RSVP of South Central Connecticut to offer benefits screenings for older folks

NEW HAVEN — RSVP of South Central Connecticut, sponsored by sponsored by the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut, offers free benefits screenings at multiple community locations throughout New Haven County to help older adults (those 60 and older) find programs that can pay for groceries, Medicare premiums, prescription drugs, heating, taxes and more, according to a statement.
The benefits screenings use AARP’s on-line Benefits QuickLINK tool and provide information and applications on available programs, the statement said.
The following information should be brought to the screening: monthly income (pension, social security, dividends and interest); monthly expenses (heating, gas, electricity, water, telephone, rent or mortgage payments, medical expenses not covered by insurance); asset information (savings, estimated value of home and car, life insurance benefits); and a list of all current prescriptions, the statement said.
The following is a list of screening locations and contact information:
Guilford Free Library, 67 Park St., Guilford, second Wednesday of each month, 10 a.m. to noon. Contact: Tom Piezzo, 203-453-8282
Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St., East Haven, first Tuesday of each month, 10 a.m. to noon. Contact: Cynthia Gwiazda, 203-468-3890
New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St., New Haven, second Wednesday of each month, noon – 2:00 p.m. Contact: Kate Cosgrove, 203-946-7001
North Haven Senior Center, 189 Pool Rd., North Haven, first and third Fridays of each month, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Contact: Judy Amarone, 203-239-5432
Scranton Public Library, 801 Boston Post Road, Madison, fourth Tuesday of each month, 10 a.m. to noon. Call: 203-245-7365
Wallingford Public Library, 200 North Main St., Wallingford, second Tuesday of each month, 10 a.m. to noon. Contact: Jo Lifrieri, 203-752-3059
Wallingford Senior Center, 238 Washington St., Wallingford, third Tuesday of each month, 10 a.m. to noon. Contact: Eileen Flynn, 203-265-7753
RSVP of South Central CT, a Senior Corps program, recruits and places adults age 55 and over in volunteer positions throughout New Haven county, the statement said.
For more information about the Agency on Aging visit www.aoapartnershps.org. For more information about Senior Corps visit www.seniorcorps.gov

Safe boating course offered in Milford

MILFORD — USCG Auxiliary 24-3 is offering an About Boating Safety course on Aug. 11.
For advance registration, go to http://a0142403.uscgaux.info or register in person from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Aug. 5, at the Flotilla 24-3 Training Center, 1 Helwig St., one block north of Milford Boat Works.
Walk-ins are welcome.
The About Boating Safety course begins at 8 a.m. Aug. 11. Instruction will cover all the basic topics involved in the safe operation of recreational boating and seamanship, as well as safe personal watercraft operation. Successful completion of this eight-hour course satisfies the Connecticut licensing requirements for both boats and Personal Watercraft.
Family participation is encouraged.
Cost: $60. For additional information about Coast Guard Auxiliary courses, call 860-663-5505, email: skperrone@hotmail.com or visit http://a0142403.uscgaux.info.

Volunteers needed to help parents of New Haven kindergarten pupils

Volunteers from across New Haven will gather in two weeks to welcome parents and families of incoming kindergartners to the New Haven Public Schools. More than 100 volunteers are needed to make this event a success.

Read more at the Journal Register Co.'s blog supporting nonprofits, ConnecticutNewspapers.org.

To sign up for a canvass shift go to http://www.tinyurl.com/kindergarten2012.

'I Heart New Haven Day' festival just around the corner

City Church New Haven will hold the 2nd annual "I Heart New Haven Day" festival on the New Haven Green from 3 to 7 p.m. Aug. 4.
"Last year’s event saw over 1,200 people come out in a celebration of our city," organizers said in a statement. "This year we are partnering with other churches and organizations from around our city and expect to see in excess of 2,000 people attend.
"The main focus of the event is to show love to our city and provide a time where families and people of all ages can come and gather in a celebration of all that is good about New Haven."

The event will include free food and beverages, "and all the free fun that people can handle."

Among highlight will be pizza donated by famous local New Haven pizzerias, snowcones,  rock climbing wall, pictures with Elmo, super heroes, and other costumed characters, an art wall, moon bounces, live music and an inspirational message from Justin Kendrick, the statement said.

The goal is "to get 2,000 people from every walk of life out on Saturday afternoon to see if we can spread a little love to our city. We would like to invite you to come and join us on this day," the statement said.

For more information, visit www.iheartnewhaven.org or call (203) 907-7922.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed.

Savin Rock Festival slated July 26-29 in West Haven

WEST HAVEN — The 31st annual Savin Rock Festival will be held from 4-10 p.m. Thursday-Friday, July 26-27; noon-10 p.m. Saturday, July 28 and noon-9 p.m. Sunday, July 29 in Old Grove Park, with a midway of games, food, rides and live music.
Marenna Amusements will offer unlimited rides each day for $25.
Festivalgoers, however, can save $5 per day by buying bracelets in advance in the city clerk and mayor’s offices at City Hall, 355 Main St., and at GoldWorks, 498 Campbell Ave.
On July 27, West Haven’s Marty Ganter, an original member of The Academics, will open the day’s concert lineup, taking the stage at 5 p.m. Ganter was the second tenor in the New Haven doo-wop group, which took the state by storm from 1956 to 1958.
Prime Time will follow at 6 p.m. and Styx cover band Rockin’ the Paradise at 8.
On July 28, civic and fraternal organizations and nonprofit groups will set up booths and tables in the Old Grove. The food court will feature several local vendors.
At 8:15 p.m., Frankie Valli tribute group Ragdoll will play the best of The Four Seasons’ 1960s pop hits, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Rag Doll” and “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).” Fast Lane will warm up the crowd at 6 p.m.
On July 29, the festival will close with shows by Phase II at 5 p.m. and Stevie Nicks cover band The Navels at 7.
The West Haven High School Band Parents will hold a craft fair from noon-8 p.m. July 28-29.
The Junior Woman’s Club, a founding organization when the festival began in 1982, will accept votes for a baby contest in the event’s final two days until an hour before winners are announced.
To help with expenses, the Savin Rock Festival Committee will sell polo shirts and T-shirts in the hospitality tent.
If it rains, concerts by Rockin’ the Paradise and Ragdoll will take place at the same time in the West Haven High School auditorium, 1 McDonough Plaza.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed.

World Hepatitis Day slated for July 28

NORTH HAVEN – The American Liver Foundation joins the World Hepatitis Alliance on July 28 as part of World Hepatitis Day to raise awareness of the serious implications of hepatitis B and C.  There are an estimated 12 million people in the world with hepatitis.  .
Hepatitis C is often called the silent killer; there may be no symptoms for 20-30 years after the person is infected. The disease is transmitted when infected blood enters the body.  The most common ways of infection are sharing needles with IV drug use or having received infected blood in a blood transfusion prior to 1992.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued draft guidelines recommending a one-time hepatitis C test for everyone born from 1945 to 1965 (the baby boomer generation). One in 30 people in this generation has been infected with hepatitis C and the overwhelming majority does not know it. Left untreated, hepatitis C causes serious liver diseases, including liver cancer, the fastest rising cause of cancer-related deaths, and is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.
Hepatitis B virus is highly infectious and about 50-100 times more infectious than HIV. In nine out of 10 adults, acute hepatitis B infection will go away on its own in the first six months. However, if the virus becomes chronic, it may cause liver cirrhosis and liver cancer after up to 40 years, but in some cases as little as five years after diagnosis.
The hepatitis B virus is transmitted between people through contact with the blood or other body fluids (i.e. saliva, semen and vaginal fluid) of an infected person.
Unlike hepatitis C, there is a vaccine that can prevent hepatitis B infection.
The Difference Between Hepatitis B and C:
‰ While there is a vaccine that protects against hepatitis B infection, there is no vaccine available for hepatitis C
‰ Both viruses can be contracted though blood-to-blood contact
‰ Hepatitis B is more infectious than hepatitis C and can also be spread through saliva, semen and vaginal fluid
‰ In the case of hepatitis B, infection can occur through having unprotected sex with an infected person.
‰ Please note that this is much rarer in the case of hepatitis C
‰ While unlikely, it is possible to contract hepatitis B through kissing. You cannot contract hepatitis C through kissing
‰ Neither virus is easily spread through everyday contact. You cannot get infected with hepatitis B or C by shaking hands, coughing or sneezing, or by using the same toilet. There are different treatments for the two viruses. While treatment can control chronic hepatitis B, it can often cure hepatitis C.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed. It is posted here as a community service.

Shoreline Jewish Festival set for Aug. 12 in Guilford

GUILFORD - The seventh annual Shoreline Jewish Festival will take place from noon to 6 p.m. August 12 on the Guilford Green.

"The festival features various styles of Jewish music, kosher traditional and Israeli fair food, an art and book sale, children’s crafts and activities, and information booths from local Jewish organizations," organizers said in a statement.

Admission is free. Food, crafts, and vendor items are for purchase.

“The festival celebrates Jewish life and living,” Rabbi Yossi Yaffe, director of Chabad of the Shoreline and coordinator of the event said, also in the statement. “The music, the food, the entertainment--people of all ages and backgrounds enjoy it and have come to regard it as a Shoreline summer tradition.”

The music includes the Nu Haven Kapelye, Shemantra, Merkavah, The Klezmenschen and Mr. Shabbos.

Also from the statement: "The Nu Haven Kapelye led by David Chevan joins professional musicians with community members to form New England’s largest klezmer band. Their love of klezmer music produces a rich mix of Balkans and blues, jazz and spirit, prayer and history.

Shemantra is the music of Richard Gans, layering traditional Hebrew liturgy with simple melodies, rich digital instrumentation and a strikingly resonant voice to create a new form of music that engages and inspires

Mr. Shabbos plays a unique mix of Jewish and biblical lyrics with country, bluegrass, rockabilly music. For the young—and the young at heart—Mr. Shabbos leads an interactive sing-along show that is guaranteed to get everyone up on their feet and dancing.

Merkavah: the Chasidic New Orleans Funky Jam Band is led by electric guitar virtuoso Yerachmiel Altizio. They play a blend of jam band improvisation and chasidic melodies. This musical experience combines high energy with joyous chasidic expression.

Roz Etra leads The Klezmenschen, a “freyliche” big band from the New London area. Their combined brass, strings, and woodwinds play lively traditional Yiddish and Israeli folk melodies for listening and dancing."

The event also will include Israeli and local artists and artisans "selling a variety of Judaica, jewelry, art work and unique Israeli products. Books, videos and games of Jewish interest for both children and adults will be available for sale. Festival-goers will be able to choose from a variety of (kosher) fair favorites, including hamburgers, hot dogs, falafel (an Israeli specialty), chicken, knishes, cotton candy, sno cones, and more," the statement said.

For kids there will be an inflatable slide, obstacle course and bouncers sponsored by Sound Spectrum Entertainment of Wallingford and a variety of themed arts and crafts projects, the statement said. "The program also includes shofar-making presentations, with opportunities to make your own ram’s horn in honor of the upcoming Jewish New Year."

Boris Mizhen is a primary festival sponsor and additional sponsorship is provided by the Guilford Courier, Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center, Cherry Hill Construction, Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, Sound Spectrum Entertainment of Wallingford, and Guilford Savings Bank, the statement said.

For more information, visit www.jewishoreline.org. Artists can reserve a booth for the day for a fee of $85.

To help sponsor this event, or to reserve a booth, contact Rabbi Yaffe at (203) 453-5580 or at chabad@snet.net.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed.

New Haven County Bar Foundation to hold fundraiser in Branford for its community service efforts

NEW HAVEN -  The Foundation of the New Haven County Bar will act as host for a tropical party overlooking the Branford River "in their continuous efforts to provide funding to support grants in both legal-related projects and community public service," organizers said in a statement.

The event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on July 26 at Nellie Greens in Branford.

The tickets are $45 each, which includes one complimentary drink ticket, appetizers, and a 50/50 raffle.

The Foundation of the New Haven County Bar, provides funding in the form of grants and various donations to community service projects, the organization said in a statement.

"The FNHCB provides funding for many of the community projects undertaken by the Public Service Committee, including their work with LEAP, the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen and the Connecticut Diaper Bank."

The Foundation of the New Haven County Bar is the charitable arm of the New Haven County Bar Association. It was established in 1989 as a 501(c)(3) organization. 

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed.