n Frackville: American Legion Auxiliary Unit 398 will host its fourth annual theme basket auction April 26 and 27 at the post home, 40 S. Mahanoy Ave. A shop and drop is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 with the auction set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27 with a drawing at 2 p.m. People need not be present to win. For more information, call 570-462-1904.
n Hamburg: A "Keep Hamburg Beautiful" communitywide cleanup event sponsored by the Our Town Foundation is set for 9 a.m. to noon April 26 starting at 300 Primrose Alley. "Let's clean sweep the neighborhood and downtown during this communitywide cleanup event," OTF said in a press release, adding bags, gloves and vests will be provided to all volunteers. Afterward, a post-cleanup cookout at the tot lot playground will provide free lunch.
n Mahanoy City: The Active Christian Teens In Our Neighborhood Youth Group will sponsor Living Stations of the Cross beginning at 7 p.m. Friday at the St. Cecilia Chapel, Catawissa Street, and ending at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Roman Catholic Church, 600 W. Mahanoy Ave. The public is welcome to attend.
n Nuremberg: The Nuremberg Area Food Pantry distributes from the North Union Township Municipal Building. The site contacts are Joe Markoskie, call 570-384-4130 and Susan Driscoll, call 570-384-4342. Distribution is 9 to 11 a.m. the third Saturday of event months. The pantry serves Nuremberg and parts of Union, North Union, East Union townships.
n Pottsville: Sarah Hahner, a 2009 graduate of Pottsville Area High School and a graduate of Messiah College who majored in child development, informed members of the Pottsville Rotary club during a meeting about her mission trip to Africa. Hahner did her clinical training as a child life specialist in Colorado and is working on her master's degree in counseling, according to the Rotary bulletin. She took her trip to Africa with other Messiah students in 2012 during her junior year at Messiah. She told the Rotarians about flying in to South Africa and taking a safari through Botswana where participants, from their tents, were able to year lions roaring. They took a four-hour bus ride to Zambia, where she spent the next several weeks working in a hospital setting. She presented a video slideshow of her trip for the Rotarians. Hahner titled the presentation "Living in Contradiction: Riches of the Heart Among the Poorest of the Poor." She said much of her time was spent at Macha Mission Hospital, which serves everyone within a 10-hour walking distance. The hospital sometimes serves as a hospice, because patients who show up are often too late to receive help. She described the area behind the hospital as "the fires," a camp and waiting room where families wait sometimes for weeks using an open fire for cooking and heat. At the hospital, she mostly worked with children, providing general pediatrician needs and dealing with HIV/AIDS, malaria, snake bites and burn trauma. Zambian schools, she said, have no desks, chairs, books or writing instruments. There are about 45 students to each teacher. Crayons are broken into pieces for people to use. She and her roommate spent a weekend at the home of a local family. There was no electricity or running water, but the family was gracious and made them feel welcome, Hahner said.
n Schuylkill Haven: The Penn State Schuylkill Spring 2014 Community Cultural Events Calendar includes a once-a-month showcase of a newly released feature film. The next showing is "Wolf of Wall Street," rated R, on Monday. Showings are at 6 p.m. in the Morgan Auditorium on campus. The showings are free and the public is welcome. The Schuylkill campus is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. To reach the campus, call 570-385-6000.
n William Penn: The William Penn Fire Company, Route 54, will sponsor a bleenie sale from 11 a.m. to sellout on Friday. To order or for free local delivery, call 570-462-0338.