March is Host Family Appreciation Month for AFS-USA, “a worldwide, nonprofit organization that has been the leading high school international exchange for more than 55 years,” wrote Nancy Grant of Orono, who is the AFS Dirigo Area Team Hosting Coordinator, and a 25-year AFS volunteer.

Currently, Grant reported, there are 31 high school students from 16 countries attending 12 different schools in our area and living with local families.

“AFS exchange students really are doing what they can to build a more just and peaceful world for all of us,” she added.

In her letter to the BDN, written on behalf of the volunteers who find families to host the exchange students and support them while they’re here, Grant extends a sincere “thank you.

“These specially selected teenagers are tomorrow’s world leaders,” she continued, “and they truly enrich our communities, our schools and, especially, our families.”

Hosting an exchange student “is a wonderful way to learn about other cultures and perspectives,” she explained, offering host families an opportunity “to see America through new eyes, to watch preconceived ideas melt away, and to take pleasure in our students’ new experiences.”

Grant reminds you that “the world we live in is becoming smaller all the time. Especially in the wake of the recent tsunami tragedy, many of us have wondered what we could do to make a difference in the world.

“In August, new high school exchange students will arrive in our community,” and host families are needed for them.

To learn more about hosting an AFS student, call the AFS national office at (800) AFS-INFO, or Grant at 866-4542.

Katherine White is chairwoman of the Winterport Woman’s Club annual public auction, which begins with viewing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, at Wagner Middle School on Mountain View Drive in Winterport.

The auction begins at 7 p.m. New and used items will be up for bid, including many donations from local business owners. Light refreshments will also be available.

Proceeds from the auction help support the club’s many community service projects.

For more information about this event, or the WWC, call White at 223-5746.

Ellie Bertolaccini of Orrington invites you to learn about Medicare changes from Stacie Sparkman of the Eastern Agency on Aging at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at St. Teresa Parish Center, 440 South Main St. in Brewer.

Sparkman will discuss upcoming changes in Medicare and the drug program, and will answer questions about any concerns you have about the program.

Everyone is welcome, and light refreshments will be served.

Writing for the Bangor Board of Realtors, Jan Currier thanks “business sponsors, participants, volunteers and high school Key Club members” who contributed to the success of its ninth annual Valentines’ Party to Benefit Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor.

With sponsorship proceeds and matching grants from area businesses, including Wells Fargo Mortgage and the Maine Association of Realtors Affordable Housing Fund, more than $10,000 was raised for the Bangor chapter, which, Currier understands from a board member, hopes to complete two more new homes in 2005.

The updated assessment by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society that the prevalence rate of MS in Maine is 70 percent higher than the national average is reason enough to hope that many people will participate in the annual Maine Chapter Manpower MS Walk, this spring, at one of 15 sites.

The MS Society reports approximately 3,000 Mainers, or one in 400 residents, have been diagnosed with the disease.

In a press release announcing the walk dates and sites, chapter president Russell Anderson expressed a belief that “this information will help Maine residents better understand the severe impact that multiple sclerosis has on the state of Maine, and its citizens.”

The Manpower MS Walk is the Maine chapter’s major fund-raiser.

This year’s walks will be held Saturday, April 9, in Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Pittsfield and Waterville.

Sunday, April 10, walks will be held in Androscoggin County, Biddeford, Camden-midcoast, Greater Portland, Sanford and York, and, on Saturday, May 14, in Bethel, Eastport, Ellsworth and Guilford.

More than 4,000 walkers are expected to participate. But according to local volunteers, registrations are coming in at a slower rate that desired.

If you plan to walk to help fund research that offers hope to those affected by MS, and you have not yet registered, you can do so by visiting www.msmaine.org or calling (888) 526-8890.

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