Homemade manicotti, ziti, spaghetti and meatballs are on the menu, along with tossed salad, Italian bread and dessert for a benefit supper hosted by David and Shirley Oliver of Millinocket from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church on Highland Avenue in Millinocket.

The supper will benefit their son-in-law, George Carman of New Gloucester.

“Even though he has cystic fibrosis and is in need of a double-lung transplant,” the Olivers wrote, “he still works full time and volunteers as a fireman,” although he is not allowed to be near smoke.

Now 40 years old, his in-laws explained, “George has passed the median life expectancy of 31 for a person with CF.”

While he waits to be placed on a transplant list, Carman’s “friends, family, co-workers and members of the New Gloucester Fire Department have formed a committee to ease the [financial] burden” for their son-in-law and daughter, Amy Carman.

The young couple knows “that he will need a double-lung transplant soon,” the Olivers wrote, “and they have learned from others that the expenses not covered by insurance will range in the amount of $300,000.”

To help with these lifesaving expenses, the Olivers hope you join them for this benefit, which will also include entertainment.

For more information, visit www.newlungsforgeorge.org or call the Olivers at 723-9102.

In conjunction with its yearlong Acts of Kindness campaign, United Way of Eastern Maine and Clear Channel Radio of Maine are recognizing April as Children’s Literacy Month.

As part of this particular campaign, the organizations are asking you to donate new or used children’s books to assist low-income families give their children a “smart start,” reports Nancy Roberts of UWEM.

Your book donations can be dropped off at any Bangor Savings Bank location or from 6 to 9 a.m. Thursday at Starbucks in the Bangor Mall, where “Mike & Mike” of KISS 94.5 FM will broadcast live.

If you donate a book to “Mike & Mike,” you will receive a free coffee.

Roberts reported that Penquis Community Action Program, Washington-Hancock Community Agency, Waldo CAP and UWEM will then distribute the books to families in need.

For more information about the Acts of Kindness campaign, visit www.unitedwayem.org or call UWEM’s Sara Yasner at 941-2800.

Historian and author Kerck Kelsey, a descendent of one of Orono’s prominent residents, is the featured speaker for the fourth installment of the town’s Bicentennial Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday in Town Council chambers.

Kelsey wrote the biography, “Israel Washburn Jr.: Maine’s Little, Little-Known Giant of the Civil War.”

Born in Livermore, Washburn practiced law in Orono and was a U.S. congressman, governor of Maine and a founder of the Republican Party.

He took “a moderate stand on anti-slavery” and mustered regiments for the Civil War. His former Orono home on Main Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Carmel Fireman’s Auxiliary is hosting a basket bingo beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Carmel Elementary School gymnasium on Plymouth Road.

Admission is $10 for 15 games, and there will be two blackouts for $5 each.

Refreshments, including fresh Italian sandwiches and hot dogs, will be available for purchase.

For tickets, call Donna Stanhope at 848-3969, e-mail msdonnas14@aol.com or call Rhonda Crowley at 848-3541.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will be applied toward a matching grant to purchase a second thermal imaging camera for the Carmel Fire Department’s lead engine.

Tickets are now on sale for the Zoot Suit Revue at 7 p.m. Saturday in the hall of St. John’s Catholic Church, 207 York St. in Bangor.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for children and are available at the church rectory office and Patrick’s Hallmark in the Broadway Shopping Center in Bangor.

Hosted by president Nancy Taylor and members of the St. John’s Women’s Council, Back Door Dance Studio will entertain you with a variety of dance styles from flappers of the 1920s doing the Charleston to poodle skirts and music of the 1950s during this fun-filled, family-entertaining evening.

Proceeds benefit the charitable activities of the Women’s Council, which is celebrating 66 years of service to the church and community.

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