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Community Corner

About Town: Helping Hands and Saving Dough in Concord

A blood drive update, a way to help Decibels, and low-cost ways to enjoy your weekend.

 

Hey, hey, hey, it’s Thursday, the back half of the week, the downward slide to the weekend. Another mild and dry week coming to a close, here in the second warmest winter on record.

And much as I’m loving the lack of shoveling, I have to say I’m kind of missing the opportunity to cross country ski without having to leave the state. By this time last year, I’d been out a dozen times, easy; this year, my skis have cobwebs growing on the cobwebs. Ah, well, you can’t have everything.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A few weeks ago, I told you about the , the personal trainer at the Beede Center who is fighting germ cell cancer. The drive was held last Tuesday, January 31, and I’m happy to report it was a huge success: 34 pints of the red liquid were collected, much to the delight of the Beede staff members and recipient Mass General Hospital.

Did you know that only three out of every 100 people in America donate blood? That means the people who came to donate are part of a pretty elite group. So a big thank-you to those generous people who came down to Beede last week – it was much appreciated.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I Stink, You Stink

I’ve mentioned in the past Decibels Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping children with hearing loss and their families, located over at Minute Man Arc. They’re running a pretty interesting fundraiser this week, inspired by the son of the founders: it’s called Stink Week, and it rewards participants for being stinky. Ok, they don’t actually HAVE to be stinky, but they do have to commit to wearing the same T-shirt every day for the entire week. There are different levels of stinkiness, from Cheddar – washing the shirt every day and bathing – to Muenster – “no changing, no bathing, no mercy.”

Decibels is doing this because there are a lot of other things that stink, like parents being unable to afford hearing aids, and babies being turned away from Decibels’ infant program for lack of space. These things cost money – a lot of money. Did you know that a decent pair of hearing aids can run $4,000 and up? And that most insurances don’t cover them, not even a little?

Now I know the week is almost over, so it’s too late for YOU to stink, but it’s not too late to support a stinky kid, or a stinky program. Just click here and find someone – or something -- to support. Every little bit helps, and those babies – and their parents – will thank you.

Hit the Flicks

Yes, it’s time again for Free Friday Flicks at Fowler! (How’s that for alliteration??) This week’s flick is “Shall We Dance” from Japan. Here’s the description:

“A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons.”

Couldn’t we all use a secret passion? The movie starts at 7 p.m. over at the Fowler branch of the library, but get there early, because seating is limited and it’s completely free.

Dinner and a Show

So last week I , opening this weekend over at 51 Walden. Well, if you’re looking to eat before the show, Serafina is offering a sweet deal: 20 percent off the food portion of your check with proof that you’re attending that night’s show – a ticket or an email confirming your reservation, whichever you’ve got. Pretty awesome, eh? Dinner starts as early as 5:30 p.m., plenty of time to make that 8 p.m. curtain.

Now you have no excuse to stay in this weekend.

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at stefanieac@comcast.net or Maureen at mcb23@comcast.net, and we will be happy to help you spread the good news.

And follow us on Twitter: Maureen is @cosmo1162, I’m @stefanie3131.

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