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.

We hope that most of you have emerged from your Thanksgiving food coma now and are getting excited for more upcoming holiday events. You better be because we have a lot of things to tell you about this month. This weekend alone, there are tons of exciting things going on in the area, including holiday gift shopping opportunities, a visit with Santa, book sale, and music, art and theater events for children and adults alike. Here’s our roundup and check our Events Calendar for more upcoming events.

Thursday, Dec. 5

Photo by Kyle Cassidy.

8 p.m. – Curio Theatre’s World Premiere of Gender Comedy: A Less Stupid Twelfth Night Gay Fantasia – Preview shows: Dec. 5, 6, 7 & 12; Opening night: Dec. 13; Closing night: Jan. 4.

Curio Theatre Company continues its season with a “very low-brow look at a rather high-brow play.” The show is written by company member Harry Slack, who set out to “turn Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night tale on its head” and make it more absurd, “more fun to watch.” The approximately one-hour play contains people struggling with gender identity, sexual identity, and the complications of love. All performances run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. This show will be performed in Curio’s Black Box space at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community at 4740 Baltimore Avenue. Tickets are $15-25 and are available online at www.curiotheatre.org.  Continue Reading

There are some spots still open for this great free event, where you can learn how to make your home more cozy for the winter. Many of the materials demonstrated are given away to participants in tonight’s Weatherization workshop (see details below) free of charge. The workshop is presented by the West Philly Tool Library in partnership with the Energy Coordinating Agency, who will teach you how to weatherize your home and save money on your energy bills. Participants will also receive kits to take home to weatherize their own homes.

What: Weatherization Workshop
When: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.
Where: West Philadelphia YMCA, 5120 Chestnut Street

To sign up, click here.

The holiday season is here and many of you have already started looking for gifts and making holiday plans. According to national statistics, every $1 we spend at a local business, 65 cents is invested back into the local community. That’s roughly twice as much as big box stores. No big surprise there. Small businesses hook their success up to the success of the local community. Often they are our neighbors and friends.

At West Philly Local we are committed to helping local businesses and organizations succeed. We are also committed to telling residents about the community businesses that help make this a great place to live, work and shop. Please check out our annual “Shop Local for the Holidays” campaign page to see what our partners – local shops, restaurants, arts, fitness and other organizations – have to offer this holiday season.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, there will be a great opportunity to wind down your Thanksgiving weekend and learn more about other cultures at the 18th annual “Peace Around the World: Passport to Cultures” event at Penn Museum (3260 South St). This is a free event for the whole family. Visitors will receive museum “passports” with itineraries to visit different cultures (Brazilian, Cameroonian, Indian, Kenyan, Pakistani and more) and explore their holiday traditions.

The event includes a wide array of activities, such as dance, storytelling, sari-wrapping, yoga sessions, Middle Eastern drumming workshops, face painting and balloon art for children, and international family crafts. And of course, there will be free treats for children!

The event will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. and guests are also invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy donation that will go to a West Philadelphia charity. For more information about this event and schedule of activities, visit this page.

(Photo courtesy of Penn Museum)

If you like the idea of the huge warehouse located at 3848 Lancaster Ave turning into a multi-use neighborhood event space for flea markets, food vendors, craft fairs, musical showcases, farmers markets, town fairs, expos, extravaganzas, contests, championships, food events, community events, karate demos, etc., you can show your support at tonight’s party at the space. The party called Lanxgiving will include performances by four bands – Pattern is Movement, Pile, Hound, and Amanda X. And hot food from Poi Dog and Ranch Road Tacos will be served with free cold drinks.

Entrance is from the rear of the building on Warren St. The event begins at 7 p.m. and here‘s its Facebook page.