Family workshop set for Saturday

DURHAM -- The LOVE Center will hold its one-day, monthly Family & Youth Workshop from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at The Reality Center, 916 Lamond Ave.

It is free and open to the public. And includes lunch and beverages.

The purpose of the LOVE workshops is to offer youths 7-18 and their parents, family and friends a combination of support, education, resources, and incentives to become more knowledgeable and to create the best parents/child relationship possible.

This Saturday's topic is: "Teen Dating Violence: Knowing, Experiencing, and Understanding Domestic Violence."

Workshops topics include: gang awareness, saying no to drugs and alcohol, youth and sex, grief, coping with separation and divorce, domestic violence, choosing positive peers, childhood nutrition, child abuse and child safety issues, anger management, reconnection of teens and parents, and families living with children with special needs.

For more info, directions or to register -- there is no registration deadline -- call Mrs. Montague at (919) 251-1966 or (919) 294-9071 or e-mail Decembre@thelovecentersite.org.

N.C. SADD event set for Durham

RALEIGH -- Some 300 students and chapter advisers from across North Carolina are expected to participate in the 27th annual N.C. Students Against Destructive Decisions (N.C. SADD) Leadership Conference Nov. 20-22 at the Durham Marriott Convention Center, 201 Foster St.

Scholarships are available to help offset registration costs for the first 200 registrants. The full registration price is $180 or $225 per student, depending on choice of two- or four-person room occupancy. Adult registration is $225 or $295, depending on choice of one- or two-person occupancy.

Download a registration form at http://www.doa.nc.gov online or call (919) 807-4400 for information. Registration deadline is Nov. 6.

The conference theme is "The Tribe Has Spoken ... It's Time for Change." Featured presenters include Annette Carrington of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition and the Durham County Health Department.

'Idol' winner to sing here

DURHAM -- American Idol winner Ruben Studdard will perform at the Durham Performing Arts Center at 2:30 and 4 p.m. Saturday as part of the 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Be Sickle Smart "Empowerment Day" national tour in partnership with the Bridges Pointe Sickle Cell Foundation, a member of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

The event educates those living with sickle cell disease about the risk for iron overload due to blood transfusions. DPAC event includes the free performances and autograph signing sessions by Studdard, free, iron overload screenings for eligible patients and educational seminars by medical experts.

Be Sickle Smart is a nationwide grassroots health-education program aimed at increasing awareness of iron overload among people living with sickle cell disease.

Contact Mark Donovan at mdonovan@heraldsun.com or (919) 419-6655. E-mail news of interest to our readers to news@heraldsun.com..