Lemonade Stand

On May 2 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Park Avenue Auto Service, located at 880 Park Ave. in Cranston, will hold its annual Lemonade Stand to benefit the fight against multiple sclerosis. Raffles, baked goods, lemonade, hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy will be available, as will many activities for the children. This program is brought to the community by Team Footprints.

East Meets West

Cranston Knights of Columbus Council #1738 will host an “East Meets West” spring jazz band concert from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, May 15 at its home at 1047 Park Ave. Tickets are $15, and include dinner and the concert. Tickets are available at the council home. For more information, call 401-944-9700.

Consolidated Plan forum

The Cranston Department of Community Development will host a public forum on the city’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan for 2015-2020 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on April 30 at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center, located at 1070 Cranston St. The session will serve to update residents on the plan and allow for public input, which will assist in the review of the plan to determine the housing and community development needs of the city. The plan is a five-year guide for resource consolidation and will address affordable housing, rehabilitation of existing housing stock, other housing-related topics, neighborhood development, services for youth and the elderly, economic development, city support for public services organizations, homeless services, and chronic homelessness. For additional information, contact Interim Director of Community Development Stephanie M. Susi at 401-461-1000, ext. 7202.

Cranston Family Safety Day

On May 16, the Cranston Police Department will host Cranston Family Safety Day, which will include fire and bicycle safety lessons, child ID cards, crafts and free bicycle helmets for the first 500 children. The event will be held in the parking lot near Bank of America in Garden City Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Golf Tournament to benefit cancer awareness and research

On June 14, there will be golf tournament to honor Nancy Strong, who was diagnosed with stage four inflammatory breast cancer last April. She continuous to fight every day, with the help of help of Dr. Overmoyer and the terrific people within the Dana Farber organization.

The golf tournament will help raise funds for both Dana Faber and the Jimmy Fund. It will be held at the Cranston Country Club, and tee sponsors are being sought as well as donations for gift bags.

Tee time is 1:30 p.m., and fees are $120 per player. That cost includes 18 holes of golf with a cart, dinner and a Nancy Strong gift pack for all participants. Tickets for the dinner are only $35 per person.

For more information, please contact Ryan Duffy at nancystronggolf@gmail.com.

Mod Mama to hold special event

Mod Mama in Garden City will host a third-generation silhouette artist, Erik Johnson, at the store from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 1 – in plenty of time for Mother’s Day. Johnson hand-cuts silhouettes in about five minutes, and it is amazing to see. For more information, contact Meg at 401-273-7800.

To benefit Metta Students

On May 7, Laura Clarizio of Cranston is hosting a fundraising reception for the Metta Students Foundation. “Metta” means love and kindness, and the foundation provides $1,000 grants to high school students who perform random acts of love and kindness. Please attend to meet Metta grant recipients and celebrate an evening of fun and entertainment with comedian Ray Harrington, a DJ, and food and beverages.

The event will be held at Raffa Yoga, located at 19 Sharpe Drive, on May 7 between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Any donation is greatly appreciated, although this event is free. You may also send contribution to Metta Students Foundation at 125 Whipple St., Providence, RI 02865, or visit www.mettastudents.org for more information.

Friends of the Library to hold annual meeting

The Friends of the Cranston Public Library will hold their annual meeting on Tuesday, May 5, at the Central Library. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., and will feature guest speaker Peter DiCristofaro, president of the Providence Jewelry Museum.

DiCristofaro founded the museum in 1977 after traveling the globe to study jewelry manufacturing. Today, DiCristofaro is an authority on jewelry molds, dies, patterns and history. Samples of costume jewelry will be available for examination at the event.

For more information, visit www.cranstonlibrary.org or call Kathy Dorchies at 401-943-9080, ext. 105.

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.

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.

Parenting education classes at CCAP

“Pathways for Parents” is an educational program offered in eight sessions and designed to help people learn better parenting skills. Session topics include “The Importance of Family,” “Child Growth and Development,” “How to Have a Healthy Home Environment,” “How to Help Your Child Develop Values and Self-Esteem,” “How to Communicate with Your Child,” “Stress Management,” “How to Prevent Abuse/Protecting Yourself” and “Your Child and How to Become a Healthy Family/Active Parenting.”

Classes are held at the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) offices at 311 Doric Ave. in Cranston. Please call 401-562-8348 for more information, or to make a referral. There is a fee for classes, and a sliding scale is available. DCYF referrals and 005’s are accepted. The next session begins on May 20 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Artists’ Exchange Craft Bash

The Artists’ Exchange will once again offer a year of free, monthly Craft Bash events at their facility located at 50 Rolfe Square, sponsored by Financial Independence. Families are welcome to join in for the monthly arts and craft projects on the last Saturday of each month. All programs will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The upcoming dates are May 30, June 27, July 25 (at Kiki’s Garden Sunflower Soiree), Aug. 19, Sept. 23, Feb. 28 and March 26. For more information on Craft Bash, contact the Artists’ Exchange at 401-490-9475.

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.

Understanding learning disabilities

The Cranston Special Education Advisory Committee is inviting members of the community for a presentation of “How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop: Understanding Learning Disabilities.” The workshop will be held at the Cranston Central Library on May 23 at noon, 1:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

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.

Bishop Hendricken Comedy Night

A comedy night and dinner will be held on May 9 to benefit the Bishop Hendricken High School Memorial Prayer Garden. Dinner will be served in Hendricken’s Founders Hall from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Alumnus Ben Hague will perform at 7 p.m. in the Harop Theater. The evening will also include a silent auction, and tribute gift opportunities will be available.

The event will raise funds to complete Hendricken’s Memorial Prayer Garden, which honors fallen soldiers – specifically Richard D. McKenzie ’63, Matthew R. August ’93 and Eric Valdepenas ’03.

The ticket price of $50 include both the dinner and comedy show. Checks can be made payable to Bishop Hendricken High School, with “Prayer Garden Memorial” in the memo line, and mailed to Bob Fuoroli, 20 Cushing Road, Warwick, RI 02888. For more information, contact Fuoroli at bobf07@aol.com or 401-474-0650.

Did You Know?

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. While dates and celebrations vary, Mother’s Day most commonly falls on the second Sunday in May and traditionally involves presenting mothers with flowers, cards and other gifts. (Source: Mother’s Day History Facts)

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