Goodwill store reopens
After a nearly three-month closure due to COVID-19, Goodwill’s Philadelphia-based stores have reopened.
Goodwill’s Philadelphia stores will be open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The local store is at 9920 Bustleton Ave. ••
Sabatina’s military relief bill advances
State Sen. John Sabatina Jr. (D-5th dist.) announced Senate Bill 1076 passed unanimously in the Senate. The bill provides an extension of the Military Family Relief Assistance Program. Created in 2005, MFRAP provides grants up to $3,500 to Pennsylvania service members and their families in need.
“Since the program began, almost $2 million has reached military families in need,” said Sabatina, who is a co-prime sponsor of the legislation. “Currently, the program is set to end on June 30. We have to prevent that under any circumstance. But now, in the middle of the coronavirus shutdown, it’s simply unthinkable to let this expire.”
The program offers grants to service members who experienced a sudden loss of income or assets as a result of military service; emergency child care needs; natural or manmade disasters resulting in the need for food, shelter and other necessities; the death or critical illness of a parent, spouse, sibling or child; or exigent circumstances beyond the eligible member’s control.
“These heroes sign up to put their lives on the line to protect our way of life,” Sabatina said. “The least we can do is make sure that we care for them in their time of need. COVID-19 is a situation the program is designed to handle.”
The bill is now headed to the House of Representatives for further consideration by the Veteran Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. The House is expected to support Sabatina’s proposal. ••
Jeanes hosts farm stand
Jeanes Hospital, 7600 Central Ave., hosts a farm stand featuring fresh, locally sourced fruits, vegetables, cage-free brown eggs, cheeses, apple butter, pumpkin butter and raw honey for sale.
Items vary week to week.
The farm stand is open every Thursday from June through October, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Call 215-728-2131. ••
Walk to end breast cancer
The Susan G. Komen Philadelphia Virtual More Than Pink Walk is scheduled for Sunday, June 28, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The fundraiser is intended to save lives and help create a world without breast cancer.
Participants will help raise funds that, through the work of Komen Philadelphia, will provide support to patients facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also empowering research that one day could ensure every breast cancer diagnosis ends in breast cancer survival.
Breast cancer activists of all ages are encouraged to walk in their neighborhoods, then share their experiences on social media.
To register, to donate or for more information, visit KomenPhiladelphia.org/Walk. ••
COVID-19 consumer updates
PECO Energy customers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for up to $800 through LIHEAP’s Recovery Crisis Program. Customers with a past-due bill and a household income at/below 150% of the federal poverty income guidelines may be eligible. Call 215-560-1583.
Meanwhile, PECO has stopped shutoffs for non-payment until July 1.
There will be no PGW shutoffs for non-payment until further notice.
The Philadelphia Water Department has ended shutoffs until July 10.
Pennsylvania is prohibiting evictions and foreclosures until July 10. ••
Murt bill on special needs passes House
The state House has unanimously passed legislation sponsored by Rep. Tom Murt (R-152nd dist.) to create a bill of rights for those with special needs.
“My goal is to help those with special needs live independently and make autonomous choices about their lives, and to experience full integration and inclusion in mainstream society,” Murt said. “It requires the state to give a full accounting of how many people are on the waiting list for special-needs services.”
House Bill 1363 requires the Department of Human Services to develop and submit a plan to address the waiting list for community-based services for people with intellectual disabilities.
Within one year of the bill’s effective date, DHS must develop a five-year plan to eliminate the current and future critical and emergency waiting list for individuals with intellectual disabilities. This plan would be submitted to the governor, the General Assembly and the county intellectual disability program administrators.
The bill would require that DHS’s plan include statistical information on the current and projected annual increase to the waiting list on a county basis. It would also require DHS to examine the costs associated with eliminating the waiting list.
The legislation would require public comment from individuals with intellectual disabilities, their families and guardians and providers of services to the intellectual disability community obtained from public hearings held by DHS.
House Bill 1363 now moves to the Senate.
“I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this so we can ensure those with special needs receive the help they so desperately need,” Murt said. ••
