WELLS

Thanksgiving dinner served

Wells Junior High School eighth-graders presented their 19th annual WJHS Thanksgiving Dinner for area seniors, in an afternoon event that catered a fully trimmed holiday turkey meal to more than 430 guests.

Students were involved in every aspect of the dinner, making the decorations, banners and napkins; baking pies; decorating the dining hall; and setting up tables and chairs.

On the day of the dinner, students greeted guests, seated them at their tables, worked in the kitchen, waited on tables and helped with cleanup.

There was even a valet service provided by several high school seniors.

PORTLAND

Children’s Museum donation

The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, recently donated a total of $12,500 to the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.

Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine offers educational exhibits and programming for children ages 10 younger and the adults who accompany them.

Since 2001, annual funding from the TD Charitable Foundation has supported the Museum’s early childhood education efforts, including the popular Toddler Park exhibit, which offers multisensory enrichment for children under 4.

Offering 20 unique exhibits, dozens of theater performances and thousands of hours of educational programs and activities, CMTM welcomes more than 100,000 visitors annually and has more than 1,700 member families.

Law students honored

Three students at the University of Maine School of Law were honored this fall by the state’s Katahdin Law Student Recognition Program, for providing free legal assistance to Mainers who cannot afford an attorney.

Third-year law students Kimberly Watson, Katherine Malia and Michael O’Brien were recognized for completing more than 50 pro bono hours.

The hours were above and beyond any other volunteer work the students performed for law school credit, or during internships.

The program is part of the larger Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program, which is overseen by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and acknowledges Maine lawyers who complete more than 50 pro bono hours in a year.

Outstanding alumna named

Professor Deirdre Smith, director of the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Maine School of Law, was named Outstanding Alumna for 2013 by the law school’s Women’s Law Association.

Smith, a 1994 graduate of Maine Law, was honored at a reception on Nov. 22.

A teacher, Smith has been director of the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic since 2004.

Through the clinic, student attorneys are specially licensed to practice law and provide free representation to low-income individuals and families.

Under Smith’s leadership, the clinic has expanded to include courses in the areas of Juvenile Justice and Refugee and Human Rights, in addition to programs in general practice for clients in need, for prisoners, and for victims of domestic violence.

SACO

Nurses receive donation

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution has donated $2,500 to HomeHealth Visiting Nurses, a nonprofit organization that provides home health and community care services for patients of all ages in southern Maine.

According to HHVN Interim President and CEO Donna DeBlois, the funds will support important health promotion initiatives including a series of foot care clinics scheduled in the agency’s Saco office and educational seminars to prevent the onset of diabetes.

This donation will go directly toward services that promote healthier lifestyles for those individuals unable to pay for services.

LEBANON

Rescue helps Santa

The Lebanon Rescue Department has begun collecting toys for its 17th annual “Operation Santa” campaign to provide toys and coats to Lebanon children.

This year, Santa will visit the homes of about 350 Lebanon children a few days before Christmas, pulling up in an ambulance to deliver some yuletide cheer.

The department is, once again, collecting new, unwrapped toys to help children in town who have suffered a traumatic event like the loss of a loved one.

This is done in addition to “Operation Santa,” which provides a toy to any child in town who would like a free visit from Santa.

Residents may drop off their donations to the following locations: Kenney Automotive, Stokewoods Restaurant, Lebanon House of Pizza, Trains Quick Stop and Lebanon Rescue Station, all located on the Carl Broggi Highway.

Monetary donations also are appreciated and can be mailed to: Lebanon Rescue Corp. – Operation Santa, 323 Depot Road, Lebanon, Maine 04027

Families looking to have Santa stop in with a toy on Dec. 20 or 21 should email: operationsanta@lebanonrescue.com or fill out a form at www.lebanonrescue.com and mail it to us.

For more details, call Chief Samantha Cole at 608-5615 or go to operationsanta@lebanonrescue.com.

WATERBORO

Two begin service course

Eric Gendron of Waterboro and Robert Allard of Lebanon recently began 10-month terms of service in the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program that supports disaster relief, the environment, infrastructure improvement, energy conservation, and urban and rural development.

Allard is based out of the AmeriCorps NCCC regional campus in Sacramento, Calif., and Gendron is based out of the regional campus in Denver, Colo.

Allard and Gendron arrived at their regional campuses in late October to train for teamwork, leadership development, communication, service learning, and certification by the American Red Cross.

As corps members, Allard and Gendron will be responsible for completing a series of six- to eight-week-long service projects as part of 10- to 12-person teams.

Their first service projects will end on Dec. 19, at which time their teams will break for the winter holidays and begin a new project in a new location in January.

For more details, go to www.americorps.gov/nccc.