from the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, 800-227-2345 x1, website:
The Road to Recovery program provides free rides to and from cancer-related treatments for Durham County residents. You need to give at least four business days’ notice, with the date, time, and location of your appointment. This service operates on weekdays, 8am to 5pm, and it relies on volunteer drivers—so if you have the time and ability to offer assistance as a driver, please click here for more information. Drivers might not be able to accommodate physically disabled patients, but it’s usually okay to take a friend/family member who can help you in and out the vehicle. 
from the AMERICAN RED CROSS — CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA CHAPTER, 4737 University Dr, Durham, 919-489-6541,
website: Have you ever said, “One of these days I’m gonna learn first aid”? The American Red Cross holds classes at their facility on University Dr and online classes with one-day classroom components. Those classes are listed below. Check the website for the online-only classes, which you can take at your convenience. Pay for the classes at the office or online:
Visit redcross.org/nc/raleigh for the Triangle Area Chapter’s classes, which are held in Raleigh. 
from the CITY OF DURHAM — SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT:
You can drop off Hazardous Household Waste on Tuesdays and Wednesdays noon to 6pm, Thursdays and Fridays 7:30am to 3pm, and Saturdays 7:30am to 3pm, at 1900 E Club Blvd. They'll take paint, used motor oil, pesticides, fertilizers, pool cleaner, strong cleansers, stains, varnishes, and fluorescent bulbs. If necessary, wrap the containers with newspapers to absorb spills and place them cardboard boxes for safe transport. For individuals only, not commercial users. Call the City of Durham—Environmental Resources Dept at 919-560-4381 or visit City of Durham—Hazardous Waste for more info. 
news from DUKE UNIVERSITY and the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL, event website:
The Latin American Film Festival will screen movies every day from Wednesday, October 3 through Thursday, November 8 at various venues, including the Carolina Theatre; Duke University’s Richard White Lecture Hall, West Duke 105, Rubenstein Arts Center, Frederic Jameson Gallery (Friedl Bldg); UNC–Chapel Hill’s Mandela Auditorium; and the Silverspot Cinema in Chapel Hill. Most movies are in Spanish with English subtitles, and the Brazilian films are in Portuguese (also with English subtitles). Free admission to all; click on the link above to view the schedule. The Latin American Film Festival is made possible by a partnership of Duke and UNC–Chapel Hill, with funding provided by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation and the US Department of Education. 
from DURHAM COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE:
Durham County Fire & Rescue offers a free service where you can have someone carefully check over the child seat that you use in your car or van. There's no industry standard when it comes to their operation and installation and parents are often surprised to find out that they haven’t installed their child seat correctly. The Durham Fire Department no longer offers this service but three of the County stations do:
Be sure to call to make an appointment. 
from DURHAM COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTEES, 1208 W Chapel Hill St, 919-490-0063, website:
DCLT is in need of general contractors and subcontractors (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, painters, concrete installers, drywall, masons, framers, roofers, etc) for housing renovation and repair projects. Call to make that connection. 
from the DURHAM COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, 414 E Main St, 919-560-8000, website:
DSS has a new mobile app, which you can use to complete and send applications for Food & Nutrition Services, Work First benefits, and Medicaid. You can also send documents for Crisis/Emergency Assistance applications. Grab your cell phone and go to dssmobile.dconc.gov. You’ll need to enter your date of birth and either your social security number or county case number. The DSS Mobile App is a secure website. By using the camera on your cell phone, you’ll be able to “Click It! Snap It! Send It” and save lots of time and effort. 
from DURHAM PARKS AND RECREATION, 400 Cleveland St, 919-560-4355:
Teens ages 13 to 18 are invited to check out the #MyDurham program, an afterschool team club that’s held on weekdays from 3 to 7pm. This program, which offers free membership has three components:
#MyDurham is offered at
Membership and participation are free; click here for more info, to see the schedules, and to sign up. 
from the DURHAM SOLIDARITY CENTER, 1803 Chapel Hill Rd, Suite C, info@durhamsolidarity.org, website:
The Durham Solidarity Center recently held an open house at its new location in the Lakewood community. Totally run by volunteers, the center supports the efforts of social justice workers and organizations. Sound equipment—microphones (both wired and wireless), portable PAs, speakers with speaker stands, and large and small bullhorns—can be borrowed from the DSC office; they’ll also show you how to use the equipment. Supplies, including legal-observer hats, vests for marshals, first-aid supplies, candles and glowsticks for vigils, dropcloths for banner making, and pop-up tents, can also be provided for protests. The DSC’s conference and coworking space can be used for meetings, film screenings, and planning space; ask about details on coworking weekly rates and one-time rentals. The space comes with portable projectors, easels, a button maker, and a large library of subversive and otherwise helpful materials. Click here to reserve the conference room. 
from DURHAM TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE’s SMALL BUSINESS CENTER (SOUTHBank Building, 500 W Main St, 919-536-7241 x4505, website)
Durham Tech’s Small Business Center offers classes, seminars, and webinars for aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs who want to ensure their success in business. Here are a few of the free seminars. Click here to register. Additional free and paid classes and seminars are listed on the website:
from the FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AUTHORITY:
Former President Obama’s HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) ends December 31, 2018. Administered by the FHFA, HARP has been extended twice and helps homeowners whose mortgages are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac save money through refinancing. This takes time and preparation, so don’t wait too long to check this out. 
from the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION’S OFFICE OF CONSUMER INFORMATION:
You might have heard about the security breach of Equifax, one of the three services used to determine the creditworthiness of American consumers. Hackers were able to get in and gain access to millions of people’s private information and passwords. The entire system was vulnerable from mid-May through July, and it took a month for Equifax to even admit that someone had found their way in. It would be worth your while to check to see if your information has been breached—especially when you might be held liable for purchases made in your name. Click here, enter your last name and the last 6 digits of your Social Security number, and see if your information has been accessed. If so, you can sign up for a new free monitoring services that’s designed to keep your information safe. 
from KEEP DURHAM BEAUTIFUL, 2011 Fay St, 919-354-2729, website:
Saturday, October 6 is the date for this year’s Durham Big Sweep. Keep Durham Beautiful wants people to volunteer to spend a few hours helping to clear litter from local parks, neighborhoods, stream and lake banks, and school and workplace grounds. You’re welcome to volunteer as an individual or you can gather some friends and volunteer as a group. Click here to sign up and to choose from the list of locations; please note that start times vary, ranging from 8:30am to 5pm. 
from the NC WORKS CAREER CENTER, 1105 S Briggs Ave, 919-560-6880; website:
from OPERATION MEDICINE DROP, website:
Formed by a partnership of Safe Kids North Carolina, the Riverkeepers of North Carolina, NC State Bureau of Investigation, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of North Carolina, and local law enforcement agencies, Operation Medicine Drop is an initiative that helps people safely dispose of expired and unused medications. A common practice is to flush them down the toilet, but that poisons the waters and endangers wildlife. Simply tossing them in the trash is also a bad idea. Someone could come along, fish them out, and use them as recreation drugs. A large percentage of overdoses and other drug-related problems are actually due to the abuse of over-the-counter medications (some of which have been improperly disposed of). Operation Medicine Drop provides safe dropoff points for those who want to get rid of their old medications easily and safely. Here are the Durham locations:
from SISTER CITIES OF DURHAM, City Hall, 101 City Hall Plz, website:
Sister Cities is an international effort to “… promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation worldwide—one individual, one community at a time.” Mayors of participating cities meet, sign certain agreements, and then their cities explore cultural and business exchanges by way of online and in-person visits of citizens, students, and artists. Durham has six Sister Cities: Arusha, Tanzania; Durham, England; Kostroma, Russia; Toyoma, Japan; Zhuzhou, China; and Kavala, Greece. (A new one will be announced soon!) Our local Sister Cities will have a booth at the Centerfest Art Festival on September 15 and 16, and will host its own Festival of Nations on October 13, 11am–4pm, at the Duke Homestead & Tobacco Museum (2828 Duke Homestead Rd). Next year in the works is a trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar with Global Incite. Durham residents can go; certain costs will be covered, but not travel expenses. If you’re interested in learning more, click here and then enter this password: tanzania719. Explore the website—if you love travel, different cultures, and meeting people, you might want to become a member or volunteer and get involved with their many projects and activities. 
from the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL’s CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM:
The North Carolina Writers’ Network will launch the Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize this November, and black writers who specialize in short works of fiction and creative nonfiction can compete for a monetary prize. Entries must be unpublished and no more than 3,000 words. The Jacobs/Jones African-American Literary Prize honors two 19th-century writers, Harriet Jacobs and Thomas H Jones. Both made daring escapes to freedom in the North, and both wrote notable books describing their lives as former slaves in sharp detail. Jacobs was born near Edenton, escaped to Philadelphia, and hid in her grandmother’s crawl space above the ceiling for seven years. Jones was able to buy his wife and all but one of his children and send them to New York. He followed them, stowing away in a northbound ship, and raised the money to buy his remaining child’s freedom by writing and selling his memoir. Submissions will be accepted starting November 1; an entry fee must be sent with each submission—$10 for members of the North Carolina Writers’ Network, and $20 for nonmembers. Be sure to submit everything by the January 2 deadline if you want to be eligible to win the $1,000 prize (plus possible publication in The Carolina Quarterly). Click here for more info and to read all of the rules and regulations. Good luck! |
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