Health Center 3 at 43rd and Chester (across from Clark Park) is inviting friends and neighbors to participate in a Walk-A-Thon this Saturday, June 2, from 9 to 11 a.m. This fundraiser will benefit preventive health programs at HC3. The event also raises awareness about healthy eating and a more active lifestyle through walking. Adults and children of all fitness levels can participate, and even family dogs are welcome.

You can choose one of the two routes – a full lap or a short lap around Clark Park. The full lap around Clark Park B and C is approximately 1/3 mile. The short lap around the “Dog Bowl” in Clark Park B is approximately 1/5 mile.

Registration fee is $5-$20 on a sliding scale at a discretion of each participant and participants experiencing financial hardship can register for free. Non-participants can make a donation. To register or donate, please follow this link. For more information, check out the event’s Facebook page.

It’s this time of the year again. As May 31st approaches and leases end, local graduate students are moving out and leaving a lot of stuff behind this week. Local residents fondly call it “Penn Christmas” since the move-out detritus often yields a tasty score or two, from Ikea furniture to designer clothes.

Hot spots for sidewalk finds are often near the large Dumpsters placed around the neighborhood (41st and Spruce, 45th and Pine, 43rd and Pine are a few). What doesn’t wind up in the Dumpster will often find its way to the PennMoves sale, which is this Saturday, June 2.

Clothes, furniture, kitchen items, electronics and many other items have been collected and sorted for the sale, which will be held at Penn’s South Bank at 3401 Grays Ferry Ave. Getting there early is the key. A $5 entry fee gets you in for the sneak preview from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. From 10 a.m.–3 p.m. you can get in for free but a lot of the good stuff might be gone. All items are sold “as is” with no returns accepted.

Free parking is available, and Penn Transit will provide free shuttle service to and from campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shuttles will pick up riders at the Schattner Center at 240 S. 40th St. (at Locust) approximately every 20 minutes. They’ll bring you and some small items back, but the shuttle won’t haul big items like furniture and appliances.

PennMOVES is organizing the sale for the fifth year, in an effort to find a home for items Penn students leave behind at the end of the academic year. Proceeds will go to Goodwill Industries.

Cedar Park Jazz Series, a long-standing fixture on summer Friday nights in the area, returns this week. Filled with melody and positive vibes, this event is a summer highlight for many members of the Cedar Park community.

Unfortunately, for the past two years, funds have been insufficient to allow the Series to cover the entire summer, leaving many neighbors disappointed. Cedar Park Neighbors is raising funds to support the Series this year. Please consider making a contribution here.

The Series kicks off this Friday, May 25, with a concert by Dr. Ketchup. See the flyer below for more information on Cedar Park Jazz Fridays.

The 48th Street Neighbors group is organizing their first Porch Hop this Saturday, May 19, from 4 – 7 p.m. and everyone is invited. Nine porches both north and south of Baltimore Avenue along 47th and 48th streets are participating in this event and it’s a great opportunity to meet, greet and hang out with your neighbors. Stop by one porch and then hop over to another.

The 48th Street Neighbors is a community group that has been meeting since September with the goal of making the neighborhood more vibrant and less vulnerable. Laura Crandall, one of the group members and Porch Hop organizer, said that this event will help bring people in the neighborhood together to build community. The group is hoping to continue organizing social events throughout the summer. They have also been taking neighborhood strolls in the evening and hosting monthly potluck meetings.

Everyone is welcome to come to the Porch Hop, but especially folks from Spruce Street down to Kingsessing which are within a few blocks from the most northerly and southerly porches hosting this event.

Drinks and snacks will be provided at each porch and you are encouraged (but not required) to bring drinks (alcoholic or not) and/or snacks to the first porch you visit. All of the details, including addresses are included in the flyer below.

You can RSVP and invite your friends on the event’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/405856216103211/

Good news: Dollar Strolls are returning this summer to Baltimore Avenue, according to University City District. Bad news: it looks like there won’t be a stroll in June, meaning we will have to wait until July for $1 samosas, cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and theater tickets.

Here are the dates:

July 19

August 16

September 20

Stay tuned for more information on participating businesses and their $1 specials, and as a reminder of what we’ve been missing since last summer, check out the gallery below.

This Friday, May 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be a “Super Swap” of baby, toddler, children’s and maternity clothing, toys, books and gear at the Greenfield Intercultural Center (3708 Chestnut Street), and all parents are welcome to bring clean, gently used items. Boys, gender neutral and older kids’ clothing are especially appreciated.

Make a minimum $5 donation at the entrance to benefit the New Parents @ Penn Group and take what you need/want.

You do not need to bring items to swap in order to participate. All remaining items will be donated to a local women’s charity.

You can drop off items two days before the swap and no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the swap.

To help set up, clean-up or if you have questions contact: Sarvelia Peralta-Duran at sarvelia.peralta@gmail.com. To be added to the Swap distribution list please request to join the Super Swap Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SuperSwap/

This Super Swap is an initiative in collaboration with the Penn Women’s Center, Greenfield Intercultural Center and the Penn Family Resource Center.