Good Deeds

Following are fundraisers, donations and other charitable events happening in the Midlands. E-mail your information about good deeds to connect@owh.com or call 402-444-1040.

Spaghetti for Ethan: Today’s spaghetti feed and silent auction will help pay the medical bills of Ethan Stecki, 10-year-old son of Laura and Pat Stecki of Weeping Water, Neb. Ethan has suffered from heart disease since birth. The event, from noon to 3 p.m., will be in the Weeping Water School multipurpose room.

Music in the schools: If you’re dining out today, consider Cheeseburger in Paradise’s fundraiser for Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Omaha restaurant will donate 10 percent of dinner checks to the school’s music program. This is the second year the restaurant has supported VH1’s Save the Music Foundation.

Pancakes and more: Santa’s Village in Macedonia, Iowa, will be serving a pancake and sausage breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon today, switching to a barbecue menu from noon to 5 p.m. The cost for breakfast is a free-will donation. There is a charge for the barbecue. All proceeds will benefit the Santa Visit Program, the KIDS Program, day camps for KIDS and Santa’s Garden.

Helping Christian: Two benefits are planned Oct. 18 for 2-year-old Christian Dexter, who has acute lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. A dinner, silent auction and more will run from noon to 4 p.m. at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 15050 West Maple Road. The event also will include face painting, balloon artists and a bounce house for children. Proceeds will be used for medical expenses and a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Nebraska. For more information, visit www.christiandexter.com. From 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the American Red Cross will have a blood drive at the church in honor of Christian. Call 800-GIVE-LIFE or visit givebloodgivelife.org to make an appointment.

Garage sale: Jonna Schwartz, who would have been a junior at Weeping Water (Neb.) High School, died in August, leaving her family with medical and funeral expenses they need help paying. Weeping Water will raise funds for the family Friday and Saturday with a communitywide garage sale and bake sale in the school multipurpose room.

In training: Team in Training is recruiting seasoned athletes, novices who want to get in shape and anyone in between to train with TNT for the Rock ’n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon & Half Marathon. Two events are planned this month to share information with anyone interested in this fundraising program for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The first gathering will be at 6 p.m. Thursday and the second is at 11 a.m. Oct. 24. Both will be at Security National Bank, 1120 S. 101st St. For more information, call 344-2242 or visit www.teamintraining.org/ne.

Just for women: Open Door Mission’s Friends of the Friendless provided a special spa day for women living at Lydia House. Tuesday’s event included haircuts, paraffin treatments, facials, manicures and pedicures, massages and flu shots. The Charles Drew Health Center provided the flu shots.

Bicycle event: Bike 4 Sight for Visually Impaired Children will be Friday at Zorinsky Lake, starting at Shelter No. 1 near the boat landing. The Millard Lions Club will begin registration at 6:30 p.m. and the ride will start at 7 p.m. Riders’ bikes must have working lights. Sign-up is $20 in advance or $25 that night. Mail registration and donations to: Millard Lions Club, 14517 R St., Omaha, NE 68137. All proceeds will be used to help purchase a Mountbatten Braille System for a visually impaired kindergartner attending the Millard Public Schools.

For the birds: The Audubon Society of Omaha is holding its annual bird seed sale, with proceeds to be used to support conservation and education projects in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. For ordering information, visit the Web site http://audubon-omaha.org or call Kathleen Crawford-Rose at 292-8912.

Pulling for 4-H: The Nebraska 4-H Foundation’s annual Pulling for 4-H sporting clays fundraiser raised more than $10,000 for 4-H Clubs and Camps. One-hundred-five shooters from across Nebraska took part in shooting and side games at the Oak Creek Sporting Club near Brainard, Neb.

Helping the garden grow: The Gifford Park Community Garden will be the beneficiary of Whole Foods Market’s One Dime at a Time program for October, November and December. For each bag reused at checkout, shoppers at the Whole Foods store in Regency can choose a 10-cent refund as cash back on their grocery bill or donate the sum to Gifford Park Community Garden.

For the children: Proceeds from a garage sale next weekend will go toward training programs for those involved with in-home child care. Midlands Latino Community Development Corp. will have the sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Oct. 18 at 2216 S. 117th Circle.

A different kind of harvest: The annual Harvest of Books, which provides a free book for every first- and second-grader in the Lincoln Public Schools, runs through Oct. 18 at participating Lincoln bookstores. When you purchase a children’s book for the Harvest of Books program, participating bookstores provide buyers a discount of 25 percent to 40 percent. Participating bookstores include the Adventist Book Center, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Gloria Deo, Indigo Bridge Books, Lee Booksellers, Nebraska Bookstore, University Bookstore and Usborne Books at Home. Donations also can be mailed to Harvest of Books, c/o the Lincoln Education Association, 4920 Normal Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68506. For more information, go to http://lincolneducationassociation.org/HarvestofBooks.html.

Speech, swallowing disorders: A 6 p.m. Friday charity fundraising gala at the Scottish Rite Center, 202 S. 20th St., will feature dinner, silent and live auctions and live music. The event will benefit the Rite Care clinics of Omaha (the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center) and the Friends of Scottish Rite. The Rite Care clinics provide free services for children with speech, language and swallowing disorders. Purchase tickets, $50 each, online at www.friendsofritecare.org.

Paying back: The Pottawattamie County Bowhunters recently presented the Pottawattamie County Conservation Environmental Education staff with a $344 check for its scholarship fund.

Easing hunger: To help fight childhood hunger in America, Weight Watchers groups in Omaha, Lincoln and the Sioux City, Iowa-area are donating canned and packaged food at meetings through Saturday. The donations will be given to local food banks.

Leaf raking: Keep Omaha Beautiful’s Helping Hands program will provide free, one-time leaf-raking for elderly or disabled citizens for up to 75 homes. To help, call 444-7774. Oct. 23-26, any organized youth group with a leader may volunteer for KOB’s Youth Fall Cleanup. For more information, call 444-7774 or go to www.keepomahabeautiful.org.

Dancing for funds: The Metro Women’s Club has chosen the Friends of the Family Support Center as its charity for 2009-2010. The Friends of the Family Support Center is a group of volunteers from Offutt Air Force Base that raises money and offers support, comfort and morale events for military families — especially those deployed. The Metro Women’s Club will have a fundraiser for the Offutt group from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Bushwackers Dance Hall & Saloon in Ralston. Admission is $5. Beginners’ line dance lessons will be given. Bring a snack or other food to share. There will be a raffle and prizes for best country outfit.

Trail ride: The annual St. Jude’s Hospital Trail Ride will be Oct. 18 at Two Rivers State Park near Venice, Neb. Registration will be at 2 p.m. and the ride will start at 2:30 p.m. The two- to three-hour hour ride will be on trails through woods along the Platte River and through open grassy areas. All ages are welcome. A state park vehicle permit is required and can be purchased that day. The minimum donation for riders is $10 each. Douglas/Sarpy 4-H will host a potluck picnic after the ride.

Oh boy, spaghetti: St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church’s spaghetti dinner will be served from noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 18 at the church, 1334 S. Ninth St. Takeout meals will be available.

There he is . . . : Who will be the next Mr. Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs? Find out Saturday at the fundraising pageant at Harrah’s Casino ballroom. Tickets are available by calling Bluffs Habitat at 712-328-9476 or by going online at www.HabitatCB.org. Tickets are $50.

Helping patients: Mickie’s Maids residential cleaning service, a founding partner of Cleaning for a Reason Foundation, offers free cleaning for women undergoing cancer treatment. To refer someone, call the office at 392-2000. For more information on how to be involved with the foundation, go to www.cleaningforareason.org. — Compiled by Sue Story Truax