Curio Theatre is hosting a Benefit Gala and an auction to raise funds for Curio’s new, second stage located in the basement of the Calvary Center. The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 15 at St. Francis DeSales (47th and Springfield) and will include a live and a silent auction, an open beer and wine bar, a meal catered by The Gold Standard Cafe, and live jazz music from Dr. Ketchup. Tickets are $50 (adults), $45 (students/seniors), $90 (couple), $450 (table/10 tickets). If you would like to donate an item to the auction, please call (215) 525-1350.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit this page.

A 2-year-old female Shih Tzu went missing in Mantua (35th/36th St. and Fairmount Ave.) on August 21. See the flyer for more information.

LadyBird is a medium sized, 40-pound, 2-year-old, rust and white colored Staffie Mix. Poor Birdie hasn’t had much attention given to her during her short life – she was found as a stray, but she’s getting plenty of attention now. Since she’s become a member of the Pen Pals at ACCT, her behavior has improved immensely.

She has learned to walk on a leash with an Easy-Walk harness, she has mastered ‘sit’ and does pretty well with ‘down,’ picked up ‘touch’ like a champ and is now working on recall! Birdie is a very friendly girl, but can be excessive in her play style. With the right kind of dog, she’ll play and play and play! There isn’t a dog she’s met that she’s hasn’t liked. She’s even worked her way up to shared housing in the shelter. She’s paired with another dog in the kennels, they share two spaces where they keep one another company – which is working wonders with the dogs at keeping their stress-levels down.

LadyBird is very treat-motivated, and training her has gone pretty well, but she needs consistency, discipline and boundaries. Because she’s so pushy in her play style, please bring in your dogs to make sure that your dogs can tolerate her. Should Birdie go to a home where there are children under the age of eight, close supervision should occur around the children; her inconsistent manners and pushy style may be too much for a small child.

LadyBird is part of the Pen Pal program. She has a volunteer dedicated to finding her a great home or foster. Her pen pal also spends quality time with LadyBird trying to keep her as stress free as possible while living at the shelter. LadyBird’s pen pal also works on teaching her to be the best dog she can. If you have any questions about Birdie, contact her pen pal at katherine.ACCT@gmail.com.

Check her out in action with her buddy Johnny (just adopted) here.

Great news for the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools! The organization has achieved official non-profit status (501(c)3), which will allow it to apply for grants only available to registered non-profits and accept tax-deductible donations.

Here’s part of a statement from the WPCNS board: “Donations help [WPCNS] ensure that our neighborhood schools have the supplies they need, a full range of arts and music instruction, more after-school enrichment programs, and play areas that encourage activity while being environmentally friendly.”

The organization can now also submit grant applications to foundations in support of these initiatives. To read more about WPCNS initiatives and to donate, please visit their homepage. The website was recently redesigned and updated with lots of useful information, including School Catchment Finder.

The 2012/2013 school year is right around the corner as city schools prepare to welcome students back on Friday, Sept. 7. West Philly’s Samuel Powel Elementary located in the Powelton Village section was featured yesterday on local ABC Evening News. The news crew visited the school and interviewed some teachers and staff. See the video below.

Here are a few stories from around West Philadelphia in the past week or so. Thanks to all the contributors who sent us information.

• Child Sexually Assaulted in Belmont. Police are searching for two men who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl on Saturday night (Aug. 25, 8:34 p.m.) in the Belmont area of West Philly. The men accosted the girl when she was reportedly walking home from a nearby block party, took her to the rear of an abandoned building near Cambridge and 41st Street and raped. The men are described between 20 and 30 years old. Read more about the ongoing investigation here. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.
• Mantua Community Group Suing Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. A local community group, Mantua Community Planners, is suing Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and the City of Philadelphia for kicking them out of the recreation center at 34th and Haverford. The suit claims that Blackwell locked the group out of the building that they had occupied for 45 years, removed their desks and office equipment and destroyed historical records of MCP’s work within the community. In addition to that, Blackwell allegedly struck a supporter of the group with her car’s side-view mirror and drove away. Blackwell denies both claims. Blackwell, the group alleges, is “selling out the community to the highest bidder and her political supporters.” To read more about the lawsuit, click here.
• First Round Capital Moves to West Philadelphia. First Round Capital, one of the nation’s top early-stage venture capital firms, is planning to move its headquarters to West Philly. The company, with current headquarters in West Conshohocken, has set sights on the building at 4040 Locust Street, the former Urban Outfitters store location. It is planned to initially employ about 10 people in the West Philly office and also to host five startup companies including Technically Philly, Uber Philadelphia, and Curalate, according to an article in the Area Development magazine. In addition, 24 entrepreneurs will be invited to develop their concepts and there will be space to host educational and community events.