Crafters, scrapbooking fans and card makers should plan to make their way to the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn on Saturday, March 13 for a day of creativity that also will help a local homeless shelter.

The day of project-making begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 9 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn, 600 North Brady St. Registration is $40, which includes personal table space, a continental breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Demonstrators from scrapbook consultant companies — Stampin’ Up, Creative Memories, and Close To My Heart — will be performing demonstrations throughout the day and offering scrapbook supplies for sale.

All proceeds from the event will benefit www.christ-net.orga local rotating night shelter and permanent daytime shelter for the homeless, located in the downriver communities. As this is a fundraiser, registration is tax deductible for 2010. Receipts will be provided at the event.

To register or for more information, please contact Jeni Cole at 313-792-8224 or jlcole71@att.net

(Below is a press release from the Dearborn Heights Montessori Center)

Dearborn Heights Montessori Center will host the third annual “Taste of the Town” fundraiser event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

Local restaurants will be offering a wide variety of delicious food items to sample, and area businesses have donated special prizes for a large gift basket raffle. Rain or shine, the community is welcome to attend this indoor school event which is located at 466 N. John Daly in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

According to Shelley Boatright, communications coordinator for Dearborn Heights Montessori Center, “Taste of the Town” is expected to sell out. Providing food for this year’s event is Antonio’s Cucina Italiana, Applebee’s, BD’s Mongolian Barbeque, Dearborn Italian Bakery, Dearborn Sausage, Del Taco, La Pita, Papa Romano’s, Panera, Pizzapapalis, Rio Wraps, Subway and others.

Businesses contributing prizes for the gift basket drawings include Barnes and Noble, Creatopia Pottery, Dearborn Racquet and Health Club, English Gardens, Om Spa and many more. Baskets will include a variety of items from toys to event tickets to electronics. There will also be a special raffle for a cruise and a $500 tuition voucher.

Proceeds raised at this year’s event will be used to help fund Dearborn Heights Montessori’s upper elementary educational trips and to support the needs of the school’s classroom teachers.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Children under three years of age are free. Because of the anticipated large turnout, the public is encouraged to purchase tickets In advance. Ample parking is available.

For more details and to request tickets for “Taste of the Town,” call 313-359-3000 or email tasteofthetown@wowway.com

About Dearborn Heights Montessori Center

Dearborn Heights Montessori Center (DHMC) is a non-profit educational community founded in 1972. Now in its fourth decade, DHMC is the largest and longest-established Montessori school in western Wayne County. Programs include preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school as well as summer programs and academic tutoring. Day care and latchkey are also available for enrolled children. In September 2010, DHMC will introduce a Montessori toddler program for ages 18 months through three years.

DHMC has received accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and is affiliated with the American Montessori Society, Michigan Montessori Society, and the Association of Independent Michigan Schools (AIMS). DHMC preschool and latchkey programs, along with its satellites Livonia Montessori Center and Plymouth-Canton Montessori School, are licensed by the Michigan Division of Child Care Licensing. More information is available at www.dhmontessori.org

The late John W. Tanner, a Dearborn resident for 45 years and a lawyer who worked in the city of Dearborn’s legal department, gave to our community in numerous ways. From his work serving on the board of directors of the Dearborn Goodfellows and Smoke on the Grill charity organization to Scouting and being active in Dearborn Lions football, Tanner was passionate about giving back to the city he called home.

Thanks to his daughter, Alison Anhut, his giving ways will continue.

She and her family are on the committee for The John Tanner Dearborn Youth Football Association (DYFA) Scholarship and are turning to friends, family and residents for support to expand the scholarship opportunity to all Dearborn high school students. Tanner, an Edsel Ford graduate, was one of the founding members of the DYFA. After his death at just 54 on Oct. 7, 2008, the DYFA awarded a scholarship to one DYFA athlete in his name.

The DYFA now wants to make the $1,000 scholarship an annual tradition and expand it to one graduating senior from each of Dearborn’s three high schools (Dearborn, Edsel Ford and Fordson) who have continued to play football throughout high school, completed two years of the DYFA program (in either football or cheerleading) and are pursuing a college education.

The idea to expand the scholarship to three was School Board member Hussein Berry’s (president of the DYFA board) and Jamal Al’s, who approached Tanner’s wife, Beverly, and asked if the Tanner family would like to be involved. Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., and Councilman Robert Abraham, among many others in our city, also are on the committee helping to raise funds to support the scholarship.

“My family and I are honored and are looking forward to carrying on my father’s name within this organization,” Anhut said. “My dad was one of the founding fathers of the DYFA and dedicated to its success. He was very passionate about charity work in general. My family and I cannot think of a better way to honor him and his vision than to continue working hard to serve and support the DYFA and our community.”

Here is where friends, family and residents can help.

To help raise funds for the scholarship, a dinner is going to be held on March 25th at 6 p.m. at Park Place in Dearborn. Tickets are $30 per person. There also will be a raffle at the dinner where a $5 ticket purchase could win you a first prize payout of $2,500, $1,500 for second and $1,000 for third. The plan is to sell just 3,000 tickets but if a minimum of 2,000 are not sold the raffle will revert to a 50/50. Monies raised also will be distributed to the DYFA to keep registration fees nominal and to continue to encourage youth participation.

In addition, plans are in place to hold a silent auction (donations for auction items are still being accepted) and there is the opportunity for those wanting to advertise in the March 25 dinner program, as well.

With everyone’s schedule pretty packed these days, attending an evening dinner may not be so easy to do. If that is the case, you can simply purchase a raffle ticket to help the cause or do both. All you have to do is contact Alison Anhut at azd18@yahoo.com or her mother, Beverly Tanner at tanner@ameritech.net

It’s all for a good cause and helps support the DYFA, an organization that continues to improve and help develop kids ages 8 to 13 with the ideas of teamwork, hard work and positive influence.