True to the holiday spirit of helping and giving, some local businesses and politicians are leading efforts to support various charitable causes this month. Here are more details on who’s doing what and how you can help.

Holiday Food Drive at Mariposa Food Co-op (49th & Baltimore)

Mariposa Food Co-op is accepting donations of canned and packaged non-perishable food items through Dec. 31. You can drop your donation into the donations box at the store. All donations will be taken to Pathways PA, an organization providing services for women, children and families in the Greater Philadelphia region, or to State Representative James Roebuck’s office for redistribution to neighbors in need. For more information please email outreach@mariposa.coop or stop by at the store.

“ACCT Out For The Holidays!” Holiday Supplies Drive at Baltimore Pet Shoppe (4532 Baltimore Ave)

The Chester Avenue Dog Association and Baltimore Pet Shoppe are organizing the “ACCT out for the holidays!” holiday supplies drive in the neighborhood. Baltimore Pet Shoppe will be accepting donations until Dec. 20 for the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia (ACCT) to help the homeless cats and dogs that will be staying in the shelter over the holidays. ACCT is in need of many items on their wish list. Baltimore Pet Shoppe is offering a 10 percent discount on all mylar balls, canned pate cat food, stainless steel bowls, and Kong L & XL dog toys that are getting donated to the shelter. The shop has a donation bin where you can drop off any items from ACCT’s wish list. You can also purchase these items online. For more information, visit Baltimore Pet Shoppe’s Facebook page.

Cafe Renata (43rd & Locust) donating a portion of all gift card sales to local charities

Katie Steenstra, the co-owner of Cafe Renata, which opened at the beginning of the year at 43rd and Locust Streets, has let us know of her business’s effort this month to give back and “help keep West Philadelphia as vibrant as ever.” Through Christmas, 15 percent of all Cafe Renata gift card sales will be donated to local West Philadelphia charities. The cafe owners also want to hear from you and let them know, on Facebook, Twitter, or right in the shop, where you think the donated funds would be most needed. On Christmas, they will announce where the raised funds will be donated.

December 13 – Support Kingsessing Library with The Gold Standard Cafe (48th & Baltimore)

Friday the 13th has a bad reputation, but Roger, Vince and Joey of The Gold Standard Cafe decided to “buck tradition by putting our bucks where our words are,” and make it a lucky day by donating a full 1/3 of their total proceeds on December 13 to their neighborhood (Kingsessing) library. Your donation will go to serve the reading and educational needs of the library.

Roebuck’s office a ‘Socks for Seniors’ drop-off point

The office of state Rep. James Roebuck, who currently serves as Democratic chairman of the House Education Committee and represents the 188th Legislative District in West and Southwest Philadelphia, is serving as a drop-off point for the “Socks for Seniors” drive. Residents are invited to bring pairs of new adult socks for nursing home residents by Friday, Dec. 13 to Roebuck’s office located at 4712 Baltimore Ave.

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.

Thanksgiving is a great time to give back, so if you’re looking for some local causes to help this week you might want to consider donating to local food growers and distributors. Check out these two fundraising campaigns currently underway in the area.

‘Bring in the Harvest with Mill Creek Farm’ fundraising campaign

Photo via Indiegogo.com.

Mill Creek Farm, and urban educational farm operating at 49th and Brown in West Philly, is dedicated to improving access to fresh produce and building a healthy community. The farm underwent a lot of transition this year, bringing a new farmer, acting director and board of directors, and is trying to stay afloat through the end of this season and into the winter. The current fundraising goal is $13,400 and there are still 12 days to go. Here’s what your money will go toward, according to the project’s Indiegogo page:

• keep our farmers employed through the farmers market season
• continue offering affordable, fresh, vegetables at 2 weekly farm stands
• offer educational tours for students from pre-schoolers to undergrads

For more information and to donate go to: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bring-in-the-harvest-with-mill-creek-farm

The Fresh Food Hub Mobile Grocery Store expansion project

Photo from The Fresh Food Hub’s Facebook page.

The Fresh Food Hub, a mobile grocery store and farmers’ market bringing fresh and healthy food to Powelton, Mantua and Belmont neighborhoods, is raising funds for its expansion into other parts of Philadelphia. The project launched in Spring 2012 and as of August 2013 The Fresh Food Hub has distributed over 15 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and served over 1,500 West Philadelphia families.

The Fresh Food Hub fundraising campaign in on Kickstarter (some of you have probably seen it in the sidebar widget on West Philly Local) and there are still 11 days left to help. As of Monday, Nov. 25, 1:30 p.m., $8,555 has already been raised toward the $9,773 goal. To read more about The Fresh Food Hub and to donate, click here.

Project MEOW trappers like to make certain that their feral cats are well cared for during their spay or neuter surgery. Here’s Merlot, a newcomer to an established colony, being held in a warmed towel while he recovers from anesthesia. While PAWS is often used for local feral cat spay and neuters, The Spayed Club in Sharon Hill will hold feral cats overnight, which helps trappers make certain their cats are mostly recovered before being returned to them.

If you have too many unowned cats on your block, why not consider getting in touch with some of your neighbors and getting involved? Project MEOW can show you how to trap, may be able to provide transportation and recovery, and has traps to loan with a small deposit. It takes a team, and a lot of like-minded neighbors to solve a problem, but if many people volunteer to trap on their own blocks, very soon you will begin to see a lot less stray cats and kittens wandering around.

Project MEOW volunteers have reduced the numbers of kittens born every year on their own streets, often working alone or with one other neighbor. Want to stop the tide of spring kittens? Contact info@projectmeow.org to see how starting now can make a huge difference during the 2014 “kitten season.”

(Project MEOW’s Tracylea Byford contributed to this post. Photo credit: Dr. Sarah Alexander of The Spayed Club in Sharon Hill)

Preparations have begun for the Bartram’s Garden Greens Sale, which is on Saturday, Dec. 7 (more about it later). Volunteers are sought who can lend a hand to help support this popular annual event. Volunteers are needed from Sunday, Dec. 1 – Saturday, Dec. 7 for a variety of tasks, including decorating wreaths, assisting in the Garden Shop, and greeting visitors. Click here to sign up to volunteer.

Please note that volunteers who share their talents for 10 or more hours in one calendar year can receive a complimentary Bartram’s Garden Membership. Click here for more details.

(Photo courtesy of Bartram’s Garden)

Saturday, Nov. 16, is LOVE Your Park Fall Service Day and you can show appreciation of your neighborhood park by helping with the Fall cleanup. Several West Philadelphia parks are participating in the event and neighbors are welcome to help beautify their park and prepare it for the winter.

Help may be needed with the following activities: leaf raking, general cleanup, mulching, tree and bulb planting, cleaning garden beds for winter, and others. The participating parks are:

–Barkan Park
–Cedar Park
–Clark Park
–Cobbs Creek
–Granahan Playground
–Lotus Gardens
–Malcolm X Park
–Morris Park
–Royal Gardens
–Saunders Park Greene/Willow Triangle

If you live near one of these parks and want to help, please go to: http://loveyourpark.org/volunteer/, select your park on the map to check what activities are scheduled and at what time and then fill out the sign up form.