BEN Around Philly airs every Saturday morning at 7am on 95.7 BEN-FM and is sponsored by The Fillmore Philadelphia.

On this week’s episode, Philadelphia University’s Doctor of Management in Strategic Leadership program, Pet Valu’s 5th Annual Thanks For Giving campaign, Good Good Comedy Theatre’s Five Dollar Comedy Week and thrift shopping for a cause with Goodwill Keystone Area.

This coming year, Thomas Jefferson University – with it’s 192 year-old Sidney Kimmel Medical Center, will merge with 132 year-old Philadelphia University – creating a new combined school (yet to be named) that will become the fifth largest university in Philadelphia. Larry M. Starr, Phd joins Kristen in studio to talk about the merge and the school’s upcoming information session for their Doctor of Management in Strategic Leadership program, which Dr. Starr heads at the University. The information session is free and open to all, located on Philadelphia University’s beautiful East Falls campus – with plenty of parking! Learn more about the program by joining Dr. Starr this Tuesday, November 15th from 6:30-8:30pm. More on the program and Tuesday’s information session can be found HERE.

Then Pet Valu’s Marketing Manager, Ally Homa returns to the BEN-FM studio to talk about Pet Valu’s 5th Annual Thanks For Giving campaign, which helps to collect food and supplies for local animal shelters and rescues. Throughout the month of November, customers are encouraged to make monetary donations in store and to drop off food and unused supplies for pets at their local Pet Valu stores. Customers can also purchase a pre-packaged food care kit at the store for only $5, with each package able to feed a homeless dog or cat for a week. Each individual Pet Valu store identifies a local shelter or rescue to be their recipient of their collection, ensuring that customer donations remain in their respective communities. Learn more about the program and how you can help HERE.

If you’re ever looking for something to do in this city… any night of the week, Philadelphia has an incredible comedy scene with multiple shows nightly at a number of venues, featuring a wide range of comedy forms including sketch, stand-up, improv and more. Comics Kate Banford and Aaron Nevins return to the show with some pretty incredible news about their brand new Good Good Comedy Theatre – now open in the heart of Chinatown. Stop by the theatre this week especially, for Five Dollar Comedy Week – an action packed week of affordable – yep, $5 shows with 30 new shows ranging from Anger Encouragement to Make My Child Laugh. Check HERE for show information and tickets.

Finally, Kristen talks about her favorite past time – thrift store shopping! She’s probably spent more hours in her lifetime at Goodwill stores than most of Goodwill’s employees, and she excitedly speaks with Mike Ross, Service Director for Goodwill’s Southeast Region about shopping Goodwill and the many reasons Goodwill is so much more than just a store. Mike gives Kristen the scoop on where to find the high-end donation items, how to claim tax deductions for donated clothing and furniture, Goodwill’s strong belief in a community where the talents and value of ALL people are celebrated, plus the strangest donation he’s seen and more. For more information about Goodwil Keystone Area, visit HERE.