Legal services can be costly, so here are some opportunities for West Philly residents to get free legal help.

Cedar Park Neighbors and the Drexel University School of Law are inviting residents to a free will and estate planning workshop next Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. The workshop is for those who are seeking help with the following questions:

• If you own your home, do you know what will happen to it after you die?  
• If you get sick and can’t speak for yourself, do your doctors know what your wishes are?
• Do you need a power of attorney to have someone pay your bills and make financial decisions for you?  Continue Reading

Gun violence in Philadelphia continues, with almost daily reports of shootings in different parts of the city. There were more than 70 shooting victims in Philadelphia this month alone, including women, according to GunCrisis.org. In the past two weeks, two pregnant women were shot to death (their babies did not survive) and a 15-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet outside of Einstein Medical Center. To say “No” to gun violence, community organization Hands Across Philadelphia (Facebook page) is holding a second annual “Stop The Violence” community march and rally on Saturday, Sept. 27 on 52nd Street.

The march will begin at 11 a.m. at 52nd and Woodland (gathering starts at 10 a.m.) and will proceed to 52nd and Jefferson. This year, organizers are hoping that more people will join them. “SPREAD THE WORD!! WE ARE GOING TO SHUT 52ND STREET DOWN ON SEPTEMBER 27TH 2014 TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS TO STOP THE VIOLENCE!!! OUR CHILDREN ARE WATCHING US!!! LET US BE THE CHANGE THEY NEED TO SEE!!!” reads a post on their Facebook page.

The NAACP, Mothers in Charge, The Philadelphia Black Clergy, and a host of other groups, community leaders and locally elected officials will participate in the march, according to the organizers. The Taney Dragons youth baseball team will lead the Hands Across Philadelphia Peace March and Rally on Saturday.

Stop The Violence march on 52nd Street in 2013. (Photo from Hands Across Philadelphia Facebook page)

West Philly is home to many residents of Ethiopian heritage, with many Ethiopian businesses in the area and the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia located at 44th and Chestnut Streets. This Saturday, Sept. 27, the Ethiopian Community Association celebrates its 30th anniversary. Established in 1984 as a non-profit organization, it is the oldest African community organization in Pennsylvania, according to its board member Addisu Habte. The city of Philadelphia has also recognized September 27th as Ethiopian Day.

To mark the anniversary the Ethiopian Community Association is organizing an Ethiopian Day Festival (Facebook page) on Chestnut Street near 44th on Saturday. The festival will take place from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 44th Street from Chestnut to Sansom will be closed during these hours for the event.

The Ethiopian Day celebration will include a cultural show, with live music by Ethiopian musicians (see flier), food and children’s games. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and the great Ethiopian filmmaker, Professor Haile Gerima, will speak at the event. Close to 700 people are expected to attend the festival.

Here’s the festival program:

11:00 a.m. – Opening speech
1:00 p.m. – Keynote speaker councilwoman Blackwell
1:30 p.m. – Keynote speaker Professor Haile Gerima
2:00 p.m. – Cultural show

The funeral for 8-year-old Emmeline Valadez, who tragically died after falling from a ninth story apartment building window last week, was held this morning in Hammonton, New Jersey.

Emmeline lived with her father, a Penn graduate student and single father, and her older sister at the Fairfax building at 43rd and Locust. She fell from the window at about 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday. Her obituary is here.

Neighbors and friends are taking up a collection online to help offset funeral expenses. You can contribute to the campaign here. All funds raised will go directly to the father and donations will be accepted until this weekend.

On Tuesday, Sept 23, the local Red Cross and its partners will hold a major fire safety event in two West Philadelphia neighborhoods in an effort to reduce fires and fire fatalities.

On Tuesday morning, from about 10 – 11 a.m., more than 1,200 fire safety kits will be handed out to residents at Drexel Park (33rd and Powelton). The kits contain valuable, potentially life-saving information on the importance of smoke alarms, how to prevent fires, what to do if there is a fire, and how to create a fire escape plan for the entire family, including pets. Each year, the local Red Cross distributes more than 10,000 fire safety kits.

After handing out the kits, a dozen Red Cross personnel along with over 100 NRG Energy employees from across the country will conduct fire safety walkthroughs in the Powelton Village and Mantua neighborhoods. Mantua typically sees a high number of fires each year.

It’s one of the largest fire safety walkthroughs the Red Cross will conduct in Philadelphia this year. The walkthrough is part of national preparedness month and a precursor to October’s fire safety awareness month.

Here’s a chance to help those women who are just starting their careers. If you have a spare dress outfit (appropriate for a “business” environment) hanging in your closet please consider donating it to Dress for Success Philadelphia, a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged women achieve economic independence.

In West Philadelphia, My Task Master is holding a 2nd Women’s Suit Drive to benefit Dress for Success and is collecting women’s fall business clothing, shoes, scarves, jewelry and handbags. The drive will be held on September 22-25 and donations can be dropped off at the My Task Master office at 47th and Hazel.

Please note that all donations must be like new, clean and current.

For more information and to schedule a drop-off please email Emily Anderson at: emily@mytaskmaster.net (please put “Dress for Success” in the subject line).