What: “Small Businesses – Big Hearts” blood drive

When: Nov. 3-8

Where: United Blood Services, 118 E. Eighth Ave.

Sponsors: Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council and United Blood Services

How it works:

Businesses with 10 or fewer employees can save at least 15 lives in three easy steps:
1. Sign your business up to participate.
2. Pledge at least five blood donors (employees, customers, family members, friends).
3. Provide United Blood Services with your pledges, and they will schedule them.
Businesses that get 10 or more donors are eligible to win 50 percent off a Small Business Trade Show Booth in May 2009.

For more information: Call United Blood Services’ general number, 638-3326, or Sharon Roberts-Meyer at 638-9186.

What: Two local food pantry drives will be held Saturday, with one continuing Sunday.

Event 1: Community Action of Laramie County drive to stock apartment for use in the Homeless Veterans Program.

When/Where: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at project site, Sixth Street and O’Neil Avenue.

Event 2: Cheyenne Board of Realtors drive to re-stock the local pantries around Cheyenne.

When/Where: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Albertsons stores on Yellowstone Road and Pershing Boulevard; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday at Walmart on Dell Range Boulevard.

More information: In addition to the weekend times, the Cheyenne Board of Realtors is collecting non-perishable donations throughout next week as well at 504 E. 18th St. between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or at local Realtors’ offices.

What: Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union’s five branches across the state are collecting new mittens, gloves and caps this fall for the less fortunate.

What you can do: Bring items to any Meridian Trust branch before Thanksgiving to hang on the mitten tree.

Where: In Cheyenne, offices are located at 2223 Warren Ave. and 4349 E. Lincolnway.

Who benefits: Local donations will be distributed through the Head Start program.

What: Court-Appointed Special Advocates of Laramie County invites you to become a sponsor of an abused and/or neglected child this Christmas.

Cost: $100 per child

More information: CASA is currently serving more than 100 children. Instead of heartache and hurt, you can help this children be filled with joy this Christmas season.

For more information: Or to sponsor a child for this year’s Christmas for CASA event, call 638-1151.

What: Volunteers are needed to help people prepare their tax returns in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program sponsored by the Cheyenne/Laramie County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Coalition.

More information: Volunteer Tax Assistors provide free, basic income tax preparation services to community members with low-to-moderate incomes.

Volunteers also are needed to help in other ways. Some volunteers help organize tax sites, while others may do publicity for a site.

If you have a skill and would like to help, the Cheyenne/Laramie County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Coalition can find a way to involve you in the VITA program.

Who to contact: Rod Hottle, United Way of Laramie County at 307-638-8904; Manny Martinez, Internal Revenue Service at 307-633-0812; or Tom Patras, Internal Revenue Service at 307-633-0866.

What: AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary is sponsoring a canned food drive to help stock the food pantry at the new Homeless Veterans Shelter on Sixth Street and O’Neil Avenue in Cheyenne.

What you can do: Bring donated canned goods and non-perishable food items to the AMVETS Canteen and Bingo Hall at 3839 E. Lincolnway.

For more information: Call Karen at 307-635-2563.

What: Donations and volunteers are needed at the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless headed into the holiday season.

Donations of special foods will be needed for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also needed for Christmas will be new items to be given as gifts to those coming into the WCH Welcome Mat during Christmas.

Volunteers also are needed to work on Thanksgiving Day, the Friday afterward and Dec. 23-26.

Other ways to serve: Volunteers also are needed to help repair bicycles, make sleeping bags, help with some minor construction of partition-type walls and sort clothing.

Other donations needed include cash donations to go toward the remodel of the Richards Center for the day care. The remodel will cost more than the funds received so far from grants. Those donating to this project will have their names listed in the lobby of the day-care.

Funds also are needed for day-to-day operations.

For more information: Go online to www.wch.vcn.com or call 634-8499.

What: If you have a skill or a talent that you would like to share with kids, contact Sally Meeker, volunteer coordinator at Special Friends.

More information: Special Friends is a mentoring program that has a waiting list of kids in an Outreach Program. Volunteers can be scheduled in on a Wednesday night to share with the kids.

Who to contact: Special Friends, 1328 Talbot Court, Cheyenne; 307-637-6480.

What: Chili supper to kick off the Marine Corps Reserves 2008 Toys for Tots Campaign

When: 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17

Where: Eagles Lodge, 1600 Thomes Ave., Cheyenne

Cost: $5 and a new, unwrapped toy.

More information: There also will be a silent auction and raffle. The public is invited and encouraged to come help out.

For more information: Call 773-6464.

What: California Impressionists show and fundraising auction

When: Saturday, Oct. 11; show opens at 5 p.m., auction starts at 6:30 p.m.

Where: The Link Gallery, 1609 Capitol Ave.

Who benefits: William Sitting Bull, Chief Sitting Bull’s great-great grandson, is seriously ill in stage three renal failure from long-term diabetes, and his eyesight has been affected. Native Americans are insulin resistant, and Billy is not a good candidate for dialysis. He needs a kidney transplant, and this fundraiser is designed to help pay for his medical treatment.

He has no health insurance, and his prescriptions alone amount to more than $1,000 a month. Additionally, there are already huge bills for his stay in intensive care while they stabilized his condition when he first suffered the major hypertensive episode that heralded this sudden decline in his health at the end of August.

How you can help: Attend the auction or contribute to a bank account that has been opened at Jonah Bank in Cheyenne.

More information: The live auction will feature about 14 or more pieces of Sitting Bull’s work, as well as bronzes by his sculptress wife, Bonnie Fulford-Stewart. Other gallery artists have either donated work outright to sell at auction or will donate a percentage of any sales from work sold that is shown in the gallery for the duration of the show.

For more information: Contact the gallery at 778-0330.