June is Aids education month. Fight .org is holding its first Youth (13 to 21) summit at the Arch Street Meeting House, located at 4th and Arch. 8am to 5pm. Wednesday, June 5th. As our founding fathers declared independence from King George in 1776 it is time to declare independence from ignorance about aids. Come and let your voice be heard.

Welcome to the first AIDS Education Month youth summit! This summit will explore HIV testing, transmission, prevention, and treatment issues relevant to reaching and to empowering youth. Leaders from the youth and HIV/AIDS communities will discuss current challenges in providing community-appropriate outreach, education, advocacy, and HIV care to a population facing rising HIV rates. This summit is youth-friendly and includes a youth fashion show and artistic performances. Come check it out! Let your voice be heard.
Yo! breakfast and lunch will be served. Register online in confidence.

Here is a different way to help. The Intercultural Family Services, Inc. organization has a music and mentorship program that intoduces and teaches children about music and how to play an instrument.
A benefit concert and instrument drive will be held at THE FIRE, located at 4th and Girard Ave. on Wednesday, May 2nd, 7 P.M. to 2 A.M.

Performing at the concert will be Tanya Limosnero, Dan Collins, Wayne Hsu, Oud Blues, Naeemah,
John Swana and friends.

Donate an instrument, a violin, guitar, keyboard, conga, music stand or microphone and you get in FREE.
Cover Charge is just $10 .

April 26, Thursday is Dining Out for Life night. Make your reservations soon at over 200 Delaware Valley participating restaurants. Each restaurant will donate thirty-three percent of the cost of your meal to fight against HIV and AIDS. This is one of the easiest ways of helping others. Please don’t forget.

Dining Out for Life is a national fundraising event created and launched by ActionAIDS in 1990. The fundraising concept is unique and simple: Area restaurants contribute 33% of their business on one day each year to organizations working on behalf of men, women, and children affected by AIDS. The event has grown exponentially every year. On the last Thursday of April, over 200 restaurants in the Philadelphia tri-state area and 1000 nationally hold Dining Out for Life.
Make reservations now at your favorite restaurant to support this worthy cause.

This Thursday, March 8th at Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd and Spring Garden from 6 PM to 9 PM you can taste some of the best Irish Stew this side of the Atlantic. The cook-off includes both amateurs and professionals attempting to create the best Irish Stew in Philadelphia.

Only Five dollars gets you in and proceeds are used to feed the hungry and less fortunate in the Philadelphia region. So start the season of the Irish by supporting The Hibernian Hunger Project while having fun and food and helping a great cause.

It’s a strange and awkward coincidence the The Franklin Institute’s BEN-efit for the Bayou (scheduled many weeks ago) happens to be taking place the same evening at the Eagles-Saints game (scheduled not-quite-as-long-ago). However strange it feels to me, that’s the way of it: Dr. John will be taking the stage as benefit headliner just about the same time as the opening kickoff occurs in the Superdome. And in not the first (and surely not the last) weekend separation of a couple caused by competing recreational passions, I will be getting my music fan on while Matt remains faithful to the game and his Eagles.

Which is as it should be.

I’m not sure anything more needs to be said about the game, but more details about the benefit after the jump. Turns out you can help out during the NON-game hours of the weekend, too.
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We haven’t said anything here on the Philadelphia Metroblog about the recent school shooting in Paradise, PA. Our silence has been in part because we try to keep our attention focused on things happening in Philadelphia proper and because there are no words that seemed appropriate to address the tragedy that has occurred.

However it has come to our attention via the Cranky Prof that there is a way to help in this situation. She says,

The Amish are self funded for health insurance. That means they do not have commercial medical insurance, but pool their funds and pay as they need. Five little girls are still in critical condition, and if they survive, they will need life-long care.

Donations to support the families affected by yesterday’s tragedy may be directed to the Nickels Mines Children Fund at:

Coatesville Savings Bank, (and there will be a place on the site shortly for electronic contributions to be given).
Or, mail it to:

Nickel Mines Children’s Fund
Coatesville Savings Bank
1082 Georgetown Road
Paradise, PA 17562

Thanks to Ellen for the tip.

Essence Magazine best-selling novelist Karen Quinones Miller will hold self-publishing seminars around the country starting right here in Philly. Karen self- published her first book Satin Doll which sold 24,000 copies nationwide in a period of eight months. Satin Doll was then picked up by Simon & Schuster for six figure deal. Karen has since published I’m Telling, Using What You got, Uptown Dreams and Satin Nights. I have personally taken one of her seminars and I can tell you first hand that Karen gives you the ins and outs of both traditional and self-publishing. The cost of the seminar is just the price of her new book which is way cheaper than what I paid so take advantage!

http://www.karenequinonesmiller.com/publishing_self-publishing%20seminar.htm

A flyer showed up on our doorstep a few hours ago, looking for one Pinky kitty. It couldn’t hurt to put some info here, just in case. Help a kitty owner out if you’ve seen this baby.

Lost: Pinky!
On 200 block of Christian St. Monday, June 26th around 6p.
Cat- short hair, light ginger color, long tail, no collar, no front claws. May be injured! Approx. 15 lbs. Affectionate.

Please call Coni!
Work: 215-546-3065 x262
Home: 215-551-9030
Leave a message! Please!

Reward Offered!

So if you’re in the area, keep an eye out. Please.

We have a couple local entries into Maxim Magazine’s 2006 Hometown Hotties Contest, one hailing from Philadelphia itself and a couple others from just outside the city or across the river in the communist state of New Jersey. So lend your support for our local umm…. heroines (yeah, that’s the word) by heading on over to Maxim Online and voting for them. Of course you can also lend support to the rest of the beautiful women as well (you get ten votes).