Uniquely designed birdhouses, like the one shown here, are being raffled off for the Raymond Village Library’s spring raffle. Contributed / Raymond Village Library

Gone to the birds

Raymond Village Library has a new spring raffle this year. Twenty-seven uniquely designed birdhouses have been created by members of the community to help raise money for the library and can all be viewed on the library website at raymondvillagelibrary.org. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the library, by phone or online for $1 each or six for $5. The drawing will be held April 4. Winners will be notified by phone or email and can pick up their birdhouse in the library or through curbside pickup. Raymond residents can also request home delivery. All proceeds from the birdhouse raffle directly support library programs, materials and services for the Raymond community.

Volunteer library sale coordinator needed

Raymond Village Library is looking for a volunteer coordinator for the annual summer book sale, which is one of the largest and most popular fundraisers of the year. The coordinator would be responsible for organizing book and movie donations into categories on a weekly basis, boxing up items and transferring boxes to the storage shed, creating signage, setting up outdoor book sale tables for the July sale and supervising sales during the two-day summer fundraising event. Contact the library director at rvldirector@gmail.com for more information.

New e-sports leagues

Windham Parks & Recreation and the Raymond Parks & Recreation Department are both partnering with GGLeagues to offer e-sports leagues for anyone ages 8 and older, both kids and adults. Competitions will be between participants from recreation departments throughout the state of Maine. The games that individuals will be participating in will be Rocket League, Madden 21, Super Smash Bros and Fortnite. The spring 2021 gaming dates are April 10 through May 15, with matches being played on Saturdays. The schedule includes five weeks of gameplay plus one week of playoffs.

Age divisions are divided into the following categories: youth, 8-12 years old; teen, 13-18 years old (high school seniors and below); adult, 18 years and older. The fee for participation is $30 per person. Register by March 29 at raymond.recdesk.com.

Easter week services

Raymond Village Community Church has a full celebration schedule planned for the Holy Week of Easter. Beginning on Palm Sunday, March 28, at 10 a.m. there will be worship on Zoom. Services may be viewed on YouTube as well. Parishioners will be able to pick up palms outside the vestry door on March 27 to be ready to wave them during the traditional introit “The Palms.”

There will be a Maundy Thursday service at 6 p.m. April 1, with a brief worship service via Zoom. Easter sunrise service will be at 6:30 a.m. April 4 behind the Casco Village Church, followed by Easter worship service at 10 a.m. via Zoom beginning with “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and ending with the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

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All services use the same Zoom link, found at rvccme.org.

To offer up names in celebration or remembrance during this special season, email Caryl Gilman at carylgilman@gmail.com by March 28 and a remembrance sheet will be put together and will be mailed out on the Thursday before Easter.

COVID-19 response help

There have been many questions and a lot of information being distributed regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. Southern Maine Area on Aging has created a plan to put together transportation options and, in some cases, get appointments scheduled for clients. It has been working closely with the DHHS, the Maine CDC and some local health care partners to be as impactful as possible. Older adults can call 396-6500 and press 1 for vaccine information and assistance. One of SMAA’s resource specialists or a trained SMAA volunteer will respond quickly to questions and inquiries left via voicemail.

Virtual book club

Join a virtual literary discussion of “The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century” by Kirk Wallace Johnson at 6 p.m. Monday, March 29 via Zoom. Contact the library or Melanie, the book club facilitator, by email for the Zoom meeting web link and password.

Alissa Messer can be contacted at alissamesser@gmail.com.

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