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AGENDA is interested in receiving items from you for etcetera. Press clippings, press releases, summaries of local events and any other ideas or suggestions are welcome. Just mail them to: Etcetera Editor, AGENDA, 220 S. Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
New Crisis Line for Seniors
The Senior Connection is a new, 24-hour confidential crisis assistance service which provides caring support, information, referral, and help to seniors in need throughout Washtenaw County.
If you have concerns about loneliness, personal safety, Social Security, Medicare, grief and loss, transportation, caregiver stress, parenting grandchildren, or other personal needs, call 665-0987.
The Senior Connection is seeking older adult volunteers to act as peer counselors and telephone crisis counselors.To volunteer, call Ethel Pittman at 485-8730. Free training is offered through SOS Crisis Center and Turner Geriatric Services.
The Senior Connection is funded in part by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, in partnership with the Washtenaw County Council on Aging, SOS Crisis Center, and Turner Geriatric Services.
15th Annual Holocaust Conference
Hillel announces the 15th Annual Conference on the Holocaust, to be held March 12-19 in Ann Arbor. Events will include films, panels, an art exhibit, a theatrical performance, an afternoon discussion series, a vigil of names, a memorial service, and the unveiling of the first Holocaust Memorial Monument ever to be established on a college campus.
A Hillel press release states: "In this year of the release of 'Schindler's List,' the establishment of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the intensification of Holocaust denial on the 'revisionist' front, the Conference on the Holocaust will play an important role in rounding out the media blitz and putting the Holocaust into its historical as well as sociological perspective."
This year's keynote speaker will be Dr. Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University, author of "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory." Lipstadt will speak on Monday, March 14 at 8:15 pm in the lrwin Green Auditorium at Hillel, 1429 Hill. For a complete list of events contact Hillel at 769-0500.
Pow Wow Begins FRIDAY! March 25
The 22nd Annual Ann Arbor Pow Wow, sponsored by the U-M Native American Student Association and Minority Student Services, will be held March 25-27 at the U-M Crisler Arena.
The Ann Arbor Pow Wow has come to be recognized as one of the top Native American celebrations in North America. Champion dancers and singers from across North America will be in town for the festivities and Native American crafts persons will display and sell arts and crafts.
The doors open Fri., March 25 at 5 pm, and the dance program begins at 7 pm. Doors open Saturday at 11 am, with performances from 1 -5 pm and 7-11 pm. The Pow Wow concludes on Sunday (hours: 11 am-7 pm).
Daily admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children, $5 for U-M students and seniors, and $20 per family. For more information call Mike Dashner at 763-9044.
Mediation Service Available
The Washtenaw Community Dispute Resolution Center, a not-for-profit organization, offers free or low cost mediation services to individuals and organizations in Washtenaw County. Mediations are facilitated by trained volunteers who act as neutral third parties. All information is kept confidential.
Typical disputes that the center handles include problems with friends, neighbors, family members, local businesses, and employer/employee. The only disputes the Center does not mediate are those involving violence, drugs, or other felonies.
The service is provided at the Resolution Center office, 1100 N. Main in Ann Arbor mediation sessions can be scheduled for days, evenings, or weekends by calling 741-0603.
SOS Seeks Volunteers
The SOS Community Crisis Center is seeking volunteers to assist individuals and families struggling with personal and family stress, hunger, homelessness, suicide and substance abuse.
The volunteer roles include: crisis counselors, food distribution aides, housing crisis resource aides, childcare aides, and Senior Connection phone line aides.
Training begins in March. To receive a training packet or to find out more about volunteering, call 485-8730.
African-American/Biracial Foster Parents Needed
Family Service and Children's Aid of Washtenaw is in special need of African-American/Biracial foster families to provide temporary care for abused and neglected African-American/Biracial children. According to Family Service, it is in the best interest of all foster children to be placed with foster families with backgrounds similar to their own including racial and cultural backgrounds.
Currently, the strongest need is for families to care for older children and teenagers with emotional and behavioral problems, pregnant teens or teen mothers and their infants, and sibling groups of two or more.
Those considering becoming foster parents can attend an informational meeting on March 16 from 6:30-8 pm at the Family Service and Children's Aid office at 127 N. Washington, Ypsilanti. For more information call Janine Lucas at 480-0998.
Romero Assassination Remembered
The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice announces a program to commemorate the life of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero: "The Freedom of Peoples: Central America and the Challenge of Democracy." The event will be held Sunday, March 27 at 5 pm at the Memorial Christian Church, 730 Tappan.
The program will feature a report by Mary Anne Perrone, an official observer of the March 20 elections in El Salvador. There will also be interfaith readings and songs in memory of Archbishop Romero, murdered March 24, 1980 by U.S.-trained and -funded military forces. A simple meal will be catered by Salvadoran refugee Pilar Celaya (the cost is $4, call to reserve). For more information call 663-1870.
Panel: Violence Against Women
On Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 pm, an international panel of speakers will address: "Violence Against Women at Home and Worldwide." The event is sponsored by the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti branches of National Organization for Women and Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. It will be held in the Emerson Room of the Unitarian Church, 1917 Washtenaw, in Ann Arbor. For more information call 483-0058.