Notes

Photo by Jim Reme

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Children's Festival was held Jan. 30 at the Rebecca Stafford Student Center at Monmouth University in West Long Branch.

The Children's Festival coordinates with area schools to have local children visit the campus and learn about the legacy of Dr. King in a fun and creative festival environment.

Twenty-eight clubs and organizations provided booths with activities celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. King at the festival. Among the more than 200 children who attended were students from Red Bank Charter School, West Side Christian Academy, Red Bank, and Long Branch Middle School.

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Wolf Hill School in Oceanport will host the eighth annual "Reading Rocks" celebration Feb. 22, at Wolf Hill School. The event is a forum for children and parents to share their love of literature and is being sponsored by teachers of the Pride Committee of the Oceanport Education Association (OEA). Teachers will volunteer their time to read their favorite books, as well as serve refreshments to the students, and their parents.

Bobbie Pirro, Jeanne Roberts, Donna Skop and Trish Campbell

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Red Bank Elks Lodge 233 recently hosted a Pancake Breakfast, which raised $3,500 to benefit Marine Lance Cpl. Cherrelli Peden of the 6th Motor Transport Battalion who lost her home in a fire. The lodge also sent phone cards, candy, and personal items to troops serving in Iraq. According to Elks member James Harris, "You can see supporting the military is not just a slogan with us."

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The Rumson Women's Club will hold its annual Spring Gift Auction April 27 at The Church of the Nativity on Hance Road in Fair Haven.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for ticket holders and at 7 p.m. for those who purchase tickets at the door. Tickets may be purchased in advance for $10 by calling Thea Davis at (732) 842-7298. Tickets purchased at the door will be $12 and availability will be limited.

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The Sierra Club, Jersey Shore Group will meet Monday, Feb. 26, in the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, 1475 W. Front St., Lincroft, at 8 p.m. Mary Penney, of the Delaware & Raritan Greenway Land Trust, will describe the partnership she has spearheaded with Mexico and Guatemala to preserve forests in New Jersey's Sourland Mountains and in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and forests extending into Guatemala.

For directions and information, call Faith Teitelbaum (732) 229-0553 or visit www.newjersey/sierraclub.org/

JerseyShore/.

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"Felicia's Journey" by William Trevor will be discussed at the Eastern Branch of the Monmouth County Library, 1001 Route 35, Tuesday, March 13, at 10 a.m. and Wednesday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. The story is a psychological suspense novel for that received the 1994 Whitbread Award. Books are available to be borrowed from the library. For more information, call (732) 842-5995.

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Children, parents, grandparents, and teddy bears of all ages are invited to attend a special event at the Monmouth Museum Sunday, March 25, from 2-4 p.m. The afternoon will include delectable treats to eat and gourmet teas.

Many activities are scheduled to entertain all including a lesson on manners, games, a raffle and a take-home craft. The event is open to all children ages 3 to 8 and their families.

The cost for this program is $30 for adults and $20 for children, $25 for museum members and $15 for their children. The museum is located on the Brookdale Community College campus on Newman Springs Road. For information, call (732) 747-2266 or visit www.monmouthmuseum.org.

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The Community YMCA Black Achievers program will highlight successful leaders in Black History with an evening of celebration and purpose. The program, to be held Feb. 28 at the Children's Cultural Center, 51 Monmouth St., Red Bank, will feature projects and readings by teen students in the Black Achievers program and a keynote speech by former N.J. Attorney General Peter C. Harvey.

The event is open to the public and will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. For more information or to R.S.V.P., contact Jo Ann Rountree, (732) 747-4426, ext. 13.

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Red Bank United Methodist Church, 247 Broad St., is screening the environmental film "An Inconvenient Truth" Feb. 28 at 6:45 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. A discussion and question-and-answer session will follow Wednesday, March 7, at 6:45 p.m. with Climate Project speakers Dr. Sailesh Rao and Dr. Judith Kramer.

All are invited to come hear what is happening with climate change and what each of us can do about it. For more information, call (732) 747-0446.

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The fifth annual Bowling for Breast Cancer Research Night Out Jan. 28 was a huge success. Held at Memory Lanes on Newman Springs Road in Shrewsbury, the fundraiser was highlighted by 33 gift baskets donated by various sponsors and families.

The event is dedicated to the memory of Debbie Matthews, who lost her struggle with breast cancer in 2002.

All of the event chairwomen (see photo) have had family members or friends affected by breast cancer.

To date the yearly fundraiser has donated nearly $5,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to find a cure for breast cancer. Donations can be sent to Bowling for Breast Cancer Research, 91 Priscilla Drive Lincroft, NJ 07738.