Community & Clubs:

It will be a busy weekend for dozens of congregations from Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Irvine as the local interfaith council sponsors the ninth annual Hearts and Hands, a day of hands-on service projects, Saturday. The 15th annual Prayerful Celebration of Thanksgiving will be Sunday.

The Hearts and Hands is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 801 Dover Drive in Newport Beach, where more than 600 volunteers from congregations, community groups, high school students and the public will help needy children around the world.

According to event Co-chair Jaimie Day, the projects include handmade wooden toys for an orphanage sponsored by Mariners Church; hygiene kits for disaster relief; a peace quilt; school kits; triage wound kits; knitted caps; a canned food drive; gift bags for veteran’s hospitals; a DVD collection for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan; and a good old fashioned bake sale.

The Newport Beach Fire Department will be on hand for a luncheon barbecue at $5 a person and there will be a blood drive.

“The public is invited to drop in for an hour or two and make a difference in someone’s life,” Day said.

There is a need for DVDs to send in care packages to our troops. High school students can earn service hours. Volunteers are asked to bring two cans of food for Orange County’s hungry.

The Prayerful Celebration of Thanksgiving will be at 7 p.m. at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2200 San Joaquin Hills Road in Newport Beach, and will feature music, readings and prayers from the Rev. Gary Collins, St. Mark; the Rev. Julie Elkins, First United Methodist Church of Costa Mesa; Rabbi Marc Dworkin, American Jewish Committee; Gupreet Ahuja, O.C. Sikh Community; Greg Kelley, Our Lady Mt. Carmel Catholic Church; Fatma Saleh, Islamic Education Center of Orange County; Dennis Short, Harbor Christian Church; Susan Munsell, Family Federation; and Karen Stoyanoff, Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church.

Participating choirs include Bahai Light of Unity Singers, St. Mark Presbyterian Church Choir and the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Choir.

This is a family event and attendees are asked to bring two cans of food to be shared with Orange County’s hungry, asks Chairman the Rev. David Stoner.

For more information, visit www.nmiinterfaith.org.

ELKS RAISE MONEY FOR PURPLE PIG FUND

The Newport Harbor Elks No. 1767, which is part of the Orange Coast District, raised $3,500 at its annual Western Round-up this fall, according to Sharon L. Seal, Elks public relations chairwoman.

The proceeds went to the Elks Purple Pig Major Project Fund, which provides support to children with disabilities. The event also raised an additional $4,500 toward the lodge building fund, Seal said.

This is one of the most profitable events the lodge has held.

The California Hawaii Elks Assn. District which consists of about 200 lodges throughout California and Hawaii, has donated almost $3 million for its Major Project Program.

If you would like more information on the Elks Organization and its charities, go to Elks.org or www.orangecoastelks.org. The Newport Harbor website is www.newportharborelks.us.

TURKEYS AND EAGLES NEXT WEEK

As we gather Nov. 26 with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving, yours truly will provide the ninth annual Community and Clubs column on turkeys and eagles in Newport Mesa. It is time we recognize those whose names haven’t appeared in the pages of the Daily Pilot.

WORTH REPEATING

Thought for the Day as provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council: “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

— John Wooden

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK

How are you giving back to your community? Help your community and the world through a service club!

TODAY

7:30 a.m.: The 10-member Newport Harbor Kiwanis Club meets at Denny’s Restaurant, 290 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

Noon: The 20-member Exchange Club of Corona del Mar meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. For more information, go to www.coronadelmarexchangeclub.org.

5:15 p.m.: The 10-member Rotary Club of Costa Mesa meets at the Ramanda Inn & Suites, 1680 Superior Ave., Costa Mesa.

6 p.m.: The 65-member Rotary Club of Newport Balboa meets the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for pre-Thanksgiving fun and fellowship time. For more information, go to www.newportbalboa.org.

THURSDAY

7 a.m.: The 20-member Costa Mesa Orange Coast Lions Club meets at Mimi’s Café.

Noon: The 50-member Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club meets at the Holiday Inn, Costa Mesa. For more information, go to www.CostaMesaKiwanis.org.

The 45-member Kiwanis Club of Newport Beach-Corona del Mar meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. For more information, go to www.newportbeachkiwanis.org.

The 85-member Rotary Club of Newport Irvine meets at the University Club at UCI. For more information, go to www.ni-rotary.org.

The 95-member Exchange Club of Newport Harbor meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a program by John Stratman titled “Mobile Child Abuse Prevention Center.”

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club meets at Five Crowns, 3801 E. Coast Hwy., Corona Del Mar, for a presentation by retired judge and Pilot columnist James Gray. For more information, go to www.newportbeachsunriserotary.org.

COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Wednesdays. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to jdeboom@aol.com .