One of the major fundraisers for Three Rivers Kiwanis Club of Milo and Brownville is its annual Kiwanis Auction, which begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 22 and Friday, June 23, on the lawn of the Farmer’s Union on Park Street in Milo.

The event begins with a yard sale and is followed by the live auction.

The Chuck Wagon will have hot food, soda, coffee and fries for sale, and you can purchase 50-50 raffle tickets as well.

The annual event “raises money for the Kiwanis projects for the children in the area,” explained Ethelyn Treworgy.

Proceeds help fund a library “Reading is Fundamental Program” for children in SAD 41 from pre-school through grade six, Treworgy wrote.

Money raised also “makes it possible to send reading books home for summer reading; helps the school Outing Club; and helps buy gifts for the Secret Santa project.”

“The list for children goes on and on,” Treworgy added.

Additionally, funds raised by members of Three Rivers Kiwanis help support ongoing community projects that include the Milo Town Hall Arts Center and maintenance of the gazebo in the town’s park.

“Another project that should not go unmentioned is the Veterans Day Dinner and Celebration, always held on Nov. 11, for all veterans in our surrounding towns,” Treworgy wrote.

“This event gets larger, every year, with veterans coming from afar when they hear about it.”

Treworgy is, understandably, proud of the contributions made to the communities served by members of Three Rivers Kiwanis.

“The defining statement of Kiwanis is, Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child, and one community, at a time.

“I guess I really believe in this, especially for all our children,” she wrote.

If you have questions about the auction or about the activities of Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo and Brownville, call Treworgy at 943-7748, or Joe Zamboni at 943-2271.

The third and final Maine Speakout Walk with the Ones You Love Events begins at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 18, in Pickering Square in Bangor.

Sponsored by the Howard Foundation and by Coast 93.1, the event promotes “the vision of a Maine where all families and couples are equally safe to walk in public,” according to the organization’s press release.

For more information about the event, call Dan Williams at 942-9319.

Previous walks were conducted earlier this month in Portland and Kennebunk.

“Safe Riding” is our wish for John McClellan, president and CEO of Sprague Energy Corp., who begins his 1,000-mile third annual “Doing More” bike tour at 5 a.m. Tuesday, June 20, in Searsport.

Funds raised will benefit The March of Dimes and the Nashoba Learning Group Inc.

Averaging 100 miles a day, McClellan will tour 16 Sprague Energy Corp. fuel terminals from Maine to New York, concluding the fundraiser on July 28 in Portsmouth, N.H.

On this first leg, he will ride through Belfast and Rockland, arriving in Portland at approximately 1 p.m.

In 2004, the tour raised $50,000 for NLG and $50,000 for The Muscular Dystrophy Association.

In 2005, McClellan’s ride raised $50,000 for the NLG and the March of Dimes, reports Gene Staffiere, northern Maine director of the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes, founded in 1938, works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

NLG is a New Hampshire-based nonprofit school for children with autism founded in 2003 by McClellan’s wife, Elizabeth Martineau.

McClellan is the school’s treasurer and serves on its board of trustees. He and his wife have a child in the school.

Bass Park director Mike Dyer wrote the Bangor Daily News recently “on behalf of the thousands who attended the Daniel O’Donnell concert on June 3 at the Bangor Auditorium.”

Dyer wrote “to recognize, and thank, the student volunteers from Bangor High School’s Class of 2008.”

He went on to explain that “without their caring assistance, hundreds of elderly patrons, seated in the upper reaches of the auditorium, would have been unable to enjoy the show.”

The “enthusiastic demeanor” of members of Bangor High’s Class of 2008 “surely made the demanding trek up and down the stairs easier for many!” Dyer wrote.

“The students’ willingness, on a Saturday night no less, to help make a difference, reflects most positively on their families, their school and, of course, themselves.”

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