More than 1,000 members of the Quinnipiac University community will volunteer at various locations in Greater New Haven on Saturday, April 9, as part of “The Big Event.”

“Getting out there and doing community service is so significant, especially in the lives of students,” said Emily Sarnoff, one of the Quinnipiac students organizing the event. “It allows us to get out of ourselves and our busy hectic lifestyles, to give back to those who need our help the most. The Big Event is a wonderful opportunity for the Quinnipiac community to grow closer and to improve surrounding communities all at the same time.”

The Big Event is a nationwide day of community service when colleges and universities send teams out to volunteer in the community. At Quinnipiac, the day will begin with event registration on the Mount Carmel Campus at 8 a.m. followed by opening ceremonies on the quadrangle at 9 a.m.

After the opening ceremonies, teams of 10 to 30 student volunteers and local alumni will travel to non-profit organizations in Branford, Cheshire, East Haven, Hamden,  Killingworth, Meriden, Milford, New Haven, North Haven, Oxford, Shelton, West Haven and Woodbridge to perform three hours of community service.

Among the organizations, where community service will be performed are AIDS Project New Haven, West Haven Community House, Animal Haven, Edgewood Park in New Haven, Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Wallingford YMCA and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

In addition, Quinnipiac alumni chapters in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York are also taking part in the Big Event by performing community service projects in their areas.

          The Big Event organizers will also be holding a canned food and shoe drive from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, in the North Lot of Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Campus. Members of the community are invited to donate canned food goods and shoes, which will benefit The Downtown Soup Kitchen and Soles4Souls.

THIS FROM THE HAMDEN ELKS

ELKS Americanism Essay Contest

Hamden Lodge #2224 is proud to announce that the theme for the 2010-11 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Americanism Essay Contest is “Why I am proud to be an American.” The essay contest starts with the Subordinate Lodges, progresses through District and State levels, and ends with the national winners. This very important Patriotic Contest gives school children in grades 5-8 the opportunity to express their views on why they are proud to be Americans.

At our Lodge level, this contest is open to children attending public and private schools in North Haven and Hamden. Cover sheet forms and guidelines available at the lodge or by calling Karen Forsyth at (203) 887-2967, the Lodge (203) 248-2224 or Ellasandra Davis at (203) 376-0600. Lodge level essays are to be submitted by  December 20th to be judged by committee prior to proceeding to the District level.

This press release from QU:

Hamden, Conn. – Nov. 3, 2010 - Three Quinnipiac University professors will take part in the panel discussion, “Aging and Older Adulthood,” from 3-4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12, at the School of Health Sciences, Room 290, on the North Haven Campus.

Marcy Sanders, professor of occupational therapy, Catherine Solomon, associate professor of sociology, and Kathleen Zettergren, associate professor of physical therapy, will discuss issues related to aging, including retirement, work, family and fall prevention.

Julianne Gardner, a gerontology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Keniel McLennon, an occupational therapy major in the School of Health Sciences, will serve as student discussants, providing insights and thought-provoking questions.

This event, which is part of Quinnipiac’s Scholarship Across the Disciplines series, is free and open to the public.

For more information, please call 203-582-8652.

NEWS FROM THE WHITNEY PLAYERS

The Whitney Players Theater Company is holding auditions for “Pippin”, and “Jungle Book”, Tuesday,  December 7^th  from 6 to 9:30 pm.  Please bring sheet music to sing, and be prepared to dance.  Pippin will be a teen show and Jungle Book is for the younger actors.  Rehearsals begin in January and the shows will both run in March, 2011.  Auditions will take place at Thornton Wilder Auditorium, in the Miller Library Complex, 2901 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden.  The show is co-sponsored by the Hamden Arts Commission and is being directed by Cindy Simell-Devoe and choreographed by Joan Christensen. For more info, go to our website:  http://www.thewhitneyplayers.org/ or  call 203-281-6007.