Photo courtesy UC Green.

Each spring and fall, UC Green volunteers plant hundreds of street trees in West Philadelphia neighborhoods. This Saturday (Apr. 23), volunteers are needed to help UC Green beautify Powelton by planting 85 trees in the area. Work starts at 9 a.m. at the Dornsife Center (3509 Spring Garden St.) and will continue until approximately 1 p.m. All the tools will be provided. But that’s not all – you’ll also get a free lunch!

If you’re interested in helping out, please RSVP to reserve your spot on a Tree Planting Team by emailing wharris@ucgreen.org or call for more information 215 476 0124.

For more information on all the wonderful work UC Green does in the area, visit their website: www.ucgreen.org.

UPDATE (April 15, 2016): If you wanted to pre-order your plants at the annual Parent Infant Center’s Plant Sale, but didn’t get a chance yet, here’s good news: Pre-sale deadline has been extended through Monday, Apr. 18. Please go to http://picplantsale.org/ to browse the selection of plants and to make your purchase.

A large variety of annuals, perennials, fruits & veggies, herbs and other plants is currently available for pre-order at the annual Parent Infant Center (PIC) Spring Plant Sale. The sale will be held on April 29 and 30 at the beautiful St. Andrews Chapel (42nd and Spruce), which will be turned into a pop-up garden center that weekend.

This annual event supports PIC’s Tuition Assistance Fund. About 100 volunteers help prepare and run the sale.

Over 100 varieties of plants are available for online pre-order, and you can pick up your order on Thursday, April 28 (for orders over $250), or during the sale on Friday, April 29, 4-6 p.m. and on Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. There are also $1 raffle tickets available for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Talula’s Garden.

For more information about the sale at St. Andrews Chapel (42nd and Spruce), visit: http://www.parentinfantcenter.org/support-pic/plant-sale

Along with Caribbean Cuisine Week, which supports young Caribbean athletes participating in this month’s Penn Relays, Dining Out For Life will also be held this week – on Thursday, Apr. 14.

Proceeds from Dining Out For Life go to fund ActionAIDS, an organization providing education, prevention and comprehensive support services to people living with HIV and AIDS throughout the Delaware Valley region.

Started by an ActionAIDS volunteer in 1991, Dining Out For Life is now held in several cities throughout North America. Last year more than 200 restaurants and thousands of diners raised nearly $200,000, and this year, about the same number of participating restaurants will donate 33 percent of their day’s food sales.  Continue Reading

An organization tasked with helping to settle Afghan, Syrian and Congolese refugees arriving in the city is looking for donations of everything from mentorship and language teachers to dishes and used furniture.

Jess Hinchey of the Nationalities Service Center (NSC) told the Spruce Hill Community Association Board last night that some 600-800 refugees a year settle in Philadelphia, many in West Philly.

She said that the organization is always looking for volunteer help and donations.

An SHCA board member suggested taking advantage of “Penn Christmas,” when departing students  leave behind furniture and other items on the street at the semester’s end, to provide items for refugees.

More information about volunteering and donations is available at the NSC website here. You can also email Michelle Fauber at: mfauber@nscphila.org

Samuel Powel Elementary School students and teachers are planning a series of marches against gun violence and are inviting the community to join them.

“4th graders at Powel School… have been studying Gun Violence in our neighborhoods and city this year. They have decided that they wanted to march through our communities to raise awareness about gun violence,” writes teacher Joe Alberti.

The 4th graders at Powel will be marching through Powelton and Mantua on Thursday, April 21 from 1-2 p.m.

They will be marching up 36th St. to Spring Garden, then up 35th St. to Aspen before walking down 37th St. and back to school, located at 301 N. 36th St. The children created fliers about the march to invite neighbors. Here’s one of them:  Continue Reading

The city will hold its 9th annual Spring Cleanup on Saturday, Apr. 16 (rescheduled from Apr. 9 due to inclement weather forecast). More than 800 cleanup projects have been registered throughout the city, including dozens in West Philadelphia. Community involvement is essential and many projects are still seeking volunteers. Residents are also encouraged to step outside their buildings, pick up trash and remove debris or check out empty lots nearby for litter.

To find a registered cleanup project near you and to volunteer, go here or click on the map image below:

In addition to these projects, Philadelphia Free Library branches are also holding Spring Cleanups this Saturday, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. You can find your local branch here.  Continue Reading