Pastorius Meeting-Monday July 11 @ 7pm

Please join us Monday night for a meeting of people hoping to create a people and dog-friendly park culture in Pastorius Park.  The story behind the meeting can be found here.  Anyone interested in brainstorming a solution where the park can be used by ALL community members is welcome to attend:

Date: Monday July 11
Time: 7pm
Place: Pastorius Park Amphitheater

Kids Run to benefit the George Fund- Sunday June 5

Do your kids love to run?  Why not have them run to help other kids? The Kids Run for the George Fund is open to boys and girls, age 1 to 14. The goal is to promote the importance of exercise through running while having fun. The first 250 participants will receive a commemorative t-shirt.  Fun activities include a moon bounce, various arts & crafts projects and refreshments.

Every dollar raised goes to help pay for comprehensive pediatric hospice care, which insurance plans do not adequately support.  The George Fund is dedicated to the memory of George Hedges Pappert, who died from an inoperable brain tumor 8 days before his fifth birthday.

Registration Fee for the run is $25. All proceeds benefit the Keystone Hospice George Fund.  The run will be held at Springfield High School Stadium in Erdenheim, PA.

For registration and information:
http://www.keystonecare.com/upcoming-events/kids-run-for-the-george-fund.aspx

MLK Day of Service, Used Clothing Sale, and Lovett to reopen!

Wanting to be part of the Day of Service and finding meaningful and appropriate ways to do that with young children can be two very different things.  I know our best bets have been to jump in to preschool/childcare/school-sponsored events geared toward family participation.  Our school will be putting together PJ packages for children who need new ones after a disaster.

But if you want to do something small tomorrow that may make a big difference in a child's life, you can stop by The Little Treehouse to donate a winter coat.  They're doing a "One Warm Coat" drive and asking for new or gently used coats.  Anyone who donates a coat will also receive 20% off class registration for tumbling, art, music, yoga, or dance. 

Or you and the kids could gather up the gently used children's books your family has outgrown and drop them off at either O'doodles Toystore or the back of St. Joseph's Hall at Chestnut Hill College (you can pull right under the portico, drop off box is right inside the door).  These books will be used to build a library for the Fitler Academics Plus School in Philadelphia.  The school houses children from K-8th grade, so a wide range of books can be suitable for donation.  

If you find yourself with a kid-free day and really want to roll up your sleeves, the Allen's Lane Art Center is looking for volunteers to help paint!  Starts at 9am.

Or if you're looking for something completely different, try searching the Greater Philadelphia MLK Day of Service website:

http://www.mlkdayofservice.org/

And this isn't quite service, but it goes to a good cause and is definitely "green".  Abington Friends School is having a Used Clothing Sale on Monday, January 17 from 1- 3p.m.  The sale will be held at Abington Friends Lower School.  All items are $1, $2 or $3 dollars and all proceeds support the Women’s Center of Montgomery County.  

http://www.abingtonfriends.net/Home/Home

If you can't get out with the kids, but want to do something to commemorate Dr. King, I highly recommend reading Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Brian Collier.  The book is beautifully illustrated and does a nice job of balancing the power of the man and his words with the uncertainty of the times and the tragedy of his death.  We also like Happy Birthday Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo and Brian Pinkney.  But our new family favorite is Americans Who Tell the Truth by Robert Shetterly... where you'll find quotes and pages on everyone from Jonathon Kozol to Mother Jones to Frederick Douglass.  

And everyone keep your fingers crossed... barring any more issues, rumor has it that the heat will be back on and the Lovett Library will reopen on Tueday January 18th at 9am!  It's a temporary fix, but it will keep the doors open until a more permanent replacement can be arranged.  

Books Needed!!!!

Calling all GAP readers... please help out with this effort to stock a local school library.  Fitler Academics Plus Elementary School is located at Seymour and Knox Streets in Germantown. It is a K-8 school, beautifully run, and the School District of Philadelphia has outfitted a space for a library and hired a librarian.

But the budget doesn't include the books.

So please donate your new and gently used children's books to equip their library.  The school enrolls children in kindergarten through 8th grade.

You can drop off your books at Fitler, during school hours, or at Chestnut Hill College in the basement of St. Joseph's Hall at any time. 

To drop off books at the college, drive in the main entrance of the College on Germantown Avenue, and turn left at the stop sign. Instead of driving straight into the low stone wall, turn right and pull up under the portico - the book drop is right inside that door, to your left.

photo credit: http://leadlib.sdln.net/kids.htm