The city will hold its 9th annual Spring Cleanup on Saturday, Apr. 16 (rescheduled from Apr. 9 due to inclement weather forecast). More than 800 cleanup projects have been registered throughout the city, including dozens in West Philadelphia. Community involvement is essential and many projects are still seeking volunteers. Residents are also encouraged to step outside their buildings, pick up trash and remove debris or check out empty lots nearby for litter.

To find a registered cleanup project near you and to volunteer, go here or click on the map image below:

In addition to these projects, Philadelphia Free Library branches are also holding Spring Cleanups this Saturday, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. You can find your local branch here.  Continue Reading

Photo from Unitedbyblue.com

Each year, United by Blue, a Philadelphia-based urban-outdoor apparel and home goods brand, organizes cleanups of and around various waterways. To date, they have cleaned over a quarter million pounds of trash across 23 states and 2 countries.

On Tuesday, March 1, the company, which recently opened a store at 3421 Walnut Street, is hosting its annual Schuylkill River cleanup at Bartram’s Garden, where volunteers from local universities, businesses, environmental groups and neighbors of Bartram’s Garden will get together to remove a winter’s worth of trash.

Volunteers will be supplied with water, gloves, bags, and compete for prizes. All participants are invited to City Tap House-University City immediately following the cleanup for free pizza and drink specials.

The cleanup will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and volunteers will meet near the parking lot at the top of Bartrams Garden (5400 Lindbergh Blvd.), to the left of the Welcome Center.

For more information and to sign up for Tuesday’s cleanup, go here.

This Monday, we’ll be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We have compiled a list of many of the MLK Day of Service projects and events (including events for the whole family) happening in West Philadelphia. We have also included information about MLK Day celebration at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

Check www.mlkdayofservice.org to find more projects in your area. If you know of more MLK Day events or projects, please post them in the comments below.

MLK Commemorative Symposium for Social Change at University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania and the surrounding communities come together to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This commemoration includes a day of service and special programming and events through Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 (click here for more events):

Friday, Jan. 15, 6 p.m. – God’s Great Expectations of Men of Color, Christian Association, 118 S 37th St – A panel discussion on men of color’s shared understanding of God or a higher power’s relationship to them and their mission in everyday work.

Monday, Jan. 18:

8:00 – 9:30 a.m. – MLK Day of Service Breakfast, Hall of Flags, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St. – Day of Service Breakfast with include performers and guest speakers, including Jasmine Senior, Affinity Group Director, NeXT Philadelphia, and Urban League Youth Outreach. Free and open to the public.

10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Community Beautification Projects at Comegys Benjamin B School, 5100 Greenway Ave., Community Education Center (CEC), 3500 Lancaster Ave., Martha Washington School, 766 N. 44th St. Volunteers will clean, paint, and organize. Refreshments will be served. Come dressed for painting and doing light cleaning. Meet at Houston Hall for transportation to sites at 9:45 a.m. Free and open to the public. Contact: Robert Carter to register at 215.898.0104.  Continue Reading

Here’s a list of jobs and volunteer opportunities currently available for West Philadelphia residents. If you know of more job opportunities in West Philadelphia, please email editor@westphillylocal.com.

• The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) is recruiting West Philadelphians with laboratory experience for training and job opportunities as Laboratory Technicians. This is a great opportunity to grow careers within a top-ranked organization offering competitive pay and great benefits. The application deadline is January 22, 2016. You can apply online, or print and mail/fax the program application to WPSI. Click here for more and information and to apply.

• Source For Teachers is hiring K-12 substitute teachers and other full-time support staff to work in the School District of Philadelphia for the 2015/16 school year and beyond. The following positions are currently available: Substitute Teacher, Classroom Assistant, Food Service Preparation, Schools Secretary, School Counselor, Part-Time Aide. Interested individuals will have access to a variety of in-person and online training workshops. For more information and to apply, visit: https://www.source4teachers.com/.  Continue Reading

There’s a chance to help your neighborhood park on the “Love Your Park” fall service day this Saturday (Nov. 14). Over 75 Philly parks need help, including many in West Philadelphia.

Friends of Clark Park is hosting a clean-up and beautification day in the park from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., and seeking community volunteers who can join them. Meeting is at 9 a.m. by the shed (45th and Regent). Please bring a trowel (if you have one).

If you live in Cedar Park, consider volunteering from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. in your neighborhood park. Community members are invited to celebrate fall and spend the day working alongside friends and neighbors to help clean and green Cedar Park. Your work may include raking leaves, putting the gardens to bed, planting perennials and bulbs and doing general clean up. All ages are welcome, and tools will be supplied. To RSVP, please email contact@cedarparkneighbors.org  Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a local non-profit that has been providing bike education and recreation opportunities to youth for nearly 20 years, has a new home. The organization has recently opened a new, larger community shop and bike education hub at 3939 Lancaster Ave. For many years West Philly’s NBW headquarters had been located in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on Locust Walk.

The new space’s grand opening celebration, which included community bike shop dedication, volunteer awards, and commemorative t-shirt screen printing, took place on Saturday:  Continue Reading