of the regular First Thursday Community Meeting series that Penn routinely hosts.

Click to enlarge.

Here’s a chance to recycle your old computers, TVs, CD and DVD players, maybe even a VCR – basically anything with a plug (except for large appliances). Bring them to Saunders Park (39th and Powelton) on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to Noon.

The recycling service is free to everyone in the community, including businesses. The recyclers (eForce Compliance) say they will wipe clean or destroy all data.

The People’s Emergency Center and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center are sponsoring the event.

The holiday season is here and many of you have already started looking for gifts and making holiday plans. According to national statistics, every $1 we spend at a local business, 65 cents is invested back into the local community. That’s roughly twice as much as big box stores. No big surprise there. Small businesses hook their success up to the success of the local community. Often they are our neighbors and friends.

At West Philly Local we are committed to helping local businesses and organizations succeed. We are also committed to telling residents about the community businesses that help make this a great place to live, work and shop. Please check out our annual “Shop Local for the Holidays” campaign page to see what our partners – local shops, restaurants, arts, fitness and other organizations – have to offer this holiday season.

Rumors have been swirling around in the neighborhood for a couple of months and finally West Philly Local can confirm: Cedar Park-based entrepreneur and community organizer Algernong Allen is running for State Representative in the 188th District in the 2014 election.

Allen, 40, a Democrat who grew up near 58th and Warrington, will vie for the seat that Rep. James Roebuck has held since 1985. The primary is slated for May 20, 2014.

Allen is the former owner of the popular Elena’s Soul Lounge near 49th and Baltimore, which was destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve 2012. Allen currently serves on the board of Cedar Park Neighbors and is heavily involved in local community organizing, including work as a block captain. Allen is also a board member of the Baltimore Avenue Business Association.

Here is Allen’s launch video on YouTube: