Tuesday February 7, 2012: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Traverwood Branch: Program Room

Planning for college can be stressful without the right tools and resources. College planners charge hefty fees with no promises, magazines publish arbitrary rankings, and Wall Street just says "save a bundle."

Local college counselor John Boshoven, named one of the "Counselors Who Change Lives" in 2010, leads this panel consisting of educators, a career counselor, and a financial planner - all parents with a track record of helping their own children successfully navigate the college experience. Join them for straight talk, no fee, valuable tips, a little humor, and the opportunity to get your college planning questions answered.

Are you in the market for a preschool? Are you looking for a good place to start your search? Then you should come to the Preschool Expo on January 29th! What is the Preschool Expo? It’s an event that brings representatives from many area preschools to one location, on one date. That way, it’s easy to gather information on preschools and talk with the representatives in order to find a good fit for your child! This free event is co-sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library, Washtenaw Success by Six, Child Care Network, and U-M Work/Life Resource Center. Come explore your options at the Preschool Expo!

Date: Sunday, January 29th
Time: 1:00 – 4:00p.m.
Place: Palmer Commons on the U-M Campus
100 Washtenaw Ave.
(Located at the intersection of Central and Medical Campuses)
Parking: Free parking available in the structure across the street from Palmer Commons

Are you interested in buying a home but feel that you need some education about the process? Michigan State University Extension offers two free Pre-purchase Education courses in January. The sessions are on January 16 & 23 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at the Learning Resource Center. Pre-register by calling (734) 997-1678.

One of the agencies that's been instrumental in housing & services to the homeless in Washtenaw County for decades, SOS Community Services, will be closing from September 21st -September 30th. When the doors re-open they will be called Housing Access For Washtenaw County. This means the Food Pantry at SOS will close on Tuesday September 27th and will resume Tuesday October 4th under its new name, Housing Access for Washtenaw County. We will keep you posted as more details are announced.

social

Learn to be a digital leader, promote best practices and win in the new social world. Come listen to Derek Mehraban, Lunch Ann Arbor Marketing (LA2M) Founder and CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing as he talks about the changing landscape of Google, Facebook, Twitter and social media in general. Find out what it all means and how you can use social tools to improve your life and the lives of those around you on Wednesday, June 29 from 11:45 am to 1:00 pm at Conor O'Neills. There is no registration or fee for this event.

Grand Haven State Park

Now's your chance to get a free one-day pass into any Michigan State Park or recreation area with a Park & Read Pass from AADL this summer! How does it work?

Park & Read Passes are available this year until October 1st, 2011. Get your pass today and enjoy summer in Michigan at the park!

The exhibition Modernism at Risk/Michigan Matters continues through April 20 in the Taubman College Liberty Annex, 305 W. Liberty St. This exhibition was organized by the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the World Monuments Fund. The initiative is aimed at addressing threats facing great works of modern architecture around the world.

American Red Cross

The Red Cross provides Gatorade, water, food and other services for both firefighters and victims in times of emergency. The Washtenaw County Red Cross needs you to join them at Busch’s Fresh Food Market to help with local Disaster Relief from 9:00 AM-2:00 PM on March 12, 2011, at their 3rd annual Gator-Raiser. Please consider donating electrolyte-replenishing beverages this week-end!

image by Francis, Flickr.com
This Friday's AXIS Coffeehouse will be a very special one, featuring none other than the Wild Swan Theater's Sandy Ryder. Ms. Ryder will be in the Malletts Creek program room to give all and sundry tips on poetry as performance. We're going to have a lot of fun! The question is, will you be here having fun too?

For more on poetry as performance, try these:
Wham!, a guide to performance poetry for young people.
The Poetry Lounge: The Power of Performance, a DVD demonstrating poetry performance techniques.
The Spoken Word Revolution, a collection of performance poetry, with a CD so you can listen to the poems!

Malletts Creek | 6:30-8:00 p.m. | Friday, March 11

Are you or someone you know experiencing the grief of loss? The Saint Joseph Mercy Health System is offering a six part Grief Support Series over the next five months. This program offers a supportive environment for those dealing with the loss of a loved one. The first session of the Grief Recovery Series will be held today from 6:30-8 pm at the Washtenaw Medical Arts Building. These sessions are offered free to the public and do require registration. You can register by calling the Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital at either (734) 327-3409 or (734) 712-2920. For further support in a time of loss the AADL offers several books and dvd’s for your use.