The caring volunteers of Save our Strays in Fairfield know that when it rains, it pours.

Not only are they in the midst of preparing for what Laurie Mountain describes as “our huge Indoor Yard Sale,” which is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at the Fairfield Community Center, but the nonprofit organization is also “in the middle of a very large rescue effort for 24 cats and kittens,” she added.

Admission to the Indoor Yard Sale is free.

You can to purchase lunch there along with baked goods and pet items, and you can also get tickets for raffle items with a total value of more than $2,200.

Mountain explained that “donations are still being sought” for the sale and, if you wish, they can be picked up by a volunteer or you can drop them off.

For more information on these options, call 278-2175 or 877-0060.

While recognizing that Fairfield is a bit of a drive for many people, Mountain hopes many readers will support their cause.

“Since last fall,” she explained, “we’ve rescued and re-homed animals from nearly every town around, including Bangor, Levant, Glenburn, Newport, Corinna, Dexter, Palmyra and even Greenville. Unfortunately, the number of unwanted animals far surpasses the resources that our group has, but we tackle the problem one needy animal at a time.”

SOS “comes to the aid of animals wherever the need is,” she added, “but we do need more volunteers, donations and foster homes to be able to continue our efforts.”

Donations can be sent to Mountain, c/o Save our Strays, P.O. Box 445, Fairfield 04937.

Registration is now open for the 12th National Youth Sports Program, which begins Monday, June 28, on the Orono campus of the University of Maine.

The free, six-week day program for boys and girls ages 10 to 16 features swimming, soccer, softball, track and field, outdoor adventure, math-science lab activities and other skill-building and educational areas.

UMaine professor of education Steve Butterfield heads this award-winning program that is a partnership of the federal government and universities and communities with oversight by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

This outstanding summer experience is a $1,000 value available to families who meet Department of Health and Human Services income guidelines.

Some slots for youngsters above those guidelines are usually available at no cost, and those names are placed on a waiting list.

Transportation, a breakfast snack and lunch is part of the program, which runs from 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, ending on Thursday, Aug. 5.

To register, call the UMaine NYSP office at 581-2466 or e-mail diane.legrande@umit.maine.edu.

Many of our smaller rural Maine communities depend on neighbors helping neighbors for fire protection, and Newburgh is no exception.

That is why Skip Smith and other members of the Newburgh Volunteer Fire Department hope you attend the NVFD Auction at 7 p.m. Friday, April 30, at Newburgh Elementary School.

The auction benefits the department’s Pump House “at our water supply site on Route 9,” Smith said.

Auction items include signed Ricky Craven and University of Maine sports memorabilia, and assorted donations from various businesses, Smith added.

To their credit, not only do these volunteers protect their community, they also help raise the money to do it.

To recognize April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, you can participate in Rape Response Services’ sixth annual “Take A Stand Against Sexual Assault” from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 30, at Borders in Bangor.

That day and the next, Borders will host Benefit Days for RRS of Bangor, during which the Clothesline Project will be displayed. Teal ribbons, wooden nickels, decals, clothesline pins and posters will be available for sale.

For 16 years, Rape Response Services has provided support to those affected by sexual violence in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties.

Its toll-free hot line is (800) 310-0000.

Friday, April 30, is the registration deadline for the first Down East Spring Birding Festival during Memorial Day weekend, Friday, May 28-Monday, May 31, in the Eastport-Lubec area.

With the Atlantic Puffin as the festival’s hallmark species, guest speakers include Dr. Gayle Kraus, University of Maine-Machias professor of marine ecology, and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologist Tom Hodgman.

For information, call 853-4644, visit www.downeastbirdfest.org, or write Down East Spring Birding Festival, P.O. Box 42, Whiting 04691.

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