On Saturday, March 10, a Red Cross blood drive will be held at St. Francis de Sales School auditorium (above Springfield Ave. at 917 S. 47th St.). By donating blood you can help three people at one time.

Please call 215-222-2255 and leave a message with your name and phone number. You will be called to arrange a convenient time, since many time slots are already filled.

Reader Scott Buchanan emailed us with this information:

“…On Monday (Feb. 20) the house at Spring Garden & Budd Street (in West Powelton) burned out. The one resident, an older gentleman named Victor Martinez, had been living there for 14 years but now has no place to go. He’s able to stay at the Red Cross Home through Friday, but he doesn’t have any family and is on a very limited income, which is making finding a new residence extremely difficult.

Another neighbor (Sarah Esposito) and I have been trying to organize the neighbors to help get him afoot again.”

Scott and Sarah have set up this page where you can donate money to help Victor:

https://www.wepay.com/donations/gifts-for-victor-martinez

We got a word from a reader that one of Desi Village‘s family members, Rashed, is hosting a marrow donor drive this Sunday, Jan. 8, from 1 – 3 p.m. to try to find a match for his 4-year-old son Raqib. In May 2011 Raqib was diagnosed with life threatening HLH (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis), the only cure for which is a marrow transplant. Unfortunately, the national marrow registry doesn’t have a match for him so he needs your help. Please join the drive and be tested to find a match for Raqib. The test is just a swab.

The drive will take place in Upper Darby, at the American Legion Post #214, 6914 Chestnut St.

Here you can find more information on the National Marrow Registry.

Bird food, plant and monetary donations are needed for the Spruce Hill Bird Sanctuary. For more information see the flyer below. Please call the Spruce Hill office (215-349-7825) to arrange a drop off time for bird food donations.

The bird sanctuary is located in the backyards formed by the houses facing Spruce & Locust, 45th & Melville Streets. It is open to the public (the entrance is next to 233 S. Melville). Click here to see photos.

Registration is now open for free “Family and Friends” CPR classes that will be held January 14, 2 – 4 p.m. at the New Africa Center (4243 Lancaster Ave.). This free training is being offered in hope of serving the surrounding community better and has a message that if more people knew CPR, more lives could be saved. The event is co-sponsored by Islamic Cultural Preservation and Information Council.

To register please call 215-222-0520 or 888-739-2234.

The story about neighborhood cat Clark Kent, the nearly dead feline rescued by our reader James last week, has touched a lot of people in West Philly and beyond. City Kitties and the staff at The Cat Doctor, which fought for the cat’s life, received donations from 40 U.S. states and countries like Australia, Germany, Ireland, France, Spain, Israel, England, Netherlands, Singapore, Canada, and Russia.

We also were informed that designer Jen Roder created a special “Clark Kent” button (pictured) which you can buy for only $5. All proceeds from the button sale are going to support other cats and kittens in need.