Everyone who loves teddy bears knows this is the 100th anniversary of the soft, cuddly toy that was first made in 1902.

So it is wonderfully appropriate this holiday season that the Veazie Congregational Church is hosting the Great Teddy Bears and Friends Sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at the church on State Street in Veazie.

“We’ve been collecting teddy bears from church members and anyone who has bears who needs to thin out their herd,” said the Rev. Patricia O. Moore.

Sale organizers are also looking for more bears to sell, she added. “Anyone who has bears that are looking for new homes, or bears they want to put out for adoption” is invited to contribute those bears to the sale.

And, if you feel you cannot donate your bear, or bears, to the sale, the church will take them on consignment.

Funds raised at the event will help with maintenance expenses incurred by the small congregation.

“We’re just trying to do everything we can to make money to pay the heating and electrical bills,” Moore added.

The church has a chair lift and is handicap accessible.

“We have already gathered more than 200 bears and other animals,” Moore said of the collection of teddy bears and friends she describes as “new, previously loved and antique.”

The event will also feature “our teddy bear cookies, one of our biggest sellers,” Moore said, “kitchen towels with bears on them and other items that are bear-related.”

If you are interested in donating or consigning a teddy bear, or friend, to this sale, call Moore at 942-7837, or the church, 942-5023.

Millie Grimes reports that H.O.M.E. Inc., in Orland, is participating in Ending Hunger Week.

Coordinated by Partners in Ending Hunger in Rockland, and working with credit unions in Maine, any donation made to H.O.M.E. between now and Monday, Dec. 2, will be matched up to 10 percent by the Ending Hunger Week program.

Monies raised will help supply the H.O.M.E. food bank, help pay transportation costs and help with publicity efforts to make people more aware of hunger in Maine.

Contributions can be sent to H.O.M.E., P.O. Box 10, Orland 04472.

For more information about this and other H.O.M.E. projects, call 469-7961.

Attention Brewer High School Class of 1979 alumni!

Sandy Caron reports an informal gathering of Brewer High Class of ’79 classmates is planned for 8-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, at the Muddy Rudder in Brewer.

I was pleased to learn that Lafayette Hotels, owner of 19 hotels in Maine and New Hampshire, is offering free rooms to families with children or relatives in the hospital over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Visitors are screened by the hospital and referred to the hotel by the hospital.

The Home for the Holidays program is also available to families facing an emergency or extreme hardship, such as a death in the family or loss of their home to fire.

Local Home for the Holidays participants are the Black Bear Inn, Orono; Best Western White House, Bangor; and Best Inn, Bangor.

Other Maine sites are the Best Western Waterville Inn; the Fireside Inn and Suites, Auburn; The Best Western Merry Manor, South Portland; and Lafayette’s Oceanfront Resort, Wells Beach.

Families can make reservations for the program by contacting their hospital or calling the hotels directly.

You have until Saturday, Dec. 21, to participate in the Mount Desert Island Hospital Auxiliary Holiday Star Project.

Proceeds from the project, which honors those who have touched your life, will help purchase equipment for the hospital.

The stars are $5 each, and if you wish, a letter will be sent stating the gift was given in memory or honor of a friend, loved one or pet. A record book is also available for viewing at the hospital’s reception desk.

The public is invited to watch the lighting of the tree at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at the hospital and sing carols around the tree and throughout the hospital.

For more information about purchasing stars, call Charlotte Skiff at 288-3103.

I was very pleased to hear from Pat Edgecome that the Downeast Circus Band Final Fall Fling to benefit its scholarship fund held earlier this month at Alamoosook Lodge in Orland was “a huge success,” with more than 100 people attending.

“We made enough cash to send 10 students to music camp next summer,” Edgecome said in thanking “all those who made it such a fun afternoon.”

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.