With the recent reopening of its Russia Program, Melissa Huston of MAPS Adoption and Humanitarian Aid has announced an informational meeting will be offered from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at its new office, 229 State St., Bangor.

Huston reminds readers that MAPS, “known as a leader in international adoption … was the first American agency to begin placing children from Russia,” with American families in 1991 and since then, “has found homes for more than 1,200 Russian children in Maine and throughout the country.”

MAPS has also “funded humanitarian aid programs to improve the lives” of children who remain behind in orphanages and foster homes.

However, the program was suspended in 2006 due to “a restructuring” of Russian “agency accreditation procedures,” Huston explained.

Recently, she continued, MAPS was reaccredited “at a ceremony, in Moscow, hosted by the Russian Ministry of Education.”

Nearly 700,000 children are living in Russian institutions, she added, and married couples and single women are eligible to adopt babies, toddlers and older children.

The adoption process takes 10-18 months to complete and requires two trips to Russia.

For information, visit www.mapsadopt.org, or call 941-9500.

For this meeting, Huston asks that you “please RSVP to ensure adequate space and materials are available.”

Maria Staples of Penquis reminds folks “looking for a place to go for lunch or dinner” Thursday, Jan. 24, to “please consider UNO Chicago Grill” near the Bangor Mall.

For those using free UNO Dough Raiser tickets, up to 20 percent of the bill will benefit the Penquis Breast and Cervical Health Coalition.

To get your free Dough Raiser ticket, call 973-3596.

The Benefit Spaghetti Dinner for Cheryl White and her two children of Milford from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Milford Community Center also includes a silent auction.

If you have items to donate, call William Thomas at 947-4340.

Admission is by donation to assist the family who lost its home to fire.

Friends and members of Garland Grange 76 are hosting a benefit dinner from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, at the Grange Hall on Oliver Hill Road, to benefit 19-year-old Brandon Blanchette who “was severely injured in a snowmobile accident recently,” e-mailed Andrea Rollins.

Organizers of the potluck meal include members of the Grange, the Garland Fire Department, “and many citizens of Garland, but any additional help, or food donations, would be appreciated,” Rollins wrote.

Admission is by donation and all proceeds benefit Blanchette and his family.

If you can donate food or volunteer to help at the benefit, call Grange Master Bill Bemis, 924-3537, or member Jean Rollins, 924-3504.

Vic Wood, store manager of Hannaford in the Bangor Mall, e-mailed that Ken Day, “a longtime associate” of that store, “recently passed away, very unexpectedly, due to cancer at the very young age of 44.”

Co-workers and friends are hosting a Benefit Spaghetti Supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at Hermon High School, “for the benefit of his wife,” Pam Day, and the couple’s two teenage sons, Bryan Day and Daniel Day.

The admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12.

The fundraiser includes a 50-50 raffle and a silent auction offering a variety of items.

Trudy Tremblay and Phyllis Borns invite you to enjoy “turkey with all the fixings and homemade pies for dessert” at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, at Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St., Orono.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $3.50 for children under 12 and $21 maximum for a family and can be reserved by calling 866-3655.

Best wishes go with 2007 Bangor High School graduates Jennie Foley and Branden Mountain, who leave Feb. 4 for 10 months with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.

Foley’s mother and Mountain’s foster mother, Karen Foley, e-mailed the pair will be based in Denver, Colo., and their projects “could include disaster relief, national park trail work or volunteering in local schools.”

The two will continue their studies when they return from the program that offers “a small weekly stipend, a grant towards college and invaluable life experience,” Karen Foley wrote.

For anyone who wants more information “about the opportunities available with AmeriCorps,” she suggests you visit the AmeriCorps Web site, which you can do by going to Google and typing in AmeriCorps.

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