November 22–29, 2001
cover story|gift guide
Just Cause
CP's staff helps you get into the spirit of giving.
Bicycle Coalition/BEEP
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For those of you who wonder just what the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley does, other than put its stickers on those handy-dandy black bike loops you’ll find just about everywhere you need one, know that they’re always fighting to make the Philadelphia area bike-friendly. Yes, it’s a challenge, but I think we can all agree (OK, maybe certain jackass cabbies and SEPTA drivers would disagree) that more bikes and fewer cars would be a good thing (less pollution, less oil consumption, more sweaty hotties in spandex). Along with lobbying, BCDV has teamed with the Philadelphia School District on the Bicycle Education Enhancement Program. BEEP seeks to educate tykes on the joys of bicycling and in proper bicycle safety, and looks to put adequate bike rackage at every school that needs it. But bike racks cost money, which is where you come in. PennDOT will match your $115 to equip a school with bicycle parking; they’ll even name the rack after you. Send your pledge to BCDV, BEEP Bike Racks, 252 S. 11th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107.
215-BICYCLE, www.bcdv.org.
The Breast Health Institute
Although no longer a sponsor of the annual Race for the Cure, the Breast Health Institute (BHI) is still going strong, and it’s now committing all of its resources to raising money for its various research and educational programs. Since 1990, BHI has been fighting for more research into treatments and better outreach to women about prevention. BHI provides free mammograms to uninsured women and offers education and support to women in all stages of breast cancer. When caught early, there is a 95-percent five-year survival rate; when caught too late, the odds drop dangerously low. BHI won’t rest until every woman learns the lesson of prevention.
834 Chestnut St., Suite 315, 215-627-4447, www.breast-health.org.
The Center for Literacy
All the children who leave school without being able to read and write well eventually turn into adults who could have trouble trying to find work, since they’re unable to fill out a simple form or spell their own address. But Philadelphia is fortunate to have the nation’s largest adult-literacy organization right here on its doorstep. When the Center for Literacy was set up in 1968, illiteracy was emerging as a statistical problem, and the center continues today to support approximately 2,800 individuals each year who choose to learn those vital skills as adults. Its range of programs include intensive one-on-one tutoring and an increased focus on other workplace tools, such as math, basic computer knowledge and even soft skills. All its tutors are volunteers.
636 S. 48th St., 215-474-1-CFL, www.centerforliteracy.org.
County Theater
It’s tough to get a diehard metrophile out of the city, but even if you’ve come to regard grime and hostility as mother’s milk, it’s worth braving the clean, well-lit streets of Doylestown to check out the County Theater’s varied slate of movie programming. Programming art house, local and rep films all year ’round — something no theater in Philadelphia can boast — the County gets only half its revenue from ticket sales. The rest comes from membership and contributions. In addition to showing movies, the County hosts lectures and a monthly discussion group, building community and giving cinephiles the chance to chat each other up. If you haven’t seen it, the County’s neon-tower marquee is a sight to behold, part of the ongoing restoration of the historic building that currently involves construction of a first-floor accessible bathroom. Much as we’d love it if Philly could have its own full-time temple of cin, it’s a blessing to have the County, wherever it is.
County Theater, 20 E. State St., Doylestown, 215-345-6789, ext. 7, www.countytheater.org.
Fairmount Park Conservancy
For the past two decades, non-profits have been sprouting up around the country to provide extra support for city parks that get short shrift from the government. Finally Philadelphia is getting into the act. Founded two years ago, the Fairmount Park Conservancy raises money from individuals and businesses that goes toward special projects in the park system like trail restoration and preservation of historic park buildings. Right now the group is just covering costs, but with more community involvement and much-needed donations, it could get to work restoring Philadelphia’s park system to its former glory.
—Daniel Brook
Fairmount Park Conservancy, The Bellvue, seventh floor, 215-328-3768.
Habitat for Humanity
Raising up communities, not just houses, Habitat for Humanity proudly states that it builds houses with people in need (not for them). Partner families are enlisted to contribute 300 to 500 hours of work in exchange for no-profit, no-interest loans on their new homes. Working with volunteers, it turns vacant houses into homes and promotes understanding in the process by enlisting people of all races and creeds to work together on the construction site. Of course, all the work, planning and supplies cost money. Philadelphia has four affiliates, all of which rely on donations to continue their work.
For donation information: Germantown: 215-849-9277, habitatgermantown.org; West Philly: 215-477-4639, habitat-wphilly.org; North Philly 215-765-6000, habitatinnercity.org; South Philly: 215-339-1204, libertynet.org/sphilhab.
Home Education Resource Center
With the Philadelphia school system in complete disarray, more and more families are considering home schooling. But, as home schooling families can tell you, it’s not cheap, with books, materials, outside classes and other costs often adding up to the price of a parochial school education.
Enter the Home Education Resource Center: Growing Free in Philadelphia (HERC). Created this past fall in West Philadelphia, HERC provides resources for home-schoolers throughout the city, facilitates social links between kids and parents and gives support to parents who are already home schooling or are thinking about it.
Contact HERC co-chairperson Michelle Wright at 4625 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-386-4021, or via e-mail, blueedsel@aol.com.
HOPE Worldwide
HOPE Worldwide’s mission statement strikes a simple but deeply resonant chord: "To bring hope to a hurting world." While the group is currently working to help Afghan refugees swarming into Pakistan, its scope goes beyond the parts of the world currently in view. Based in Wayne, Pa., the faith-based charity has expanded exponentially since its 1991 formation, providing assistance in 75 countries in the six inhabited continents. The non-sectarian programs provided include disease control; medical training and care; support for children and the elderly; and education and recovery. HOPE Worldwide offers a variety of options for those looking to volunteer or contribute financially.
353 W. Lancaster Ave., Wayne, 610-254-8800, www.hopeww.org.
Philabundance
Remember being chastised as a kid for letting food go to waste? Well, Philabundance is an organization after your own mom’s heart.
Philabundance has been the region’s food-rescue organization since 1984. This nonprofit collects donated surplus food and distributes it free of charge to local groups serving hungry and malnutritioned people in the Greater Philadelphia region. Philabundance provided food for 12.1 million meals to people in need last year, and food for more than 50 million meals since its inception.
Twenty-seven percent of the food produced in the U.S. goes to waste while millions go hungry, according to Philabundance organizers who hope to change this "contradiction."
Philabundance, P.O. Box 37555, Philadelphia, PA 19148, 215-339-0900.
Philadelphia Fair Food Project
This time of year, family gatherings, the chill in the air and more time indoors mean heartier appetites. Harness both your increased interest in what’s for dinner and your spirit of giving by supporting the Philadelphia Fair Food Project, which educates people about the economic, ecologic and health benefits of eating fresh local food — that’s produce as well as meats and animal products from humanely raised animals. Director Ann Karlen hosts events designed to get you closer to the source and links local chefs with Pennsylvania farmers. Make checks payable to the fiscal sponsor, White Dog Café Foundation.
3420 Sansom St., 215-386-9224, ext.122.
Project Children
It must have been heartbreaking to witness: Little girls, dressed in Catholic school uniforms, singing "Wheels on the Bus" in a futile effort to drown out the shouting of the men and women lining the street, carrying signs with hateful messages and screaming out unimaginably vile taunts and blatant threats. And that was a good day; on others, bottles, balloons filled with urine and even a pipe bomb have been thrown at the girls as well.
Not since the civil rights movement has this country seen anything like what’s been going on along the Ardoyne Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in recent months. Every morning, the Catholic girls — some as young as 4 — who walk to Holy Cross School are greeted along the way by hundreds of angry Protestants. And this is just one example of the hardships facing young people in Northern Ireland every day.
Project Children brings Catholic and Protestant youths from Northern Ireland to the U.S. for summer vacations so that, for a few weeks, they can just be kids. Americans can help by acting as host families, or by making donations (transportation costs an average of $700 per child).
P.O. Box 933, Greenwood Lake, NY 10925, 845-477-3472, www.interwebinc.com/children/map.html. Local contact: Joe O’Donnell, 215-673-3870
United Negro College Fund
Even with our schools going to hell in a handbasket, every year we manage to graduate some genuinely bright, talented, studious, decent kids. Whether they’re the exception or the rule, they deserve a chance to reach their full potential, for the good of themselves and our society in general. It is especially sad when lack of family finances are the reason some of them never reach that potential. The United Negro College Fund has a 57-year history of giving these kids a fighting chance, and they deserve your support. A mind is still a terrible thing to waste.
Congreso de Latinos Unidos
As the Latino population swells, so does its heart. That is, Congreso de Latinos Unidos has moved its headquarters this week north an El stop, into the heart of the Latino community. The agency has been helping families and individuals since 1977, running an extensive list of services from housing and health care to employment and education. Last year, it helped 27,000 people. Among the varied programs are up-to-date computer training, drug and alcohol counseling, the state’s first and largest Latina domestic violence program, tenant counseling and children’s summer camps. Spokesman Jaime Figueras says one of its most-used programs is education, prevention and support for those affected by HIV, including home deliveries of more than 125 meals to people affected by AIDS. And although its mission is to serve the Latino community, he notes that "African-American, Latino, Asian — anyone who comes to our door" will receive help.
—Rick Valenzuela
Resuming operations Mon., Nov. 26, 216 W. Somerset St., 215-763-8870, ext. 127, or earmark donations through United Way Member Agency Specific Care Code No. 04210.
