People served by Manna Ministries of Bangor need your help this holiday season. Manna is asking the generous residents of our area to adopt an individual or a family by donating gifts that are needed, and gifts that will be just plain fun to unwrap on Christmas Day.

Manna reports that families and individuals have already started signing up to provide needed items. The list includes everything from clothes to the toys that Manna will dispense in cooperation with The Salvation Army.

Manna also reminds you that many of those requesting help this year are people referred to as “the working poor.” In fact, requests from that group have increased this year.

The working poor are employed and are trying hard to support their families, but they are simply having a difficult time making ends meet.

Manna suggests that contributions of sweat shirts in all sizes, gloves, socks, women’s large and extra-large coats and large and extra-large flannel shirts would be appreciated. Walkmans are also a popular item on the request list.

Manna is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is located at 180 Center St. in Bangor, and you can drop off your unwrapped gifts there.

If you have questions, you are welcome to call Manna at 990-2870.

The annual Holiday Food Drive-Music Giveaway sponsored by WMHB 89.7 FM, Waterville’s college and community radio station, is 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today.

The drive will be conducted in the basement of Roberts Union at Colby College in Waterville. All donations benefit the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter in Waterville.

Students and community members are asked to bring canned food to the station. In return, WMHB will give away music CDs, records, posters, tapes, videos and much more. Items are given out first come, first served, so donate early!

Lee L’Heureux, Colby College Class of ’03, reports that last year’s drive resulted in “more food than the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter had ever received” from a food drive.

The radio station is a nonprofit organization run jointly by Colby students and community members.

Members of the Bangor Area Chapter of the American Sewing Guild invite you to learn how to make a Christmas pillow or a Christmas stocking from 10 a.m. to noon today at JoAnn Fabrics on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor.

During two-hour blocks, members will show you how to make these items.

The cost of the class is $5, plus materials, which can be purchased at JoAnn’s.

However, the most important thing to remember is that you must bring your own sewing machine!

For more information, call Lelo Hardy at 947-4143.

The annual Hollyberry Fair of the Dr. Mary Cushman Circle is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today at the Trinitarian Church on Main Street in Castine. It offers handwork, baked goods, books, jewelry, wreaths, ornaments, quilts and a luncheon.

Rick and Judy Lambert, and members of the King’s Daughters Home, invite you to attend their holiday open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, at 89 Ohio St. in Bangor.

The gracious 109-year-old home serves as a Christian residence for young women who prefer not living in a college dormitory or apartment while studying or working in the Greater Bangor area.

There is no charge to attend, and you will certainly enjoy the welcome you will receive as much as you will enjoy viewing the lovely holiday decorations.

Brian Higgins, president of the Brewer Historical Society said the society will host the second annual Penobscot Valley Museum Alliance Christmas Potluck Get-Together from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 3, in the Senior Citizen Room of the Brewer Auditorium on Wilson Street.

Anyone interested in attending the holiday gathering is welcome.

People with last names starting with the letters A-G are asked to bring a dessert. People with last names starting with H-Q are to bring an entree, and people with last names starting with R-Z are asked to bring a tossed salad, jellied salad or a dip.

Food, music and fellowship will be enjoyed, as will sharing time with spokespersons of the Museum Alliance describing their goals and objectives for 2001.

Members of the East Orrington Congregational Church invite you to participate in the Community Christmas Tree Lighting at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3. The ceremony will take place next to the fire station at the end of the Snows Corner Road in Orrington.

After the tree lighting, you are invited to go up the hill to the church for refreshments, courtesy of the Orrington Volunteer Ambulance Service. Children who attend are asked to bring a gift to help fill Santa’s bag. The gift can be new, or it can be one of their own, in good condition, which they no longer want or use.

After refreshments, Christmas caroling will be held in the church sanctuary.

Now through Christmas, the Bangor Public Library will forgive any overdue fines you owe if you bring two or more nonperishable items to the library.

The BPL is hosting a holiday food drive to benefit The Salvation Army. Boxes for donations are located at the adult and children’s circulation desks.

The library also invites you to attend the free classical concert with a holiday theme. The Orono High School Orchestra, led by Waldo Caballero, will be featured at at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, in the library’s lecture hall.

For information on either of these opportunities, call the BPL at 947-8336.

We note with sorrow the passing of a friend and former Bangor Daily News colleague, Jeanne Purcell, who died Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the age of 74.

Jeanne was a gracious, caring woman whose quiet presence and reassuring manner always made you feel comfortable and welcome, whether you were a guest or a co-worker approaching her desk.

One of Jeanne’s finest qualities was her ability to bring a little light into your life just when you needed it the most.

It was a pleasure to know her, and an honor to have worked with her.

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