Good Causes
Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Company is collecting food donations for three local food centers during the next few weeks. Bring in three or more items to donate and receive $5 of Monday Morning Money. Donations will benefit Plainsboro Food Pantry, South Brunswick Food Pantry, and Bentley Community Services. One location is Forrestal Village in Plainsboro. Visit www.sendingsmiles.com or call 609-520-2005 or 215-493-1400 for information.
Tender Hearts is conducting its holiday drive for military families at McGuire Air Force and Fort Dix Military bases. The collection is for toys for infants to 10 year old children as well as items for Christmas dinner including turkeys and non-perishable food. Items, as well as monetary donations, may be delivered to Tender Hearts, 320 Scully Avenue, Hamilton. Deadline is Wednesday, December 18.
Grounds For Sculpture is joining with Jersey Cares for the annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive. This year’s goal is to collect and distribute more than 60,000 winter coats to men, women, and children in need throughout New Jersey.
Grounds For Sculpture will have a collection box in the visitors’ center and encourages all guests who visit the park to bring their gently used winter coats to donate to the collection effort. Donators will receive a free guest pass to the sculpture park to be used for a return visit. Grounds For Sculpture is located at 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton. Visit www.groundsforsculpture.org. Deadline is Friday, February 7.
The Salvation Army seeks volunteers and donations during the holiday season. Adopt a Kettle programs, located at 55 locations in central New Jersey, needs volunteers to ring the bell from Friday, November 22, to Tuesday, December 24. Adopt an Angel for Christmas is a gift program that matches donators with a child from the community. Visit www.salvationarmynj.org or call 609-599-9373.
Trees for Troops is a program to provide Christmas trees to U.S. troops and military families in conjunction with the National Christmas Tree Association, The New Jersey Christmas Tree Grower’s Association, and FedEx. Donations may be made at www.treesfortroops.org or by purchasing trees to donate at various FedEx Freight trailer drop locations across the nation during Trees for Troops Weekend, December 6 to 8. Another location is Keris Tree Farm & Christmas Shop at 848 Route 524, Allentown.
Call for Film
Princeton Public Library invites student filmmakers, ages 12 to 24, to submit entries to the Princeton Environmental Film Festival short video contest. The contest seeks videos that focus on sustainability, its related topics, and the lives of the filmmakers. Selected videos will be showcased at the PEFF and one grand prize winner will receive a GoPro Camera. The deadline is Thursday, December 5.
Videos can be serious, thoughtful or comic, and will be judged on their creativity and originality. They should be no longer than three minutes. Submit YouTube or Vimeo link to princetonlibrary.org/PEFFshorts. Contact Susan Conlon at sconlon@princetonlibrary.org or Jessica Santos at jmsantos@princeton.edu for more information.
For Girls Only
Princeton House Behavioral Health initiated a program recently for girls age 13 to 18 who are dealing with mood and behavioral issues. The program, Supporting Adolescent Girls Emotionally (SAGE), program provides a supportive environment for girls to explore development issues that are unique to girls as they transition into young adulthood.
Girls wrestling with the pressures of adolescence may struggle with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Some may try to cope through dangerous behaviors such as self-injury, alcohol and drug use, or high-risk sexual activity. Girls may develop disordered eating patterns, display aggressive behavior, and socialize with older crowds. Others will withdraw from social interaction.
SAGE is designed to help girls develop healthy communication skills and positive self-esteem and to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, and the full spectrum of traumatic disorders. The program is located at 1000 Herrontown Road, Princeton. Visit www.princetonhouse.org or call 888-437-1610 for information.
Call for Singers
Sinfonietta Nova seeks singers for Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, a concert performance sung in German. Audition is Thursday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck, 154 South Mill Road, West Windsor. Prepare one area of your choice and one selection in German. Bring music for the pianists. $25 fee. Visit sinfoniettanova.org or E-mail auditions@sinfoniettanova.org for information and an appointment.
Call for Art
Monmouth County Arts Council seeks art for the annual juried art exhibition to be held at the Monmouth Museum. The competition is open to all artists world-wide age 17 and over. All artwork entered must be the artist’s original creations completed within the last five years, and must not have been exhibited in past Monmouth Museum exhibitions. Submission fee is $20 per piece entered (with a limit of four).
Artwork will be considered in all media through online submission of digital jpeg images only. All work must be available for the duration of the exhibition.
The juror is Stacy Smith, manager of publications and communications at Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Deadline is Friday, December 6. Contact Catherine Clark at 732-224-1989 or cclark@monmouthmuseum.org.
