Last modified: Thursday, January 15, 2009 2:12 AM EST Community briefs MLK Jr. portrait to be dedicated at Brockton Library BROCKTON -- Brockton Public Library will have a dedication of a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. at 3 p.m. on Jan. 15.Hilton Parnham Jr. will dedicate the portrait and the Stoughton Senior Serenaders will perform. Rehoboth seniors to get nostalgic REHOBOTH - In lieu of the Jan. 15 meeting, the Rehoboth Senior Citizens Club will hold its annual Afternoon of Nostalgia at 11:30 a.m. at Hillside Country Club. Serving a choice of roast chicken or baked schrod dinner at noon, followed by entertainment by Ronnie Sands & Co. Tickets are $11 for active members and $18 for all others. For tickets or more information, including directions, call Beverly at 508-761-5087. Everybody welcome. RAYNHAM - The Southeastern Massachusetts Festival Chorus will begin its 2009 spring season with open rehearsals on Jan. 19. The 90-member SMFC is the largest auditioned chorus in the area and is seeking enthusiastic singers who want to learn more about joining their group. Under the musical direction of Eric Brown, the chorus presents two concert seasons each year and participates in a variety of regional and community events. This season's musical program will be selections from classic Broadway as well as from modern and contemporary musicals and will include a number of solo performance opportunities. Rehearsals will take place at 7 p.m. with auditions to follow each evening. Weekly rehearsals are held on Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, Rte. 104, in Raynham. For more information go online to www.smfcOnline.org or call 508-821-9571. Pan-Mass Challenge sign-ups start Jan. 20 Register to ride in the 30th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20 by logging on to www.pmc.org. Open to 5,500 cyclists, the PMC will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 1 and 2, 2009. The PMC raises millions for the Jimmy Fund, which supports cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The ride offers seven routes that range from 47 to 190 miles. Ride in honor of those being treated for cancer, or in memory of those lost to the disease. Ride for your own health. Ride to raise crucial funds for cancer care and research. To date, the PMC has raised more than $240 million for the world-renowned cancer center. Support services, meals, and overnight accommodations will be provided. Spaces go quickly, so register early. For more information, or to register, visit www.pmc.org, or call 800-WE-CYCLE. VNA Hospice offers series on grief ATTLEBORO - Community VNA Hospice Care will offer a six-week series on grief from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Feb. 11, at its headquarters at 10 Emory St., Attleboro. The program is free and open to the public. However, pre-registration is required. Call 800-220-0110 or 508-222-0118 ext. 1373. To learn more about Hospice Care and other services available at Community VNA, visit the agency website at www.communityvna.com. Community VNA Hospice Care is a community leader in adult and children's grief support, healing through the arts and end of life matters. Free workshop for parents BRIDGEWATER - BRT Community Partnerships for Children is offering a free workshop for parents and caregivers that will explore power struggles as an opportunity to teach children important life skills and use of their power. Local author and child behavior specialist Jeanine Fitzgerald will be leading the session. The workshop will be held on Thursday, Feb. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bridgewater State College, in Crimson Hall, 200 East Campus Drive. Pre-registration is required. To register, or for more information, please e-mail Rita Celia at rcelia@triumphinc.org or call her at 508-823-2937 ext. 214. Beacon Hospice seeks local volunteers Beacon Hospice is seeking volunteers from Fall River and surrounding Areas, including Stoughton, Brockton, Bridgewater, Fairhaven, New Bedford, Dartmouth and Marion. Beacon Hospice provides end-of-life care to local terminally ill patients out of its Fall River office and relies on volunteers to ensure the delivery of extraordinary care to these patients. Volunteers can provide much needed support to patients and their families in a number of ways including visiting with patients, sitting vigils, organizing craft projects, and working in the Beacon Hospice office. For more information, contact John DaSilva, volunteer coordinator, at 508-324-1900. Beacon Hospice is Medicare-certified, state licensed, and CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Program) accredited for hospice services. Volunteers Needed for Community Allocation Panels TAUNTON - United Way of Greater Attleboro/Taunton invites volunteers to participate on its Community Allocation Panels. Volunteers will review funding proposals from various programs, discuss the value and impact of the program to the community, conduct site visits, hear presentations from prospective partner agencies, and ultimately make funding investment recommendations to the Board of Directors. This is a great opportunity to get to know and serve your community. If you are interested in volunteering, or would like more information, please visit our website at www.uwgat.org, or contact Melissa Vanhorn, Community Impact Coordinator at 508-222-2337, ext.106 or Melissa@uwgat.org. Seeking Cranberry Memories To celebrate their tenth anniversary, Rock Village Publishing is seeking memoirs, anecdotes, and stories about people and their connection to cranberries for a special anthology to be called Cranberry Memories. Anyone may submit a special recollection having to do with any aspect of cranberries or cranberry bogs: growing or harvesting cranberries, skating on the bogs, cooking with cranberries, favorite recipes, living near a bog, interacting with the wildlife near bogs, working at Ocean Spray or for a local grower, lamenting the loss of an abandoned bog, knowing an interesting person connected with the bogs, experiencing the bogs as a tourist. Manuscripts of no more than two thousand words (fewer preferred) should be mailed to Rock Village Publishing, 41 Walnut Street, Middleborough, MA 02346. Please include phone number and e-mail if applicable. Do not send original; send copy only. No manuscripts will be returned. Please state whether photographs are available. Payment for accepted manuscripts will be one contributor's copy.