Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 9, 2010 Emmanuel asks... Can You Help? Our hat’s off to Grace School of Ridgewood for their food collection. Also, special thanks to the Tesser family of Wyckoff. Mitchell and Sara helped stock our pantry and even helped our volunteer, Maureen, put it away. We currently have 17 families receiving eight to 10 bags of food every month. You can help us fill our pantry. When you go grocery shopping, please purchase some extra non-perishable items and drop them off. Food donations and grocery gift cards help support ECF’s food pantry, which serves many families in the region. We also need volunteer food drivers who can make deliveries to our families in Bergen and Essex counties. A background check is required. ECF uses your financial 4-29-09 karen/janine contributions to support the costs associated with providing free services to children EmmanuelHelp2x.75(4-29-09) donated, approxiwho have cancer. Out of each dollar mately 3 x .7570 cents goes towards direct care for our families. We are pleased to announce the return of our popular fun-filled weekend event, the Fine Arts & Craft Show, which features artwork, sculpture, jewelry, and all kinds of crafts. The event will be held at McBride Field on Franklin Lake Road, across from the Market Basket, in Franklin Lakes. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15, and hours will be from 10 to 5. Admission is free, but a $2 per person donation is suggested. Call Mary Ellen Marra at (201) 857-3930 for a vendor application. On Jan. 29, Sarah celebrated her sixteenth birthday. Sarah is being treated for alveolar soft part sarcoma, an extremely rare cancer. With the help of ECF, she was able to celebrate her Sweet Sixteen with Blue Moon DJs from Allendale. The DJ donated his time after reading about Sarah in Villadom TIMES. Sarah and about 50 friends celebrated along with her family, her ECF caseworker, Eileen, and some of her teachers from Newton High School. ECF helped her mom, Rita, decorate the VFW Hall in Newton by giving her gift cards to help with the cost of decorations. All of Sarah’s friends enjoyed the music the DJ played along with their requests. With help from ECF, her community and her family, Sarah enjoyed her birthday without thinking about how her life has changed since being diagnosed with cancer in March 2010. We currently need gently used clothes in the following sizes: girls 5-7 and 10-12, and boys 12-14. Please contact us before bringing them to our Midland Park office. Thank you. We also need a gently used microwave for our center. If you have one to donate, please call. You can help in a variety of other ways. For example, turn your next event into a fundraiser and collect checks or gift cards to donate to ECF’s families. Your efforts help us to help families like Sarah’s in many ways, including sending a caseworker to visit the families. This support for the kids, their siblings, and parents is crucial. Get your kids involved, too. Some have held Bake Sales, Yard Sales, or hot chocolate stands. Does your Cub Scout or Girl Scout Troop need to earn badges? This is a great way to get creative and have fun while learning about philanthropy. Come visit us in Midland Park. We rely on our local community to help support our families. Many of them do not have the financial or emotional support to help them get through a major illness like cancer. Please remember: We do not charge anything for our services. We rely on you! We are also happy to speak about our programs at your next fundraiser or event. Does your company have a charitable giving program? If so, please let us know! If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer. Volunteers are welcome to assist on Mondays from 10 to 1, and Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 4. Call (201) 612-8118 before you stop by. Please do not leave items at the center without checking with us first. Our storage space is limited. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue, Midland Park, NJ 07432. Visit us online at: www.emmanuelcancer.org. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families. Franklin Lakes Scribe ESL class forming The Franklin Lakes Library will offer free ESL (English as a Second Language) classes beginning April 14 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The eight-week conversation ESL program will meet Thursdays through June 2. Under the direction of Jacqueline Basralia, the class is designed for beginning through higher level learners. Basralia is a former ESL teacher from the Pascack Valley school district. Class size is limited, and early registration is encouraged. To register, call (201) 891-2224. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. Seniors plan events The Franklin Lakes Seniors have planned a dinner theater trip to see “The Great American Songbook 2” at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse on Tuesday, March 22. Lunch will include a five-entrée menu and dessert. The bus will leave at 9:30 a.m. The cost for the day is $53 for members and $58 for non-members. On May 12, the seniors will travel to the Platzl Brauhaus in Pomona, New York for the Lobster Fest. The outing will feature music, dancing, entertainment, lunch, beverages, and an afternoon snack. The cost for the day is $41 for members and $46 for non-members. The bus will leave at 9 a.m. For additional information, contact Marilyn McHugh at (201) 891-1513 or Madeleine Leto at (201) 891-4570. Yeager to address bullying Andrew Yeager will discuss bullying and cyber-bullying with interested teens and their parents at the Franklin Lakes Library on March 8 at 7 p.m. Yeager, student assistant counselor at Park Ridge High School, was involved in the creation of an instructional DVD, “Sticks and Stones,” produced by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. This free program is open to all teens and parents. A brief question and answer session will follow the program. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. Learn to edit photos Photographers of all ages are invited to share their photo-editing skills to create a collective photo album on March 14, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the teen room at the Franklin Lakes Public Library. Learn how easily photos can be manipulated on the computer through cropping, color enhancement, special effects, and more. Contact Kate at kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. Purim events offered The Chabad Jewish Center invites the community to an adults only “Absolut” Purim celebration on Saturday, March 19 at 8 p.m. Guests will enjoy a buffet dinner, open bar, and the humor of Comedian Dan Naturman. Naturman’s charming, self-deprecating, sharp-tongued style has made him a hit with audiences across the country. He was the favorite of celebrity judges Drew Carey and Brett Butler on “Last Comic Standing Season 2” and has made several appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Nite with Conan O’Brien.” He lives on New York’s Upper East Side where he performs regularly at the Comedy Cellar and Comic Strip Live. The event will be held at a private residence in Franklin Lakes. The suggested donation is $25 per person. The $180 sponsorship donation includes two reservations. On Sunday, March 20, the center invites the community to the annual “Purim around the World” celebration at 11 a.m. at 45 Spruce Street in Oakland. This year’s theme is the Land of Israel. The event will include an Israeli-style buffet lunch, Israeli DJ, Israeli-themed activities, a masquerade, and a bingo megillah reading. Purim is a joyous holiday celebrated by the exchange of food gifts, giving charity, partying, and reading the biblical narrative of the Purim story which occurred in Persia during the reign of Xerxes, about 480 BCE. The suggested donation is $10 per person, or $36 per family. The cost for a sponsor is $180. To RSVP for either event, call (201) 848-0449.