By MERI R. KENNEDY

Stillhouse Cove cleanup

The Edgewood Waterfront Preservation Association will be holding its annual cleanup at Stillhouse Cove on Saturday, April 25, between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. This event, taking place along the southern end of Narragansett Boulevard in the Edgewood section of Cranston, has been taking place for more than 30 years. Save the Bay is co-sponsoring this cleanup with EWPA and will be supervising restoration activities on site that have been pre-approved the Coastal Resources Management Council.

Participants in this event will be asked to assist with a variety of activities that include removing everything from marine debris that washes in with the tides to trash that blows onto the site over the winter. Volunteers will be asked to help with the annual maintenance of the tidal ditches to remove sediment and vegetation that impedes proper flushing of the salt marsh, necessary to control mosquitoes and invasive vegetation. Proper waterproof footwear is recommended for marsh work.

Families are encouraged to participate as the site provides a variety of safe ways young children can learn about the environment while helping their community.

Several neighborhood organizations will be participating in this event. The Edgewood Garden Club will be on site preparing its native flower garden for the upcoming growing season. Johnson & Wales Centennial House, the community service residential center on Norwood Avenue, will be assisting with this cleanup. The Rhode Island Yacht Club will be sending representatives of their membership to volunteer again this year. Gloves, trash bags, and water will be available. Reusable shopping bags will be given to all volunteers as a thank you.

This event is being funded this year by the Narragansett Bay Commission and the Department of Environmental Management. Some planting may take place along the top of the bank and in eroded areas if ordered plant material arrives in time for this event.

If necessary, Sunday, April 26 is the scheduled rain date.

Crime Watch meeting

The Cranston Police Department, in partnership with the Glen Hills Crime Watch, will be hosting a community meeting for the Glen Woods, Garden Hills, Dean Estates and Oaklawn Terrace residents at 6:30 p.m. on May 6 at Glen Hills Elementary School, located at 50 Glen Hills Drive.

Residents will be able to discuss neighborhood security issues and concerns, and will also have the ability to meet members of the Police Department directly.

If you are interested in starting a crime watch for your neighborhood, or would like to help organize a community meeting for your section of Cranston, email Capt. Vincent McAteer in the Office of Community Outreach at vmcateer@cranstonpoliceri.com.

Tomorrow Fund Stroll

The Tomorrow Fund Annual Stroll is taking place on April 26 at Garden City Center in Cranston.

The Tomorrow Fund is a non-profit organization that provides daily financial and emotional support to children with cancer who are treated in The Tomorrow Fund Clinic – located in the Edwin Forman Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Center at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence – and their families. Kids can come from anywhere in the world, but they must be treated in our pediatric oncology program at Hasbro to receive services.

Children, adults and families are welcome to collect pledges and “stroll” on behalf of The Tomorrow Fund. A minimum donation of $20 per walker or team member is required.

Check-in and registration begins at 8:45 a.m. “Tomorrow Fund Stroll” T-shirts will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The stroll begins at 10 a.m. Participants can walk as few or as many laps around the shopping center as they wish. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided, including clowns, face painters and music. Trophies will be awarded to the team and individual raising the most money. For more information or to receive a registration and pledge form, please call The Tomorrow Fund at 401-444-8811 or visit www.tomorrowfund.org.

Confreda Farms to hold benefit for Audubon Society

On April 25 from noon to 3 p.m. Confreda Greenhouses & Farms, located at 2150 Scituate Ave., will hold a special celebration with eco-friendly activities at the farm.

Celebrating Earth Day, those on hand may participate in rock painting, Pansy planting, bird-feeder making and train rides all day. There will also be farm tours to teach about sustainability at Confreda’s. Also included is a workshop on the importance of bees, as well as a workshop on starting your own compost pile. The cost of the event is $6 a person, with $2 going to the Audubon Society to promote wildlife habitats.

For tickets, visit confredafarms.ticketleap.com.

BankNewport/Pastore Foundation fundraiser

There will be a benefit dinner from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on May 7 to benefit the BankNewport/Peter T. Pastore Jr. Charitable Foundation at the Alpine Country Club, located at 251 Pippin Orchard Road.

Donations are $50 per person, and the evening will include a silent auction, 50/50 raffle and more. Tickets can be purchased by emailing greg_ventura@hotmail.com or visiting BankNewport’s Cranston branch at 875 Pontiac Ave., and will be available at the door that evening.

The Peter T. Pastore Jr. Charitable Foundation provides charitable support to many youth organizations throughout the city.

Chipotle fundraiser for March of Dimes

Family Team McNally, from Cranston, is hosting a fundraiser at Chipotle’s location at Bald Hill Road in Warwick to support the 2015 March for Babies. Fifty percent of all purchases, eat-in or takeout, made on April 29 between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. will be donated to the March of Dimes when the fundraiser is mentioned.

Free Shed-a-Thon

There will be a free Shed-a-Thon on May 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center. To help Rhode Islanders safeguard personal information, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin is hosting this event. All materials collected are guaranteed to be safely disposed of and recycled.

This event is open to the public, with a limit of one bankers box per person. Also, when dropping off materials for shredding, please consider bringing a non-perishable food item for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Veterans’ breakfast

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse will hold his eighth annual Veterans Breakfast and Resource Fair on May 2 at the Rhode Island National Guard Armory at 541 Airport Road in Warwick. The breakfast is free and open to all veterans and their families. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Representatives from federal and state agencies, veterans service organizations, and other groups will be on hand to connect attendees with employment opportunities, Veterans Administration benefits, and other services. The breakfast will also feature special guest speakers and presentations for veterans.

While not required, RSVPs are encouraged. To RSVP, please call 401-453-5294 or visit www.whitehouse.senate.gov/rhode-island/events8th-annual-veterans-breakfast-and-resource-fair.

Gloria Gemma Fashion Show

Come celebrate the unique spirit and beauty of people living with breast cancer as they stroll down the catwalk modeling gorgeous clothing from some of Rhode Island’s premiere boutiques and clothiers at the eighth annual “Our Heroes” Survivor Fashion Show: Night at the Races, a Derby-Style Party to benefit the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation.

Get creative and enter the hat contest while enjoying shopping from exceptional vendors, a delicious sit-down dinner and an awe-inspiring fashion show on May 2 at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston. Doors open at 6 p.m. with a seated dinner, entertainment and fashion show beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, call 401-861-4376. Tickets are $45 per person or $425 per table of 10.

Congressional internships available

U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) is accepting applications for interns in his Rhode Island office for summer 2015. This unpaid program is open to civic-minded college students who are available for at least 10 hours per week. A qualified candidate will be well organized, responsible and dependable, and have strong oral and written communication skills.

Responsibilities include answering phone calls, drafting constituent correspondence and supporting staff members on various projects. College credit is available, if approved by the institution.

For more information, visit Langevin.House.Gov and click on the “Internships” prompt under “Serving You” on the homepage.

May Breakfast for Defenders of Animals

Defenders of Animals is holding its annual May Breakfast on May 17 at 10 a.m. at the Governor Sprague Mansion, located at 1351 Cranston St. in Cranston.

The donation is $25 per person, and the event is by reservation only. Culinary Affair of Cranston will cater the event. Please call Defenders of Animals at 401-461-1922 or email defendersofanimals@msn.com.

Academic News & Notes

Congratulations to Alexis M. McCarten of Cranston, a student at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, who has accepted membership in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS).

“NSCS is more than just a symbol of academic achievement. Membership gives students access to a number of amazing benefits including career and networking resources, scholarships, travel, and service projects both on campus and in the community,” sa id Stephen E. Loflin, NSCS founder and CEO.

NSCS is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is the nation’s only interdisciplinary honors organization for first-year and second-year college students. Membership is by invitation only, based on grade point average and class standing. It has over one million lifetime members and 300 chapters in all 50 states, the District Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Fairfield University has announced that the following local residents have been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2014 semester. Congratulations to Katherine Reilly and Alison Murphy, both from Cranston.

The following Cranston residents were among more than 130 Providence College students who recently spent a week working with Habitat for Humanity as a part of the College’s Campus Ministry program. Helping to build decent, affordable homes in nine locations were Madeline Boffi, who worked at a site in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Kathryn Santilli who worked at a site in Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Adetokunbo Ademola, who worked at a site in Bridgeport, Conn.

Congratulations to Alexander Barnes, a neuroscience major from Johnston, who has earned the dean’s award for academic excellence at Colgate University for the fall 2014 semester.

Rhode Island College is pleased to announce that on March 5, the following Cranston were inducted into The 3.5 Society, the college’s honor society for freshmen. Full-time freshmen must achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in their first semester to qualify. Congratulations to Mackenzie Canning, Daniella Carnevale, Annette Deion, Ian Ditommaso, Erin Durigan, Kaileen Field, Brendan Furney, Sydney Loiselle, Paul Martel, Allison Neves, Elizabeth Paolella, Austin Raposa, Travis Rich, Youssef Sharoubim, Amanda Smith, Oksana Stetsyuk and Tiana Tiburico.

Congratulations to Cranston residents Louis Izzo and Daniel Pickar for making the dean’s list at Tufts University.

Congratulations to Carlin Testa of Cranston, who was among the 21 students at Pomfret School in Pomfret, Conn., who recently earned either summa, maxima, magna, or cum laude status in the 2015 National Latin Exam. More than 153,000 Latin scholars from throughout the U.S. and around the world took the exam in early March. Carlin, a member of the Pomfret class of 2015, earned Magna Cum Laude status for his performance on the Latin 4 exam.

Dream Center seeking vendors for May 2 craft fair

The Rhode Island Dream Center and Hope for the Homeless will hold a craft fair to help supplement the cost of items to fill 500 backpacks. Vendors are presently being sought.

The craft fair will be held on May 2 from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. at Praise Tabernacle Church, located at 330 Park Ave. Fee per vendor space is $20. For a vendor application, contact sharoncogean@gmail.com.

Did You Know?

Ever wondered how Earth Day started? This observance arose from an interest in gathering national support for environmental issues. In 1970, San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose the spring equinox (March 21, 1970) and Nelson chose April 22. Millions of people participated, and today Earth Day continues to be widely celebrated with events on both dates. The most common practice of celebration is to plant new trees for Earth Day. (Earth Day Fun Facts)

To submit your news from the community, e-mail Meri R. Kennedy at CranstonChatter@aol.com. Photos in jpg format are accepted and news can range from community events, promotions, academic news and non-profit events. E-mail today and see your news in our column in the Cranston Herald. Please include a daytime telephone number in case we require any further information. Be sure to check out our website at www.cranstononline.com.