Volunteers Are Needed

Aging office needs fair, lunch help Howard County Office on Aging is recruiting volunteers for its signature event - the 50+ EXPO - to be held Oct. 19 at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia. More than 100 volunteers are needed to help at the health fair, with flu shots and balloons, at Caf? 50+, with the speaker series, exhibitor check-in, transportation, elevators, clean up and many other tasks. A free lunch is included. Volunteers must be at least 15 years old. A variety of shifts is available.

Columbia BikeAbout needs volunteers Volunteers are needed 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 5 for the seventh Columbia BikeAbout, a free event sponsored by the Columbia Association and organized by the Columbia Archives. Assistance is needed with traffic control, directions, registration and guiding participants along the 11-mile route that includes various places of historical and natural interest. Flexible shifts are available. Training and a free T-shirt are provided. The popular event draws several hundred bicyclists.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist in related projects. Among them are:Youthful Inspirations Inc., an enrichment program for elementary and middle school pupils at three Baltimore County schools, Wellwood International Magnet School, 2901 Smith Ave.; Sudbrook Magnet Middle, 4300 Bedbrook Drive; and Bedford Elementary, 7407 Dorman Drive. Volunteers are needed from 3: 30 p.m. to 4: 45 p.m. weekdays, depending upon volunteers' schedules, to help pupils with writing assignments.

Schools, libraries and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and assist in related projects.Among them are:Civic Works, Baltimore's Youth Service Corps, for after-school tutoring at Police Athletic League centers throughout the city between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays. Contact: Gwelan Peterson, 410- 366-8533.Enoch Pratt Free Library's Exploration Center at the new Port Discovery children's museum, on Fallsway in Baltimore, to work four-hour shifts Saturdays and Sundays assisting librarians.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist in related projects. Among them are:Corpus Christi Community Center, 703 Whitelock St., Baltimore, which operates a three-day-a-week tutoring program for children ages 8 to 12. Volunteers are needed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Contact: Rick Connor, 410-728- 3042.If your school or organization is seeking volunteer reading tutors and would like to be included in this listing, call Sundial, 410- 783-1800 and enter code 6130.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist in related projects.Among them is:A Whole New World, the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Internet program for children ages 9 to 14. Volunteers are needed at the central library and several branches to teach children how to use the Internet and e-mail. Training for volunteers will be provided. Contact: Marion Hirsch, 410-396-9940.If your school or organization is seeking volunteer reading tutors and would like to be included in this listing, call Sundial, 410- 783-1800, and enter code 6130.

Schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist in related projects.Among them are:Baltimore Medical System, for its four community health centers in East Baltimore. Volunteers are needed to read to children in waiting rooms in the Reach Out and Read program. Days and hours vary at each site. Contact: Linda Wilkens, 410-558-4988.SECO-LIFT, Southeast Community Organization-Learning Is For Tomorrow, an adult literacy program, 10 S. Wolfe St., Baltimore, providing one-on-one phonics training to adults whose reading ability is below second-grade level.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and assist in related projects.Among them are:The Pratt Center for Technology Training, located in the city library system's Broadway branch. The center, which offers free computer classes to the public, needs volunteer training aides and class assistants who have PC experience, including use of Netscape, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Information: 410-396-9940.Project CALL (Center for Adult Literacy and Learning)

Schools, libraries and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and assist in related projects.Among them are:Foundations Inc., which operates an after-school enrichment program in reading, math and other subjects at Baltimore's Gilmor Elementary, 1113 N. Stricker St. Volunteers are needed between 2: 30 p.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays. Contact: Jacquelyn Reed, 410-545- 0184.Youthful Inspirations Inc., at Bedford Elementary School, 7407 Dorman Drive, Pikesville, an enrichment program for elementary and middle school pupils.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist in related projects.Among them are:Uplift Reading Center, 1634 Guilford Ave., Baltimore, to assist students ages 12 to 18 in reading and computer skills. Volunteers are needed from 3: 30 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Contact: Salah Fatah, 410-333-6316.Junior Achievement of Central Maryland, which is recruiting volunteers for the fall semester to present its economics education curriculum in schools across the area from elementary to high school grades.

The Columbia Art Center Galleries and Little Patuxent Review will present a program on "Native American Traditions and Healing Ceremonies," with artist, author and dancer Henry E. Niese, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at the art center, 6100 Foreland Garth, in the Long Reach Village Center. Admission is free, and reservations are not required. The presentation is part of a continuing series sponsored by Little Patuxent Review and Columbia Art Center Galleries. Information: 410-730-0075, or visit www.columbiaartcenter.

Oldies But Goodies Cocker Spaniel Rescue will hold an adoption show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 10 at PetSmart, 9041 Snowden River Parkway, Columbia. All dogs are spayed or neutered and have been vaccinated. For information on the adoption process, to check out the cockers waiting for new homes, or to volunteer to foster, go to cockerspanielrescue.com or call 703-533-2373. To view pictures and biographies of the dogs, go to the Web site and click on "Dogs Available" and then on "Best Friends."

The Howard County chapter of African American Culture will offer a countywide celebration of Kwanzaa from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 26. at the East Columbia 50 Plus Center, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. The public is invited. To reserve a seat: 410-313-7680. Mentors sought A-OK (Assist Our Kids) Mentoring/Tutoring Program is recruiting volunteers to work with Howard County elementary and middle schools. Volunteers are needed during school hours and after school until 6 p.m. Volunteers should be able to dedicate an hour a week for a school year.

The Howard County Office on Aging will sponsor two holiday events at the East Columbia 50+ Center, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. A holiday cookie contest will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Participants should take a batch of homemade cookies and a copy of the recipe. Cookies will be sampled by a panel of judges. There will be prizes for best-decorated, best-tasting and healthiest. The Howard County Center of African-American Culture will offer a countywide celebration of Kwanzaa from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 26. The public is invited.

The chamber orchestra of Oakland Mills High School, 9410 Kilimanjaro Road, Columbia, will present a concert to benefit the WBAL Kids Campaign at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 in the school auditorium. The concert will feature the OMHS chamber orchestra, musicians from the Wilde Lake High School Chamber Orchestra, singers from the Annapolis Chorale and area soloists. The concert is appropriate for children and adults. Tickets are $10; students ages 11 and younger admitted free with a paying adult. Information: Philip Hale, 410-313-6945.

The Judy Center and Cradlerock School will honor school fathers and other significant men in the lives of Cradlerock's kindergarten children at the fourth "Meals With Magnificent Men," an outreach program coordinated through the Judy Center. The traditional Thanksgiving lunch will be followed by interactive literacy activities, such as reading stories and learning through singing. The event will be held at 10:15 a.m. Friday at Cradlerock School, 6700 Cradlerock Way. The event is part of a program to reinforce the importance of parent involvement at the school and to provide insight into the kindergarten program.

As part of its new life-enhancement series, Columbia Art Center will offer a presentation on "The Art of Gluten-Free Cooking," from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow at the center, 6100 Foreland Garth in Long Reach Village Center. Jules Dowler Shepard, an artist and an expert in gluten-free cooking and author of Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating and The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free, will offer insights on gluten-free flours, shopping, eating out and traveling.

The East Columbia 50+ Center, in the east Columbia library, 6600 Cradlerock Way, will offer a free program on diabetes and carbohydrate control from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. Nutritional consultant Rona Martiyan will offer recipes and talk about healthy eating for those affected by diabetes and controlling carbohydrates. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. Jan Brady, a professional organizer, will explain how to organize home-filing systems from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 10 at the 50+ center.

Oakland Mills High School will hold its 20th annual craft fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 8 in the main gymnasium of the school, 9410 Kilimanjaro Road, Columbia. Handmade jewelry, blankets, wooden items, scarves and other crafts for holiday gift-giving will be available. Music, food and a bake sale are also planned. Door prizes will be awarded. Vendors and artisans are needed. Admission is free for shoppers. Information: e-mail, OMHSCraftFair@yahoo.com. Center accredited The Cradlerock Children's Center, a nonprofit preschool for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, has received state accreditation.

The Long Reach Community Association is offering a six-week session of classes for children ages 8 to 13, "Stepping Out," to assist them in projecting a positive message, feeling good about themselves and getting comfortable in social settings. The classes will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays, starting soon, at Stonehouse in Long Reach Village Center. The cost is $150 for six weeks, with a 5 percent discount for those who live on Columbia Association-assessed property. Information" www.stepping-out.