Call for Volunteers
Volunteers are sought to join the Mercer Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). The MRC is a network of volunteers from the community who are prepared to help during times of disaster or emergency. These trained volunteers improve public health and safety by carrying out a variety of essential functions, often relieving the burden on other emergency responders.
Training is provided. Bilingual and multi-lingual volunteers are especially valued. Create a New Jersey Learning Management Network (NJLMN) account and submit your MRC application at https://njlmn.njlincs.net.
Contact MRC coordinator John Arulmohan at ja2@njlincs.net or 609-989-6887 for assistance.
Literacy New Jersey Mercer Programs is offering a tutor training workshop. Join as a volunteer tutor and help adults improve their English literacy skills. Work one-to-one or in small groups to teach adults learning to speak, read, and write English.
Prospective volunteers attend 10 hours of online tutor training on Zoom, two hours, once a week for five weeks. After training, volunteers are matched with a small group of adult students or one-to-one and work with their program lead to plan classes and locate resources. No teaching experience is necessary. The training will give you the skills and support to become an effective tutor.
Two tutor training sessions are currently being offered: Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. on August 13, 20, and 27, and September 3 and 10; or Tuesdays, 6 to 8 p.m. on September 10, 17, and 24, and October 1 and 8.
Email mercer@literacynj.org or call 609-587-6027 to register or for more information.
Call for Students
Gesher LeKesher, a Jewish peer leadership program, is currently accepting applications from 11th and 12th grade teens (as of the 2024-2025 school year). As Gesher “Madrichim” (Peer Leaders), teens lead a group of 7th through 9th grade “Talmidim” (Learners) in outreaches addressing topics from a Jewish perspective including friendships, the impact of social media, peer pressure, prejudice, and antisemitism. This is a great opportunity to develop leadership skills while meeting and working with other Jewish teens in the Greater Princeton Mercer Bucks area.
Gesher LeKesher meets six hours each month: two Monday night Trainings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and an additional Outreach held either Monday or Wednesday nights. Gesher LeKesher is partially sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks. For more information, visit www.jfcsonline.org/gesher-lekesher.
The Jewish Community Youth Foundation is celebrating its 22nd year giving back to local, national and global nonprofits. Teens in grades 8 through 12 from the Mercer and Bucks Counties area learn about, experience and act upon Jewish values. The Jewish Community Youth Foundation is a project of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County and is funded by the Ricky and Andrew J. Shechtel Philanthropic Fund.
The Jewish Community Youth Foundation is nationally recognized and serves as a model for teen philanthropy programs around the country. Each teen philanthropist donates their own money, which gets matched and pooled with money they fundraise during the program. Students meet to discuss Tzedakah and explore needs and the nonprofit organizations who address them. At year-end, each group decides how their dollars will be donated.
Since the Jewish Community Youth Foundation’s inception, more than $1,000,000 has been distributed to 72 recipient agencies. The program offers teens an opportunity to develop leadership and presentation skills.
Registration is now open for all participants in 8th through 10th grades and returning participants in 11th and 12th grades. Space is limited. For more information, visit www.jfcsonline.org/jcyf.
Community service hours available for both programs.
Contact Celeste Albert at 609-987-8100 x210 or CelesteA@jfcsonline.org with any questions.
Call for Blood Donors
New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) has issued an urgent call for type O+ and O- blood donations. This dangerous shortage is impacting local hospitals and part of a disturbing national trend, with Type O shortages reported across the U.S. The current inventory of type O blood is the lowest it’s been since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Type O+ is the most common blood type, representing nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population. Type O- is the universal blood type and is commonly used in emergency settings. A shortage of both types, both locally and nationally, poses serious concerns for our healthcare system, and the need for donors is critical.
The region continues to struggle with the challenges that often accompany the summer months. Seasonal travel, school breaks, and a rise in traumatic accidents during the summer months often strain the blood supply and lead to shortages.
NJBS hosts daily blood drives and operates 19 area donor centers to reach donors and meet local hospital needs. Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently lifted several blood donor eligibility restrictions. To view current eligibility guidelines, visit nybc.org or call 800-688-0900.
To make an appointment, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit nybc.org. Can’t donate blood? You can still support NYBC’s mission by texting ‘NYBC’ to ‘20222’ to give $25.
Call for Singers
Auditions will be held on Wednesdays, August 7, 14, 21, and 28 for Cantabile Chamber Chorale. Cantabile is a chamber chorus of 25-30 singers with varied backgrounds ranging from recent graduates to retirees. The majority have non-music careers and enjoy the pleasure of singing in an ensemble.
Requirements for singers are a desire to sing with others; ability to sing in tune and blend with other voices; willingness to sing in various musical styles and languages; ability to hold a pitch in tune while other pitches move around you; excellent musical ear, some note reading, and rhythmic accuracy.
To audition, bring two pieces of music: one solo and one choral. One of the pieces should be in a non-English language. Vocalization will be tested to judge range, quality, and volume. Sight singing will be tested to judge eye and ear. Also prepare a folk song or hymn. Expect to perform intervals in major and minor keys and rhythmic passages to sing or tap.
Members are expected to sing all scheduled performances in a season and to attend all rehearsals. Singers are permitted to miss three rehearsals per concert period and attendance at dress rehearsals are mandatory for each concert.
Payment of dues is a condition for membership and participation in Cantabile activities. Dues for a season are $240 and includes the season’s music scores which become the property of the member. Dues can be paid in full or in installments arranged with the treasurer.
Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., from September through May in Piscataway. Cantabile typically performs two concerts, in late April and early December, at Christ United Methodist Church Piscataway.
For more information and complete audition expectations, visit cantabilechamberchorale.com/auditions.
Call for Photographers
The Mercer County Library System (MCLS) will be accepting entries for its 2024 Amateur Photo Contest from Monday, August 12, through Monday, September 16. This year’s theme is “Adventures in Mercer County and Beyond!”
Submit your photograph at your local branch. A panel of judges from each branch will choose three photos, which will then be sent to the West Windsor Branch where all photos will be evaluated by a final panel.
The contest is open to amateur photographers only. Photo retouching (including filters) is prohibited. All photographs must be printed on photo paper and sized to 5×7.
Please do not frame your photo or put any identifying information on it. Submit your photo with a completed entry form (found at each local branch).
Winners will be announced in early October.
For more information about the 2024 Amateur Photo Contest, contact Dana Benner, marketing librarian, at marketing@mcl.org.
Call for Artists
The Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts serves as a key resource for contemporary art in central New Jersey.
The submission portal is open now for eligible slots for January through November of 2025. After review by the ACP Gallery Committee, applicants will be notified of their acceptance status by mid-December 2024.
In an effort to showcase as many artists as possible, ACP gives preference to dual and group exhibitions in its Taplin Gallery. Proposals for solo shows may be offered an alternative gallery spaces or turned down.
Shows run for four to six weeks.
All selected artists are responsible for getting their work to and from the Arts Council gallery; no transportation is provided unless worked out with ACP artistic director ahead of time.
Guest curators are welcome to apply. Please note the applicant is responsible for the procurement and transportation of all work.
The deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, October 11. Visit https://artscouncilofprinceton.org/artists/propose-an-exhibit.
