NAACP branch banquet slated

DURHAM -- The Durham Branch of the NAACP will honor William Marsh, John Schelp and the late Chester Jenkins at its Centennial Freedom Fund Banquet at 6 p.m. Nov. 14.

The banquet will be held at the Durham Marriott Convention Center, 201 Foster St.

Tickets are $50 per person. Call (919) 229-1151 or (919) 682-4930 for tickets.

Wildlife center sets fundraiser

DURHAM -- The Piedmont Wildlife Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping native wildlife in North Carolina, will hold its seventh annual Celebrate Wildlife! gala and auction from 6-10 p.m. Nov. 21 at Bay 7 of the American Tobacco Campus.

The benefit will feature live music, food, a cash bar, live and silent auctions and live animal programs.

These programs being offered throughout the night are an awesome way for your family to explore topics like animal tracking and bird call identification. There will be interactive hands-on activities for all ages so children are encouraged to attend. A bearded dragon lizard, a barred owl, a turtle, and two corn snakes will be on hand.

Tickets are $25 per adult and $10 per child under 18.

For more information or tickets visit http://piedmontwildlifecenter.org/auction. To donate an item for the auction, e-mail auction@piedmontwildlifecenter.org.

Program seeks at-risk girls

DURHAM — Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle is accepting enrollment applications for girls in Durham, Orange and Wake counties age 6-14 who would live to have a mentor.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has recruited more female mentors than it has enrolled at-risk girls.

BBBST promotes self-esteem, awareness of life’s opportunities, and guidance and support in the lives of children, primarily from low-income, single-parent homes

Contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle at (919) 850-9772 or www.bbbstriangle.org to obtain more information or to initiate your child’s program enrollment.

Middle school career expo set

DURHAM — The fourth annual career exposition for Durham middle school students and their parents and guardians will be Thursday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Northgate Mall. The event is free.

The career expo is designed to help students better understand the variety of career paths available to them and to encourage dialogue between children and their parents on career interests and opportunities.

More than 100 professionals will be available to students and parents to discuss various aspects of their jobs, including education levels needed to attain the position, salary and job responsibilities.

The first 400 students will receive a free Chick-fil-A sandwich or a free slice of pizza from Villa-Fresh Italian Kitchen as well as ice cream from Haagen Dazs/Planet Smoothie. Parents will be eligible to win gas cards.

Students’ help conference set

DURHAM — Registration for the North Carolina Students Against Destruction Decisions conference will close Friday. The conference, the 27th annual gathering of students and chapter advisers, is expected to draw about 300 people from around the state.

The conference will be Nov. 20-22 at the Durham Marriott Convention Center, 201 Foster St.

The conference theme is “The Tribe Has Spoken — It’s Time for Change.” Presenters will officials with the state Highway Patrol, Mothers Against Drunk Driving North Carolina, the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition and the Durham County Health Department.

The full registration price is $180 or $225 per student, depending on choice of room. Adult registration is $225 or $295, depending on choice of room.

SADD offered scholarships to early registrants to help offset conference costs. A registration form is available at tinyurl.com/yckomrq; information is available by calling 807-4400.

Meals on Wheels is going ‘green’

DURHAM — Meals on Wheels of Durham has added 12 new solar tube skylights to their new facility at 2522 Ross Road.

The new additions increase natural light and significantly reduce the amount of energy used to light and heat it.

The project was funded by an anonymous donor.

For more information, e-mail admin@mowdurham.org.

Schelp to speak at Main Library

DURHAM — John Schelp, president of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, will discuss the history of West Durham as a mill village at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Main Library, 300 N. Roxboro St.

Schelp will describe how the Erwin Cotton Mills, from their construction in the 1890s to their closure in the 1980s, were the driving force that made Old West Durham what it is today.

The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, call (919) 560-0268 or visit www.durhamcountylibrary.org.

Schelp’s presentation is in conjunction with “Piece Work,” a performance about life and work in cotton mills, at Durham Technical Community College’s Educational Resources Center auditorium, 1637 Lawson St., on November 10 at 2 p.m.

Piece Work is the Touring Theatre of North Carolina’s original adaptation of North Carolina writer Barbara Presnell’s work of the same name.

IBM donates six computers

DURHAM — IBM is partnering with Durham’s Partnership for Children in providing IBM’s KidSmart program which includes the Young Explorer, a computer housed in brightly-colored, kid-friendly Little Tikes furniture and equipped with award-winning educational software to help children learn and explore concepts in math, science and language.

Local child-care centers that are receiving the Young Explorer computers include:

- Bryson Christian Montessori School

- Early Explorers Playschool #1

- Great Horizons Preschool

- Little People Day Care Center

- Operation Breakthrough Head Start — Lyon Park

- Triangle Day Care Center

For more information about Durham’s Partnership for Children, visit www.dpfc.net or call (919) 403-6960, ext 221.

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