during holiday season

The Orange County Department of Social Services’ Share Your Holiday program is seeking sponsors to fulfill families’ wish-list requests.

For some, the holiday season can be a difficult time. Last year, a single mother of three endured multiple surgeries that limited her mobility and depleted her bank account. She had little hope for a happy holiday until a social worker referred her to the Share Your Holiday program.

“My kids were so happy and surprised,” said the resident. “At one point we just sat down and cried together because it was so great.”

This year, Social Services is seeking sponsors for the Share Your Holiday Program, as well as donations and volunteers for its annual Toy Chest event, where families select toys for their children.

Last year the Toy Chest, coordinated in partnership with the Marine Corps Reserves Toys-for-Tots program and local community donors, collected more than 8,300 toys for more than 3,300 children. The department anticipates an even greater need this holiday season.

There are several ways to get involved:

• Place a new, unwrapped toy in one of the Toys-for-Tots drop boxes located at businesses and organizations throughout Orange County

• Make a monetary donation online

• Sponsor a child, family or senior through the Share Your Holiday program.

For more information about Toy- for-Tots box locations and monetary donations, please visit hillsborough-nc.toysfortots.org

For more information about Share Your Holiday sponsorships, please visit co.orange.nc.us/holidayprogram/index.asp

Hawbridge School

to hold open house

The Hawbridge School will hold an open house for prospective students and families from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. The open house will include opportunities to meet faculty and staff, tour the school, and learn about the curriculum.

The Hawbridge School is a free public charter school serving students in grades six through 12. Housed in a converted textile mill in the town of Saxapahaw, Hawbridge offers an interdisciplinary curriculum focusing on the arts and the environment. Students from seven different school districts attend Hawbridge. For three consecutive years, Hawbridge has been designated an Honor School of Excellence, and middle and high school students have won national and state awards in writing, science, art, and public speaking.

The open house will begin with a performance by the middle school Gamelan orchestra, a group of students who play instruments created from recycled materials. In addition to the musical performance, open house attendees can shop for student-made crafts at the Saxapahaw Holiday Market, located in the Haw River Ballroom. The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Donate food, avoid

overdue book fines

The Orange County Public Library system is pleased to again offer an amnesty period for overdue fines during the holiday season.

From now through Dec. 14, the library will accept one can or bag of nonperishable food in place of $1 in overdue fees. Patrons can also donate a can of pet food in lieu of $1 in fines. The food and the pet food will be distributed to county residents in need by Orange Congregations in Mission. There are no limits to how many cans of food or pet food a patron can donate.

Also, the Library will be a drop off site for the Orange County Toy Chest program.

Concurrent with the food-for-fines / pet food-for-fines program, the library will accept a new, unwrapped toy as payment for all library overdue fines. The toy chest program distributes new children’s toys to county residents in need.

As with programs in the past, food and toys can only be used to pay down overdue fines; the library will not accept food, pet food or toys to pay for lost or damaged library materials.