Helping hands: Friends of Ethiopia Reads ... Benefit for Andrea Austin Novak ... Pancake and sausage breakfast

Oct. 31---- A pancake and sausage breakfast at Buffalo Wild Wings, 2717 S. Columbia Road, Grand Forks, will be held Saturday, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Cost is $5 per person. Tickets are available from Disabled American Veterans members or at the door. All funds go to help with various projects for veterans.

-- Friends of Ethiopia Reads will be holding an American Girl event featuring children's author Jane Kurtz, 2010 American Girl Doll of the Year Author. The event will be held at Sharon Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, 1720 S. 20th St.,on Sunday, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The event is free.

Info: (701) 330-0602, mgporter@gra.midco.net

-- A benefit for Andrea Austin Novak will be held at the Eagles in East Grand Forks on Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. Novak is fighting astrocytoma grade four, and the donations will help with medical bills and health care expenses. The benefit will include a silent auction, and the band Kenny and the Classics will perform from 8 to 11 p.m. This fundraiser is open to the public.

-- A spaghetti feed and silent auction will be held for Todd Landa, who is being treated for brain trauma, on Nov. 15, at KC Hall in Reynolds, N.D. The spaghetti feed will be 5 to 7 p.m., silent auction 5 to 9:30 p.m. and Driftwood Band will play 9 p.m. to midnight. Free will offerings will be accepted. Donations will go toward medical expenses for Landa and his family.

The event is organized by the Central Valley Bean Cooperative, Landa's employer.

Donations can be sent to: First State Bank, P.O. Box 68, Buxton, N.D. 58218

-- The Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary will be hosting its annual Turkey Bingo on Nov. 10, 17 and 24 on the sixth floor of the Grand Forks County Office Building at 7:30 p.m. Snacks will be available and 15 games will cost $2 per card.

Proceeds will fund projects for veterans and their families.

-- Grand Forks Salvation Army is looking for volunteer bell-ringers to help Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Eve. Shifts are two hours.

Volunteers can sign up by calling Gloria, (701) 775-2597 or at registering.com.

-- Rollin' on the River, the Greater Grand Forks Inline Marathon, has made a $3,000 donation to the Perry Nakonechny Youth Sports Fund and $3,600 to all elementary schools in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, giving them $200 each.

-- The CEO of the North Dakota Community Foundation, Kevin Dvorak, will present the Emerado Park Board with a $5,000 check Nov. 4 for bathroom improvements at the Community Hall. Officials from Emerado said bathrooms at the hall are "sorely" in need of repair. The $5,000 check is the first grant approved for upgrades needed at the hall.

-- Volunteers are needed for AARP's free tax assistance program, which provides assistance to those with low-to-moderate income. Volunteers will receive free IRS training on tax forms and software. The program is looking for volunteers with computer skills who are available at least four hours a week from Feb. 1 to April 15.

Info: Doreen Riedman, AARP North Dakota, (866) 554-5383, www.aarp.org/taxaide.

-- Volunteer Senior Companions are needed for many seniors in the Grand Forks area, providing companionship, social recreation and help with light tasks. Some benefits to becoming a senior companion include a tax-free hourly stipend, travel reimbursement, paid holidays and time off and ongoing training opportunities. Those who are 55 years of age or older, of lower income and available to volunteer 15 hours per week are eligible.

Info: Andrea Lang, Eastern North Dakota Program Coordinator, (800) 450-1510.

-- GF Kiwanis will be presenting checks to the Community Violence Intervention Center on Nov. 12 at 11:30 a.m. These contributions are a result of Kiwanis' fundraising efforts for the CVIC programs. Members were challenged to personally donate to CVIC and the club will be matching those personal donations.

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