Festival-goers can put on their dancing shoes and join Willow Glen residents in what has become a great tradition of good music, food and refreshments. Dancin' on the Avenue will be held on June 18 from 5 to 10 p.m.

This year, the decade-old event will have four stages and will feature the Joe Sharino Band, Garage Band, Daddy-O and NU DAY. There will also be a Kid's Court in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot that will feature craft activities for children. Dance performances of ballet and salsa have also been lined up.

The Willow Glen Professional and Business Association that sponsors the event, is calling for volunteers to staff beverage booths. "We like to have groups take responsibility for one or more beverage booths," board member Judy Kane said. Each beverage booth requires four volunteers for the early shift from 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. and six for the late shift from 7 to 10 p.m. "This is a wonderful way to promote your group or business to Willow Glen," Kane added.

Interested groups can contact Kane at Judy.Kane@PruRealty.com.

Penny drive fills up Schallenberger jars

Schallenberger Elementary School raised $2,698 through its yearlong penny drive. The total was one of the highest amounts ever collected.

Since last September, fifth-grade teacher Donna Reyerson-Keith and her 31 students have been helping to sort, count and bag pennies. Once a month, the students collect pennies from containers placed in each classroom. The last batch of $1,006 worth of pennies was collected on June 1, the largest amount ever collected in a month since the school started the penny drive about 15 years ago.

The money will go to the Georgia Travis Center and Heifer International.

Georgia Travis Center helps homeless women and their children, providing services such as drug and alcohol counseling, on-site health care and workshops. Heifer International is a nonprofit that helps impoverished families become more self-reliant by providing food, income-producing animals and training.

The school will present checks to both organizations at its American Heritage Assembly on June 13.

Reyerson-Keith is proud of the students' efforts to make a difference in their community.

"A lot of the students made arrangements with their parents to do chores around the house so they could collect more pennies," she said. "It's unbelievable how well they did." San Jose library is
celebrating books

The San Jose Public Library System is celebrating summer with events for the whole family.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library presents its Summer Reading Celebration with two children's events. Magician Brian Scott will dazzle children at the July 20 program, "Mystic Magic: Super Powers for Super Readers." Children are also invited to movie night on July 27 for the screening of Charlotte's Web at 5:30 p.m.

San Jose's main branch will also display a new exhibit, "From Asahi to Zebras: Japanese American Baseball in San Jose," on July 23 at 2 p.m. The reception features author Ralph Pearce, Nisei Baseball Research Project founder Kerry Yo Nakagawa and former Zebra player and manager Roy Matsuzaki.

For Spanish speakers, the public libraries will also offer two bilingual programs. On July 6, King library will hold "The Heroes in Your Family," a program that includes stories, songs and finger plays in both English and Spanish. On July 26 at the Biblioteca Latinoamerica Branch, Oliver Chin will work with teens ages 11 to 18 on "How to Make a Comic Book" at 1 p.m.

The Biblioteca Latinoamericana Branch is located at 921 S. First St. The King branch is located at 150 E. San Fernando St. For more information, visit www.sjlibrary.org.

Volunteers needed for summer day camps

Sacred Heart Community Service is looking for volunteers to staff its academic summer day camps.

The camps are designed to reinforce the academic skills of fourth-through eighth-graders by offering cultural, artistic and musical activities.

The camps will also have volunteers available to tutor children in mathematics, reading and computer skills. These volunteers will escort campers on weekly field trips.

The camps run from June 27 through July 28 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers are asked to volunteer one full week or one day each week. The minimum age is 16 years old and adults and college students are encouraged to apply.

For more information, contact the volunteer office at Sacred Heart Community Service at 408.278.2171 or via email at volunteers@sacredheartcommunityservice.org.

Learn about diabetes
while having fun

The Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley is organizing San Jose Youth Day Camp for children ages 4 to 12 at the Alum Rock Youth Center from June 27 to July 1.

At the camp, children with diabetes will learn more about themselves and their condition and at the same time play sports, roller skate, create and perform skits and work on arts and crafts.

The camp also includes daily educational sessions for parents to get the latest medical updates on insulin pumps, ketones and other new technology with Stanford pediatric endocrinologist Bruce Buckingham. On July 1, the children will present skits about what they have learned about themselves and living with diabetes.

It costs $90 per child for a week at the camp and that covers program activities, educational materials, outings, a gift bag and T-shirt.

The San Jose Youth Camp is open June 27 to July 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To register, call 1.800.989.1165 ext. 121 or register by email at camp@diabetesscv.org. For more information, visit www.diabetsscv.org.