Page 2 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • December 11, 2013 Villadom Happenings Newtown memorial to be held The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood will host an inter- faith service on Saturday, Dec. 14 to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The service, which is being held in honor of the lives lost at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, will begin at 9:30 a.m. The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood is located at 113 Cot- tage Place in Ridgewood. All are welcome. Special needs basketball offered The Upper Saddle River Basketball Association and Upper Saddle River Recreation Commission are sponsor- ing a free structured, small group basketball clinic for chil- dren with special needs. Students in kindergarten through grade six are invited to these one-hour clinics, which will be held in the Reynolds School gym at 391 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. The program will meet at 11 a.m. on the following dates: Dec. 15; Jan. 5, 12, and 26; Feb. 2 and 9; and March 2, 9, and 16. Players will warm up, run drills, and play a brief game. Breaks and any other accommodations will be made. Each participant will require a parent shadow for all clinics. Children from the surrounding communities are wel- come. Contact Joe Abbatiello at (917) 744-4415 or e-mail jabbatiello@verizon.net to register or for details. Y hosts Solstice Yoga Workshop YWCA Bergen County will hold two Solstice Yoga classes for all ages and levels on Saturday, Dec. 21. Classes will be held at the YWCA, 112 Oak Street in Ridgewood. Intro to Yoga, a light-hearted, introductory class taught by certified instructor Colleen Fontes, will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. A short break and refreshments will follow. At 4 p.m., Winter Solstice 108 Sun Salutations for regular yoga practitioners will be led by YW instructors Amy Jung and Colleen Fontes along with guest instructors. Each person who participates must bring a yoga mat. Movement@YW members may participate for free. The suggested donation for non-members is $5 per person per class. Participants should be in general good health and able to sit, stand, and lie down. For more information and to register, call (201) 444-5600, extension 351. Men’s chorus to perform Holiday Concert The Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus of Ridgewood will pres- ent its annual Holiday Concert on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 Thank you to everyone who donated Thanksgiving food baskets. They were very much appreciated! Mark your 2014 calendar: Our Fourth Annual Bash will be held March 7. Please contact us if you would like to be involved. We need volunteers to sell ads for our journal and get corporate sponsorships and donations of sports tickets and memorabilia. You can help our families during the holidays. We are now serving 70 families in the northern region, which includes five counties in northern New Jersey. Eighteen of those families receive groceries from our pantry each month. We like to give each family a food basket for the holidays. Making a basket is a perfect way for your family to get together to help a family in need. We will need the baskets by Dec. 16 in order to give our drivers time to coordinate their deliveries. Basket items include cranberry or another type of juice, stuffing mix, gravy, bread or muffin mix, Parmalat milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cake mix, nuts, mints, and soup. Get creative, and throw in some other items, like a paper tablecloth, some festive napkins, or a $10 gift card. We are also accepting turkeys and we have a freezer to store them. Meet Margarita: In July 2011, after Margarita began to experience frequent nosebleeds, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Her chemotherapy treatments offset her diabetes treatments, resulting in frequent, lengthy periods of hospitalization. While she was supposed to be enjoying her teen years, she under went debilitating surgeries on both hips that left her bed bound for several months at a time. She and her family live in a small third floor walk-up apartment. Leaving the apartment unassisted was not an option for quite some time. Margarita was looking forward to her 18 th birthday this summer. She was thrilled that she would finally be able to return to school and see her friends. In mid- August, Margarita learned that the cancer had returned and that there are no longer any treatments that will rid Margarita’s body of the disease. Her mother is the main provider for the family and works long, exhausting hours at the restaurant near their p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 15 at 4 p.m. at Ridgewood United Methodist Church, 100 Dayton Street in Ridgewood. The concert will feature “La Vergine” by Verdi, “In My Life” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, “Break Forth, O Beauteous, Heav’nly Light” by J.S. Bach, “Wassail Song,” and other pieces. Opera singer Michele Capalbo will be the guest solo- ist. This Ridgewood soprano has sung many international and domestic performances of Verdi and Puccini heroines, including Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Aida, Desdemona, and Lady Macbeth. Tickets are $12 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets for students and seniors purchased at the door will be $15. Tickets may be purchased at the at Daily Treat, Wine Seller, (continued on page 30) apartment. Since Margarita requires much care and is often sad and physically limited, Margarita’s mother is not able to go to work and the family is suffering tremen- dously. The family received a shut off notice for their utility bills and is unable to afford to purchase gifts for the holidays. Margarita would love to receive some warm leggings in size medium, a book bag from Deb Shops (since she is sometimes able to go to school in her wheelchair), warm sweaters in size medium, and warm bedding. Margarita often feels lonely, isolated, and restricted and would also appreciate any crafts or activities that can occupy her time while she is receiving palliative treatment or is home bound. The cold, short days really affect her ability to stay positive or hopeful. Any help that you could offer to Margarita and her family would be deeply appreciated. ECF does not receive government funding; we rely on donations and volunteers from the community. Call (201) 612-8118 or email Laura at laura@emmanuelcancer.org to see how you can help. • We need volunteers who can deliver groceries to families in Bergen and Essex counties. Spanish-speak- ing drivers are in particularly high demand. • Is your office looking for a community service proj- ect? Holding a drive for our food pantry would be a tre- mendous help. • Does your company have a charitable giving pro- gram? If so, let us know! • Kids can help too! Is your Scout troop looking to earn badges? Ask us for creative ways kids can have fun while learning about philanthropy. • Emmanuel Cancer Foundation is celebrating 30 years of providing services. If you would care to make a contribution to honor this milestone, imagine how much good we could do with $30 from every reader! If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer or just stop by and see what ECF is all about. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue in Midland Park. Please 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. For more information, visit http://www. emmanuelcancer.org or “like” us on Facebook: Emman- uelCancerFoundation. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families!