As SCOOP USA Media Newspaper readers check out this edition of the SCOOP online, many of you may be preparing for a long holiday weekend, observing Easter or Ramadan. To all of you, whatever your religious background, peace be upon you. If we could just spread the feeling of love and goodness, like what I felt as I worshipped in church on Palm Sunday, I think the violence on our streets, the hate in some of our communities and in some of our hearts, will dissipate a little bit, a little at a time.
I recognize that everyone doesn’t buy into Faith and Hope and religion and goodness. Some only want to dwell in evil and negativity and in spreading a message of what we can’t do, not what we can do. What a shame.
I, myself, refuse to just give in and quit. I refuse to not carry hope in my heart and actions in my being. Just as long as my mind is functioning properly and my health is good enough that I can still reach back and assist others along the way, that is what I intend to continue to do. Christians around the world will gather at churches and other places of worship this weekend for Good Friday services, for Sunrise Services on Easter Sunday morning, and for Easter Sunday Service.
Ramadan, Islam’s holiest time of the year, began for most Muslim communities at sundown on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in the United States. It ends with Eid al-Fitr on Friday, April 21.
Senator Sharif Street kicked off Ramadan by holding a press event at Penrose Recreational Center (1101 W. Susquehanna Ave.) to mark the beginning of Ramadan with the first of 30+ planned distributions that will feed more than 6000 people.
According to reports, 485,000 Philadelphia residents have seen their food assistance reduced as the pandemic-era extension of SNAP benefits expired in February 2023. Along with the ongoing results of the pandemic and inflation, food insecurity has continued to deepen. National estimates are that households will lose an average of $80 in SNAP benefits per person per month. However, the impact on each household will vary. The Driving Hunger Away During Ramadan initiative will feed at least 200 people a day at community spaces for 30+ days from the beginning of Ramadan, March 22-April 20, 2023. Other sponsors for this initiative include UPMC, Philadelphia Technical Training Institute, ANON, Aetna, Masjidullah Early Child Care Academy (MECCA), AmeriHealth Caritas, Shoprite Brown’s Super Stores, and PA Health & Wellness.
Below are some of the locations where free food will be distributed, courtesy of PA State Senator Sharif Street, as he and his team “Drive Hunger Away” during Ramadan.
On Good Friday, April 7, at The ODAAT/AFCOM Center at 2432 W. Lehigh Avenue;
Saturday, April 8 at Beckett Life Center at 1410 N. 16th Street;
Sunday, April 9 at Masjid Muhammad at 414 E. Penn Street;
Tuesday, April 11, at The Guild House East at 711 Spring Garden Street;
Wednesday, April 12 at Warnock Village at 2862 Germantown Avenue;
Thursday, April 13 at Yorktown Arms at 1300 W. Jefferson Street.
The final food giveaway event with Senator Street will take place on Thursday, April 20 at the ShopRite at Fox Street, 3400 Fox Street.
Meanwhile, you can also come out and get a free grocery bag full of food with Senator Sharif Street, Allegheny West Foundation, New Courtland, Blessings of Hope, and Philabundance on April 12 at 32nd and York Street, outside on the vacant lot there. Between 10 am-1 pm.
If you want a list of all the upcoming locations where Senator Street, his staff, and a team of partners will be giving away food during Ramadan as they “Drive Hunger Away” call his office at 215-227-6161.
Also, parents, grandparents, and other caretakers of our youth, the annual summer youth jobs program is open for applications right now. The jobs come through a nonprofit organization called the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN). Students must apply online at www.workready.org. That’s where they start.
