Everyone associated with the Ellsworth Garden Club has a right to be proud of recent and continuing efforts made on behalf of the community by that organization.

For example, earlier this year the club was awarded a $1,000 grant by the Principal Financial Group Civic Development Grant Program, “Let Freedom Ring,” to help with restoration and landscaping of the Old Burial Ground next to the First Congregational Church on State Street in Ellsworth, reported Mary Blackstone, who is EGC co-president with Jay Barnes.

This program, established by the National Garden Clubs Inc., was created to boost civic development throughout the country and honor early service members, Blackstone reported.

Ellsworth’s first city cemetery and the final resting place for residents of the 19th century had fallen into disrepair until 2002 when EGC, the city and Ellsworth Historical Society took on the task of restoring it.

Help came from a variety of individuals including Master Gardener Volunteers, Hancock County Jail trusties, private donors and local business owners who made generous cash and in-kind donations.

The second phase of the project is scheduled to start this month and will include the creation of a pathway along the old hearse route through the cemetery, and further hedging and landscaping.

Local historian Mark Honey is conducting research on those buried there for a walking tour of the cemetery.

And while grants make special projects such as this possible, the EGC also raises funds for other ongoing projects through events such as its annual spring perennial and seedling sale.

That fundraiser begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 3, at Donald A. Little Park in the triangle of School and State streets and Birch Avenue in Ellsworth.

EGC vice president Betty Ray reports members will “share perennials and spring seedlings from their gardens to raise money” to maintain the park.

And, from member Elaine Fernald comes word the EGC will be celebrating Park Appreciation Day in conjunction with this sale.

All EGC officers and members want you to know its meetings are open to the public and new members are always welcome, as are cash or in-kind donations.

For more information about the EGC, call Barnes at 667-8909.

Jim Bird reports Orono Bog Boardwalk volunteers are hosting their annual Yard Sale 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at 139 Main St. in Orono.

The rain date is Sunday, June 4.

All proceeds will help maintain the Boardwalk.

Sale items include children’s items, furniture, clothes, books and more.

Matt Hoidal, executive director of Camp Sunshine in Casco, reminds readers its summer program of weeklong camps, offered free to families of seriously ill children, opens for the season Saturday, June 10, and runs through Thursday, Aug. 31.

The weekly program schedule for campers and their families focuses on specific illnesses, starting with those affected by solid organ transplants, and concludes with those affected by oncology.

The program includes onsite medical and psychological support along with traditional camp activities and gatherings.

For more information about the program, volunteering or making a donation, visit www.campsunshine.org or call 655-3800.

We all need to be reminded that major holiday community celebrations come with a cost, and your donations are needed to make them happen.

That is why Michael Hardy of the 4th of July Corp. is asking for your tax-deductible donation to help pay for The Bangor/Brewer Kiwanis Fourth of July Celebration, which includes a parade and fireworks.

Hardy wants you to know that a contribution of any amount is welcome to help the Kiwanians bring this popular celebration to the Greater Bangor.

Your donations can be made payable to 4th of July Corp., P.O. Box 2712, Bangor 04402-2712.

Although the American Lung Association’s 2006 Trek Across Maine was expected to attract 1,500 cyclists, when I checked its Web site on Thursday, June 1, I found 1,815 people had already registered.

The three-day, 180-mile ride starts Friday, June 16, at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry, with overnight stops at the University of Maine in Farmington and Colby College in Waterville, and ends on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18, at Owls Head Transportation Museum.

To register or receive more information, call Lisa Santiago, (888) 241-6566, ext. 123 or e-mail Lsantiago@maine

lung.org.

You can also register or receive more information by calling (800) 499-5864 or going to www.mainelung.org, clicking on ALA-Me: Homepage and scrolling down and clicking on Bike Trek 2006.

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