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 DURHAM COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, 414 E Main St, 919-560-8000:
LIEAP (the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program) is a federally funded program that provides a one-time payment for eligible households having trouble keeping up with their heating bills. Applications will be accepted for people with disabilities and seniors (age 60+) from December 3–7, December 10–14, December 17–21, and December 26–28 (weekdays from 8:30am to 4:30pm). You’ll need to take your current photo ID, Social Security card, verification of your income, and your heating bill. Call to set an appointment and to get your questions answered, or simply stop by with the required paperwork (Crisis Lobby #27). Applications for “everybody else” will be accepted on weekdays from January 2 through March 31 (or until the funds run out). Click here for more info. 
news from the DURHAM CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU, 212 W Main St, #101, 919-687-0288, website:
Don’t be put off if you see a DANGER/UNSAFE warning when googling the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau and then clicking on their website. The DCVB just switched over to a new website, discoverdurham.com, and a quirk within Google is flagging the old website (durham-nc.com) as dangerous. By the way, for all of you putting on special events, be sure to list them on the DCVB calendar. They list all kinds of local events, no matter how big or how small. Click here for more info. 
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 END HUNGER DURHAM, website:
End Hunger Durham has a mobile resource hub called the Information Station, and they’d like to make it available to houses of worship and other venues with food pantries. The Information Station is a collection of flyers and brochures describing all kinds of community resources that are available to people in need, such as SNAP (food stamps), WIC, Medicaid, Medicare, free or low-cost sources of groceries, hot meals, senior services, recreation, fitness, medical and dental care, and health tips/recipes from the Durham County Department of Public Health. Contact Jacquelyn Blackwell if your organization is interested in signing up for free trainings for food pantry operators and volunteers, and also if you would like the Information Station to be set up at a future special event or during the hours of your next food pantry giveaway. Call 984-364-9662 or write to beamblackwellj@yahoo.com. 
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 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:
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