Visit the Freeland Light Display for a Grand Holiday Experience!  Freeland Lights is located at 7320 W. Freeland Road between MBS airport and Twin Oaks Golf Course in Freeland, MI.

Each year for the past four years, Gary Shepard has decorated with thousands of lights his home, yard, barn and trees and synchronized them to music.

The show runs daily from December 1st through January 1st.  Shows start at 5:30 pm and the last show starts at 10:00 pm.  Shows start every 20 minutes and last about 16 minutes for the first part of the evening.  The 9:00 pm and after show is about 15 minutes and includes previous year’s songs.

For complete information, go to www.freelandlights.com

Tune your car’s radio to 93.9 FM to enjoy the show from your warm car.

This year’s songs for the first part of the evening are as follows: (5:30 - 9:00pm)

Peter Hofmann & Deborah Sasson - Sleigh Ride

Burl Ives - Rudolph the Red  Nosed Reindeer

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Hooked on Can Can

Trans Siberian Orchestra - Wizards in Winter

This year’s songs for the rest of the evening are as follows:           (9:00 - 10:20pm)

Same list as above with additional songs:

Trans Siberian Orchestra - Queen of The Winter Night

Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve Sarajevo

The Christmas Singers - God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen

Several visitors in the past couple of years have asked if he accepted donations for the light show.  2011 will be the fourth year that donations will be collected.  Donations will be given to a local organization that helps children.

This year the organization is The CAN Council Great Lakes Bay Region.   The total collected and presented to the CAN Council last year was $6,418.61.  Thanks Again!

Thank you for your generosity.  Please donate if you can, your help is greatly appreciated, and no amount is too small!  If you would prefer to write a check, please make the check out to: CAN Council Great Lakes Bay Region.

Join Mobile Medical Response (MMR) to “STUFF AN AMBULANCE” on December 10th at Citizens Bank - Fashion Square mall.  The ambulance will be”stuffed” with personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies, clothing, non-perishable food items, and children’s/teen toys.

Thank you for helping MMR continue to serve those in need.

Barnes & Noble stores across the country invite customers to give the gift of reading to children in need during its annual Holiday Book Drive, taking place from November 1, 2011 to January 1, 2012. The Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive provides an opportunity for customers to donate books through locally designated non-profit organizations.

Holiday Book Drive recipients throughout the country include schools, libraries, literacy organizations, family social service agencies and homeless centers. This year, the Saginaw Barnes & Noble, located at 3311 Tittabawassee will be collecting books for CAN Council Great Lakes Bay Region.

“The Holiday Book Drive is one of our most popular community partnerships,” says Sarah DiFrancesco, director of community relations for Barnes & Noble. “Our booksellers and customers get to share the pure joy of giving a book to a child in need. And because each Barnes & Noble store chooses its local non-profit beneficiary, the donations are very personal.”

The CAN Council is a local 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization in Saginaw dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect through education, awareness, intervention and advocacy. It is the only nonprofit organization in Saginaw County devoted to this cause. In Saginaw alone 300 children are in foster care. The organization’s CASA program advocates for 125-150 of these children. All books collected will be presented to the children at their annual Christmas party.

To find out how to participate in the Holiday Book Drive, contact the Saginaw Barnes & Noble Community Relations Manager, Virginia Heighes at 989-790-9386.

For the third year in a row, Art Van Furniture is continuing its tradition of giving away $1 million to 50 Michigan-based charities that focus on children, health, and human services programs.

We received an $11,000 grant from Art Van Furniture last year. With your help, now we have a chance to receive up to $25,000 more!!! They are opening up this round to the past three years of recipients and will be awarding $10,000, $15,000 and $25,000 grants to the three highest vote getters.

Every person is able to vote for us once a day. The leader board will be active on the website next week, so you will be able to track our voting progress.

Remember, voting ends October 1th, 2011. The website (artvancharitychallenge.com) will be up all year, though, to continue to support us and collect donations on our behalf.

Voting for the social media challenge is open now! Remember to use your email, Facebook, and Twitter to drive other people to vote at http://artvancharitychallenge.com !

The WIOG Lizard Fair is at Dow Diamond on August 7, 2011.   A portion of all ticket sales will be donated to the area Children Advocacy Centers - CAN Council of Saginaw County, Nathan Weidner CAC of Bay City and Safe & Sound of Midland.  The  groups scheduled to appear at this year’s WIOG Lizard Fair are Runner Runner, Big Time Rush, Flo Rida and Jay Sean.  The gates open at 4 pm.

The CAN Council has “special” $20 tickets available.  The proceeds of these “special” tickets go to the CAN Council.  Please call us at (989) 752-7226, to purchase your WIOG Lizard Fair ticket and reserve your place in the Northern Lights Pavilion of the Great Lakes Loons’ stadium.

A Time to Honor Child Abuse Prevention Month

Tuesday, April 26, 2011  12:00 pm

‘For the Children’ will be held on April 26^th from noon to 1pm at First Congregational Church and is a collaborative program to highlight National Child Abuse Prevention Month and to benefit the mission of the CAN Council of Saginaw County.  We invite the public to join us for this one hour program, you will enjoy musical presentations by David Brown of the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, Catherine Hart and Hannah Hart on piano and will include a special reading of Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” by Drewe Robinson, CAN Council Board Chair along with an interpretation in visual theatre by First Congregational Church’s Senior Minister, Reverend Dr. Todd Farley of First Congregational Church.  This special hour will conclude with a light lunch provided by Subway and the CAN Council of Saginaw County.  Dessert will be provided by the Women’s Fellowship of First Congregational Church.  Your donation accepted.

In order to make lunch arrangements, each attendee will need a FREE ticket that can be picked up at the CAN Council Saginaw County offices, 1311 N. Michigan  as well as the First Congregational Church office at 403 S. Jefferson.  Please pick up your ticket(s) prior to April 25^th.

Last year in Saginaw County, 7,262 children were involved in reported cases of child abuse and neglect.  In addition, 1,140 children were confirmed abuse and/or neglected while 331 children live in “out of home care” due to abuse and neglect.  Since 1979, the CAN Council has been dedicated to stopping child abuse and neglect through prevention, intervention and advocacy programs and services.  In addition, we work to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect through special events like, “For the Children”.