West Philly Girl Scout Juniors and Cadettes are selling Girl Scout Cookies today in front of the Lil’ Pop Shop at 265 S. 44th Street starting at noon. The Lil’ Pop Shop is closed for the month of January but will reopen for business on Feb. 2. Stock up on Thin Mints while you can!

For general information on how the Girl Scouts use cookie proceeds, click here.

– Jen

Evan Sweitzer (photo from Citykitties.org).

Evan Sweitzer, a 10-year-old boy who’s been helping a local cat rescue, is a celebrity after Reddit shared a story about him and The Huffington Post picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Now Evan will appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that will air today at 3 p.m. on NBC (you can watch the segment here).

Since 2009 Evan has been sending letters and his allowance money to City Kitties, a West Philly-based cat rescue organization. His family adopted a cat, Macha, from City Kitties and Evan wanted to help other cats. For 2012, Evan donated $110, which his parents matched for a total of $220.

Here’s Evan’s letter that City Kitties received along with his latest donation.

To read more about Evan and how he’s been helping West Philly’s stray cats and kittens, visit Citykitties.org.

More table locations have been added for this year’s West Philly Girl Scout cookie sale, which begins this Thursday, Jan. 17 (see the list below). And if you can’t make it by a table, you can get a home or work delivery!

Here’s how you can help local Girl Scout troops by purchasing cookies (a message from Amy Kwasnicki, who is the cookie hub for three troops of girls, Kindergarten through 5th grade):

“Cookie sales make all of the Girl Scouts programs affordable, but also provide immediate funds for the troops to use. Our past community service projects, which have been funded by cookie sales, include clearing a vacant lot in Powelton, buying and planting trees for the lot, clearing invasive plants from a community garden in West Philly, planting a butterfly garden, and an earthworm and ladybug release in Clark Park. Cookie sales have also enabled the troops to spend the night at the Franklin Institute, purchase compasses for all of the Scouts, and, of course, go camping!”

Girl Scout Cookie Table Locations and Dates:

Fri. 01/18 Eastern Mountain Sports, 34th and Chestnut, 3:30pm-6:30pm
(check out the promo here)

Sat. 01/19 Clark Park “B” Park, 43rd and Chester, 10:00am-1:30pm

Tues. 01/22 SEPTA Suburban Station, table is located near stairs/elevator in Penn Square plaza, facing 16th Street, 6:00am!! – 6:00pm

Wed. 01/23 Locust Walk in front of St. Mary’s, 39th and Locust, 3:30pm-5:30pm

Sat. 01/26 Clark Park “B” Park, 43rd and Chester, 10:00am-1:30pm

Wed. 01/30 Locust Walk in front of St. Mary’s, 39th and Locust, 3:30pm-5:30pm

Fri. 02/01 Eastern Mountain Sports, 34th and Chestnut, 3:30pm-6:30pm

Sat. 02/02 Clark Park “B” Park, 43rd and Chester, 10:00am-1:30pm

Tues. 02/05 SEPTA Suburban Station, table is located near stairs/elevator in Penn Square plaza, facing 16th Street, 6:00am!! – 6:00pm

Wed. 02/06 Locust Walk in front of St. Mary’s, 39th and Locust, 3:30pm-5:30pm (though we may get an earlier start since schools are closed that day)

If you have questions or want a home/work delivery, email Amy at: kwaszilla@gmail.com

Help is needed again at the “Chess Cadets” club that meets every Monday, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the Walnut St. West Library (40th and Walnut). The club is in real need of volunteer coaches. You don’t have to be a Chess Master, just patient when working with kids.

If you would like to help please call Joe Clarke at 215-626-7332 or Susan Ben at 215-685-7671.

Recently, the Chess Cadets were invited to play chess at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the Marcel Duchamp exhibition opening, where they played not only each other but museum visitors, children and adults alike. See more here.

In an effort to help schoolchildren affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy, neighbor Eva Jacobs and her daughter are collecting handmade snowflakes for the new school building where Sandy Hook kids will resume classes in January. Connecticut PTSA and parent volunteers are planning to create a winter wonderland at the school by decorating the whole building with as many unique snowflakes as possible (see announcement below). Eva is accepting snowflakes until January 3.

“[Let’s] see how many snowflakes we can get from West Philly… It’s the least we can do as a community,” says Eva. If you want to be part of this effort, please contact Eva at evamjacobs@gmail.com and she’ll let you know where to drop off your snowflakes.

This upcoming weekend Milk & Honey Market is throwing two holiday celebrations: a Holiday Pop-Up Shop on Sunday at their West Philly store at 45th and Baltimore and Winterfest on Saturday at their Center City location at Sister Cities Park (18th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway). Annie Baum-Stein, the owner, invites her West Philly neighbors to both events.

Winterfest will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes a lot of fun holiday activities for the whole family – a Treasure Hunt, Karaoke sing-a-long with Frosty the Snowman, and holiday arts and crafts. The event will kick off with a choir performing songs of the season. Throughout the day children will enjoy Story Art, Snowflake Science, Cold Weather Creatures, and cookie decorating. This page has a full schedule.

For Sunday’s Pop-Up Shop held at 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in West Philly, Milk & Honey partnered with local artist/craft team Fennec Designs (many will recognize their wares from VIX Emporium or Go West Craft Fests) who have invited their neighborhood artisan friends to participate. In addition to the pop-up gift shop, Build-Your-Own gift baskets and Cookie decorating kits will be on tap at the event.  You can purchase anything in the store for a gift basket and receive the gift packaging and a custom gift card free.

And here are some examples of locally grown or made gift items:

Urban Apiaries Honey, unusual bitters, shrubs and syrups for cocktailers, Beer Kits for Home Brewers, local artisan made kitchen accessories, art works and beeswax candles, a great assortment of cookbooks and of course lots of delicious edible gifts!