Jenni McNeish

Join Christian Heritage School in Edwall, Wash., for its 16th annual benefit auction on Saturday. The day's events will include a rummage sale from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the elementary school's gym. A silent auction will be held from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. and a live auction will begin at noon in the high school gym.

Join the Post Falls Education Foundation for the 10th annual Wine, Stein and Dine event to benefit the Post Falls School District. Proceeds from the March 4 event at Greyhound Park and Events Center, will be used to provide creative classroom teaching grants within the school district. The foundation has awarded more than $160,000 in the past nine years.

Support children's literacy by attending a special ballet performance of "Alice in Wonderland" on Feb. 19. "Ballet for Books: A Wonderland Miscellany to Benefit Children's Literacy in Spokane," hosted by Page Ahead, Ballet Spokane and Interplayers, will be at 2 p.m. at Interplayers, 174 S. Howard St.

Short on ideas of what to do on Valentine's Day? Take your sweetheart to the Heart for Heart Valentines Benefit on Feb. 12, and not only enjoy a romantic evening of food, dance and music, but also help an area single mother.

St. Aloysius Roman Catholic School's 14th annual benefit auction will be at the Ridpath Hotel on Saturday. "An Evening in Paradise" begins at 5 p.m. with a silent auction, followed by dinner and live auction.

Texaco will match donations given to Salvation Army red kettles located at local gasoline stations through the holiday season. As stated in a press release from The Salvation Army, Spokane Regional Services, "Texaco wanted to make sure the charity (The Salvation Army) was able to help as many hungry and homeless families as needed this holiday season."

A local family will be collecting toys, clothing and food for Sacred Heart Children's Hospital and Anna Ogden Hall on Wednesday and Thursday. The Shelp family experienced hardship during 2004, when two members of the family underwent surgery late in the year almost simultaneously – one to remove a brain tumor and the other to repair a shoulder.

Nordstrom shoppers will have the opportunity to stop by the Giving Tree to benefit three local nonprofit groups this holiday season. To participate, visit the Giving Tree on the main floor of the downtown Nordstrom store, select a card from the tree, and purchase the requested gift for an area resident in need.

Get in the holiday spirit by catching the Dec. 14 performance of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" at the Spokane Civic Theatre and benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Along with the show, the Holidays and Hope fund-raiser includes a social hour included with hors d'oeuvres, wine tasting and coffee as well as a silent auction.

Take part in a unique holiday shopping tradition by visiting the Loon Lake (Wash.) Historical Society's annual Old Schoolhouse Kris Kringle Markt, beginning the day after Thanksgiving. The German phrase for Christmas market, Kris Kringle Markt is a replica of an old-fashioned country store, complete with the smell of pine boughs, poinsettias, Christmas lights and music.

The Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium and the Shelter Alliance need your used cell phones. "Donating a used and unwanted cell phone allows community members to support someone in our own community who needs protection from abuse and supports efforts to prevent and reduce intimate-partner violence in our community," said Jennifer Pearson Stapleton, executive director of the Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium.

Join the Spokane Chapter of the United Nations Association for a potluck dinner on Nov. 14 and contribute to the worldwide effort to remove land mines presently affecting approximately 90 countries. Bring a food item to share to the "Night of 1,000 Dinners," to be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Drive, at 5:30 p.m.

A "Quest for Fire and Ice," held in the Pend Oreille Pavilion at Northern Quest Casino, is a dinner and auction to benefit the West Plains Chamber of Commerce, Cheney Kiwanis Club and the Cheney Rotary Club. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for Friday's event.

Share the finest wines, foods, and art in the area today and benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank at the first Latah Bistro Harvest Wine Tasting. Wines from eight local wineries, including Lone Canary Winery, Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, Robert Karl Cellars, Townshend Cellar, Knipprath Cellars and Mountain Dome Winery will be on-site.

Local women are encouraged to participate in the annual "Fit for the Cure" event, sponsored by Wacoal America Inc. Eight out 10 women currently wear the wrong bra size. To encourage proper fitting, and to provide breast cancer and early detection awareness, Wacoal specialists will provide free bra fittings at Macy's Northwest stores this week.

The "Tastefully Done Wine Tasting" event, to benefit the North Idaho AIDS Coalition, will be Oct. 16. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by calling (208) 665-1448 or visiting the North Idaho AIDS Coalition, 410 Sherman Ave., Suite 215, Coeur d'Alene, or The Long Ear, 2405 N. Fourth St., Coeur d'Alene.

A benefit concert hosted by The ARK will be held Thursday to aid Hurricane Katrina victims More than 15 musicians, including Brian Crain and George Conrad, will perform during the event in Schuler Auditorium on the North Idaho College campus in Coeur d'Alene. The concert begins at 7 p.m.

Benefit the Spokane Ronald McDonald House and Make-A-Wish Foundation today by attending the first "Tent, Hats & Champagne" event. The festivities includes a polo match, parade of horses, champagne divot stomp, luncheon and auction from noon to 4 p.m. at the Spokane Polo Club, 7500 W. Highway 2.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Soccer Kicks for Cancer" fund-raising event is seeking local youth soccer players to join other youth soccer players across Washington state in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Washington/Alaska Chapter. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a nonprofit group dedicated to the cure of leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and the improvement in the quality of life of patients and their families.

Join more than 500 walkers for the 10th annual Walk to Cure Diabetes on Sept. 10. The 5K walk along the Centennial Trail will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports research to find a cure for diabetes and its complications.

What do you do when the four-legged member of your family needs daily medication? Many of us have experienced the daunting task of trying to give our pets an antibiotic pill or shot of liquid when they are ill.

The Northwest Child Development Center is hosting a free art show and silent auction titled "The Colors of Summer" to raise awareness about the importance of arts in early childhood education. The NCDC is a program through Support for Parents Overcoming Challenges, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing services to low-income families.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center's Summer Youth Academy is hosting its annual 24 hour Read-a-Thon at the center, 845 S. Sherman St., this week. A promotion for literacy, the event will begin Friday at 1 p.m., ending July30 at 1 p.m.

Come enjoy fresh summer air and pick a fresh bundle of lavender to benefit the Children's Miracle Network at the annual "Summer Event of the Senses Lavender U-pick" event at Leisure Lavender Farm. A portion of today's sales from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be donated to CMN, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping hospitalized children.