This week I received an e-mail from Pattie Reynolds, a volunteer with the Maine Air National Guard Family Program.

Reynolds wrote that members of the program are working hard to “make a wish come true for one of our families.”

Reynolds explained that “Lia Grant, the 31-year-old spouse of Staff Sgt. Richard Grant,” of Monmouth, “has been valiantly battling cancer for a number of years.

“Unfortunately, it has returned, and she has been given less than a year to live.”

Reynolds said Lia Grant’s “wish is to go to Hawaii with her husband and two children,” and that, “given her prognosis, we are trying to raise the necessary funds to send them there by April 15.”

Reynolds pointed out that “the cost of the trip is significant,” which is why the MANG Family Program is asking for your help.

If you are able to help this young Maine Air National Guard family enjoy this very special and meaningful time, together, you can make checks payable to The Family Program – designate it for The Grant Family – and mail it to The Family Program, 103 MAINEiac Ave., Suite 505, Bangor 04401.

The Animal Orphanage of Old Town will conduct a phoneathon between 9 a.m. and noon Saturday, March 8, to raise funds for animal care.

If you are not going to be home during the phoneathon hours and want to help support this no-kill shelter, you can call 866-0748 or 827-8777 that day and volunteers will gladly accept your pledge.

Shelter president Roberta Fowler reminds you that, as prices rise, so does the cost of the care and feeding of homeless pets, which is one very important reason your financial assistance is so important.

Fowler also notes this year’s phoneathon is especially important because as costs continue to rise, people are giving up animals they can no longer afford to keep.

For more information, call Fowler at 827-2658 or The Animal Orphanage at 827-8777.

Angie Butler e-mailed that the Lamoine Volunteer Fire Department is hosting its first Hancock County Fireball, sponsored by The First, from 8 p.m. until midnight Saturday, March 8, at the Holiday Inn in Ellsworth.

Tickets are $20 for singles, $30 for couples or $115 for a table of eight, and can be reserved by calling Butler at 266-1555.

The ball “is open to all Hancock County firefighters and their guests,” Butler wrote, urging you to “come, enjoy an evening of dancing, free munchies, free raffles, a 50-50 raffle and cash bar.”

Perhaps the two most significant aspects of this event are that “proceeds from the 50-50 raffle will be donated to Lance Sanborn,” Butler wrote of the Bucksport firefighter who was injured in a recent automobile accident.

And, secondly, Butler wrote, proceeds from the remainder of the event “will go toward upgrading airpacks” for the Lamoine Fire Department.

Music for the evening is being donated by disc jockey Bill DaButler of WNSX 97.7, and you will be able to “remember the evening with professional photos,” Butler wrote.

From Liane Giambalvo comes news that the Women’s Re-entry Center in Bangor “is hoping to develop a creative crafts program for women who are re-entering the work force after a prison term.”

These women “need a variety of craft and sewing supplies and patterns,” Giambalvo explained, “including thread, fabric, cutting mats, scissors, needles and the like.”

If you can “help these women build a better life for themselves,” Giambalvo asks that you “please send your donations to WRC, 106 Hogan Road, Suite 8, Bangor 04401.”

If you would prefer to make arrangements for someone to pick up your donations, call Giambalvo at 862-3356 or Carrie Hart at 561-5023.

Mireille Le Gal announces that Women of the World will meet at noon Monday, March 10, at Church of Universal Fellowship on Main Street in Orono.

This meeting of international women, including Americans, will enjoy a luncheon of traditional dishes from West Africa and view artifacts from Liberia and Mali, Le Gal wrote.

The event is sponsored by the Office of International Programs & National Student Exchange at the University of Maine in Orono, and no reservations are required to attend. The lunch fees are $4 for women and children over 10; $2 for children 6-10 and free for children under 6 attending with mothers.

For more information about taking part in this program, call Le Gal at 581-3423.

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