Make A Difference for July 31, 2016

EVENTS

• Memorial Blood Centers will offer the following blood drives across the Northland. Call (888) GIVE-BLD (448-3253) or go to mbc.org for eligibility guidelines and to schedule an appointment.

Today: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Spooner Knights of Columbus, 409 N. Summit St., Spooner.

Monday: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., White Community Hospital, Aurora Community Center, 15 W. First St. N., Aurora.
Monday: 1-4 p.m., Grand Itasca Volunteer Services, 1601 Golf Course Road, Grand Rapids.
Tuesday: 8-11 a.m., Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1201 E. Highway 2, Grand Rapids.
Tuesday: 1:30-4 p.m., city of Grand Rapids, 420 N. Pokegama Ave., Grand Rapids.

Tuesday: 4:30-7:30 p.m., Gnesen Township, 6356 Howard Gnesen Road, Duluth.

Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Walgreens, 215 Doddridge Ave., Cloquet.
Wednesday: 2:30-6:30 p.m., St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 10 Elizabeth Ave., Esko.
Thursday: 8:30-11:30 a.m., St. Louis County Public Works, 7823 Highway 135, Virginia.
Friday: 9 a.m. to noon, Fairview Range-Essentia Health, 750 E. 34th St., Hibbing.

• American Red Cross is urging people to donate blood in response to an emergency request for blood and platelet donations issued in early July. There is a critical blood shortage across the country. Red Cross is thanking those who donate before Aug. 31 by emailing them a $5 amazon.com gift card claim code.
To schedule an appointment to donate, visit redcrossblood.org or call (800) RED-CROSS (733-2767).
Monday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 2201 Third Ave. E., Hibbing.
Tuesday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Gilbert City Hall, 16 South Broadway St., Gilbert.

• Swim Creative, a Duluth marketing and advertising agency, will host the fundraiser concert, The Cannon Ball, in celebration of its 10-year anniversary. The free concert will begin 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11 in Clyde Iron Works in West Duluth. Performances will include Big Wave Dave and the Ripples, Portrait of a Drowned Man and The Dinghys.
Swim will donatw money collected from a $10 suggested entrance fee to Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation Rehabilitation Center in Duluth.

• St. Louis County Historical Society and its Veterans' Memorial Hall Program will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the passing of Albert Woolson Aug. 2 in collaboration with Lake Superior Railroad Museum and David Wisted American Legion Post 28. Woolson was the last surviving Civil War soldier who was a citizen of Duluth for much of the later part of his life after serving in the Union Army.
The event will begin 4 p.m. outside Veterans' Memorial Hall, with a ceremony of the rededication of the Woolson statue near the building entrance. Social hour starts 5 p.m. and a buffet dinner begins 6 p.m. with food from Kurtz Catering. A presentation on Albert Woolson by Ken Buehler, executive director of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and Historic Union Depot Corp., will begin at 7 p.m. The Lincoln Funeral Car exhibit in the Railroad Museum will be free to tour throughout the event.
Tickets can be purchased for $20 by calling St. Louis County Historical Society staff at (218) 733-7586.

• The Virginia Salvation Army is hosting its Back to School Drive through Aug. 12. School supplies are being collected at the Salvation Army at 507 S. 12th Ave. W. in Virginia and at Shopko Hometown at 1500 E. Sheridan St. in Ely.
Kids going into pre-kindergarten through 12th grade are eligible to receive donated school supplies. Applications for receiving school supplies will be accepted at the donation sites from 1-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Aug. 12. Applications must be accompanied by a picture of the child, the child's proof of address and the child's legal ID. For more information, or to volunteer at the distribution sites, call (218) 741-1889 or visiti salvationarmynorth.org/virginia.

• Blues artist Mick Sterling's 30 Days Foundation will be promoting and selling a charity CD during Duluth's Bayfront Blues Festival Aug. 14-16. Proceeds from the CD, Bayfront Blues Collectors Club Volume II, will benefit the Minnesota charity that bails people out of financial crises by paying off their debt with one-time financial grants to the owed service providers. The CD features 17 Bayfront Blues Fest artists including Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys, Ruthie Foster and Corey Stevens.

• Duluth Playhouse will host a casual poolside party 6 p.m. Thursday at Northland Country Club at 3901 E. Superior St. The party will reveal what Duluth's NorShor Theatre will look like outside and inside when it's completed next year. There will be hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and live music. Tickets are $50 per person and must be purchased by Monday at either (218) 733-7555 or norshor@duluthplayhouse.org .
Duluth Playhouse will also launch its Take-A-Seat campaign during the poolside party. NorShor Theatre donors can get their name on a seat plaque by donating $1,000 by check or credit card over the course of two years. All Take-A-Seat donations will go toward the restoration and upgrade of the historic theater. Donations are tax deductible. Find more information at norshortheatre.com.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

• Carlton County Historical Society needs volunteers to help at Carlton County Fair Aug. 18-21 in Barnum. Volunteers will visit with fair-goers who visit the farm-machinery building as well as sell items such as books, T-shirts and raffle items. Volunteers will work in two-hour shifts. To sign up, call (218) 879-1938 or email director@carltoncountyhistory.org .

• The following are volunteer opportunities supported by Head of the Lakes United Way Volunteer Center. Visit volunteerduluth.org to view opportunities from all affiliates.
Age Well Arrowhead of Duluth seeks several volunteers to help senior citizens living independently at home with the following tasks:
Volunteers are needed to help transport seniors who don't have the capabilities or means to drive themselves. Responsibilities may include driving clients to personal appointments, doctor visits and social activities.
Lawn-mowing volunteers are needed to tend to the lawns of seniors who can no longer do it themselves. The client will provide the necessary equipment and gas.
Homemaker volunteers will help such seniors with dusting, vacuuming, laundry, changing bed linens, cleaning the bath and kitchen, meal preparations and home office assistance.
To get involved with any of these opportunities, contact Kim Heilman by calling (218) 623-7805 or by emailing kimh@agewellarrowhead.org .
North Shore Scenic Railroad seeks volunteers to help with Day out with Thomas the first two weekends in August. The event needs more than 25 volunteers each day. Volunteers will greet guests, hand out maps and brochures, face paint, manage the bouncy house, run crafts and help with boarding and exiting the train. Those volunteers working full day shifts from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. will get free food, and all volunteers will receive a T-shirt. To get involved, contact Josh Miller at josh@duluthtrains.com or at (218) 733-7561.
Duluth Public Library seeks a volunteer book selector to assist library patrons who are no longer able to visit the library. Volunteers will select, deliver and return library materials for such patrons for four to six hours each month. The opportunity is a minimum one-year commitment. For more information or to sign up, contact Cheryl Skafte at cskafte@duluthmn.gov or call (218) 730-4334.