Around Town (12/16/2015)
Christmas meeting for Merced Republican women
The Merced County Republican Women’s meeting Monday will be special. The Classic Christmas Carolers will perform for the group. They will have old-fashioned caroler costumes and stroll around the tables performing. The meeting is set for 11:30 a.m. and lunch is served at noon at the Branding Iron in Merced. If you plan on having lunch, call 209-812-4398 or 209-761-0550 by Wednesday. They will also be collecting items for Toys for Tots.
Christmas Eve celebration
Join ISMA Ministries Inc. in celebrating Jesus this Christmas season. Refreshments provided. This event is free and open to the public and runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Dec. 24 at the McCombs Youth Center, 615 W. 15th St. in Merced. For more information, call 209-725-1761.
Become an advocate for children
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Merced County will begin a new volunteer advocate training class Jan. 20. An orientation is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 29. CASA is a nonprofit organization that trains volunteers to provide support and advocacy for the abused and neglected children in the Merced County foster care system. For more information, call 209-722-227.
U12 travel baseball
Tryouts for U12 competitive travel baseball will be held Jan. 9 at Merced High School baseball park. The cutoff date for 13-year-olds is April 30. For a start time and additional information, please call Aaron Martinez at 209-756-1513 or Butch Hughes at 209-756-4751.
Merced library seeks volunteers
Friends of the Merced County Library invites you to check out the group’s bookstore just inside the main branch at 2100 O St. in Merced. The library offers hardbacks, paperbacks, CDs, DVDs, VCR tapes, children’s books, audio books and lots of other things for sale, including Christmas cards at 10 cents each. All are donated. Prices range from 25 cents to $2. All proceeds go to the library to buy new materials. The library needs volunteers. If you have some time each month to man the bookstore, please drop by and fill out an application. The library also needs donations of newer paperbacks.
Tax return help
In partnership with the Internal Revenue Service, AARP of Merced County will prepare tax returns for free again next year. Help is available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 1 through April 14. AARP is at the Merced Senior Center, 755 W. 15th St. in Merced. First come, first served. No appointments taken.
Free venue rentals
The Pacheco Village and Pacheco Court apartments offer free venue rentals. Rentals include a meeting space with a capacity of up to 60 and well-equipped club rooms with kitchens. They are available for local clubs, organizations, churches and nonprofit agencies to use for meetings and activities. For more information, call 209-826-8300 or go to the leasing office at 2241 Gilbert Gonzalez Jr. Drive in Los Banos.
If you would like to have an event announced in Around Town, send information to aroundtown@mercedsunstar.com at least 10 days before the event. Items run according to space available.
This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Around Town (12/16/2015)."