Briefs - Nov. 4, 2009

November 03, 2009 05:00 pm

— Auction proceeds benefit soldiers for Christmas
HERMITAGE — Whispering Oaks Retirement Community, 260 S. Buhl Farm Drive, needs help to send Christmas packages overseas to local military men and women. To raise money for postage, the apartment building will be hosting a silent auction with bidding available on these dates:
• 4:30 to 7 p.m. Nov. 5 during the Creative Food Choices Workshop where visitors can sample a delicious array of culinary confections created by four executive chefs.
• 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 7 the Penn-Ohio Singers and Picks and Hammers will join residents to the raise the funds needed for postage.
A $5 donation or donations of nonperishable items to be placed in the packages is requested for each event.
Please help honor troops by providing them with a nice Christmas overseas. Info or reservations for any of the events: 724-347-3050.
Sandy Lake Presbyterian taking Angel Food orders
MERCER — Angel Food Ministries orders will be taken from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 9 in Sandy Lake (Township) Presbyterian Church, 3461 Sandy Lake-New Lebanon Road.
The November Signature Box will be $30. Specialty boxes may be ordered without buying a standard box. Senior and convenience meals are 10 fully cooked balanced meals. The allergen-free frozen and dry mix box is precooked and available for $25 for 5 pounds. SNAP benefits may only be used for this offer 35 days prior to the November delivery date and cannot be accepted online. The online deadline is 5 p.m. Nov. 9. Cash, cashier’s checks, money orders, debit cards and food stamps will be accepted as payment; personal checks will not. Take a large box, basket or ice chest to pick up the food that will be distributed from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Nov. 14 in the church.
Info: 724-376-3893, 724-992-2915 or 724-421-7228; or www.AngelFoodMinistries.com
Afterschool program plans open house
FARRELL – The YMCA Afterschool Program at Chavers Community Center, 211 Federal St., Farrell, will host an open house Tuesday and the YMCA will host a Community Health Fair at the center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 20.
The Shenango Valley YMCA provides the free afterschool program at the center for about 130 children annually. It is run in collaboration with ERASE and Minority Health.
The center benefited from the recent “roundup” donations by customers of JCPenney in Hermitage. The “roundup” was held in conjunction with Lights On Afterschool, the largest national afterschool awareness day with more than 7,500 events taking place across the country.
Auxiliary to host ‘Memories in Lights’
GREENVILLE — UPMC Horizon Greenville Auxiliary will host its 21st annual “Memories in Lights” tree-lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at the hospital. The auxiliary offers the community the opportunity to purchase lights and personalized angel tree ornaments for $5 each to honor or remember a loved one. Order forms are available in the Sunny Horizon Gift Shop in Greenville. Anyone who would like to personally place their ornament on the tree in the lobby should plan to arrive by 5 p.m. Lights will be placed on the tree located in the auxiliary’s Garden of Life in the front of the hospital. The names of the honorees and donors will be recorded in a registry that will be on display in the hospital lobby throughout the holiday season. All proceeds benefit auxiliary projects, with a portion of this year’s funds going to the Garden of Life.
Tales from the ice age presented Sunday
SLIPPERY ROCK — Join Dr. Richard Laub at Jennings Environmental Education Center at 2 p.m. Sunday to learn how Ice Age glaciers influenced the land, flora and fauna of the northeast. Laub is curator of geology at the Buffalo (N.Y.) Museum of Science. He will use fossils and artifacts from museum excavations at the Hiscock Site, located near Rochester, N.Y., to illustrate his presentation. Registration or info: 724-794-6011, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

Stewart House Christmas tours open to public
HERMITAGE — Hermitage Historical Society has announced an “Old Fashioned Christmas” at Stewart House, 5465 E. State St., with Victorian Christmas decor throughout each of the rooms. Tours will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 28 and 29 and Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13; and 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 4 and 11. Donations from the tour will benefit the upkeep and renovations in the house. For information, call 724-981-4843.

SRU hosts ‘Sisters in Healthcare History’
The first major exhibit of the Slippery Rock University Sisters in Healthcare History project – an artifact tribute to the hundreds of unheralded Roman Catholic sisters who cared for the sick between 1847-1969 – will be staged through Nov. 20 at SRU’s Martha Gault Art Gallery in Maltby Center. The exhibit is free.
The exhibit will include more than 20 life-size mannequins outfitted in uniforms and religious habits, eight historical panels with photographs and medical equipment. John Bavaro is an SRU associate professor of professional studies and curator. The Sisters in Healthcare History Project is a cooperative effort involving SRU’s departments of history, professional studies and the Women Studies Program.

PSU sponsors fight against pediatric cancer
SHARON — The Shenango campus of Penn State University in Sharon is sponsoring a 5K walk/run Dec. 5 in Buhl Farm park to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund that assists children at Penn State’s Hershey Children Hospital who are fighting cancer. Any family being treated at the Hershey hospital is eligible for support. The fund offsets the cost of treatment that insurance does not cover and supports medical teams who care for the children, pediatric cancer research, and expenses that may affect the child’s welfare including car repairs, rent and household utilities.
Go to www.Shenango.psu.edu/studentlife to download a printable application that may be sent with the fee to Penn State Shenango, Student Affairs Office, 147 Shenango Ave., Sharon, PA 16146. Please make out checks to Penn State University and put THON in the check’s memo section.