Americus
Blood Drive: The “Firecracker” Community Blood Drive, sponsored by Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, is from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. June 24 at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 221 S. Lee St. Free t-shirt to every donor. Pancake breakfast until 10 a.m. Hot-dogs with trimmings and other goodies for the rest of the day. Drawings for Downtown Dollars: 1st prize $100, 2nd prize $75 and 3rd prize $50. Call 1-800-733-2767 to make appointment. Prevent a summer shortage. Give blood.

Americus Idol: The Boys and Girls Club of Americus-Sumter County Inc. presents the fourth annual Americus Idol competition June 25. The competition begins at 1 p.m. at GSW’s Jackson Hall. All contestants will sing one song. The top 20 contestants will move on to the final round of competition and will sing their second song. There is a $25 entry fee per person and the winner will be crowned “Americus Idol” and will receive $300 cash. All proceeds benefit our local Boys & Girls Club of Americus/Sumter County Inc. Admission for the public is $5 per person. Children 10 and under are $3 each. Deadline to enter is 5 p.m. June 22. Application should be mailed in with a $25 check payable to the Boys & Girls Club to P.O. Box 1192, Americus GA 31709 or dropped off at 103 Hosanna Circle at the Boys & Girls Club Administrative Office. Call Interim CEO Andrea Sartiano at 229- 942-5114 to arrange a time to pick up or drop off your application.

Free Books: Veteran educator Teresa Mansfield will give away free books at the SAVE Community Impact Rally (Standing Against Violent Environments) at 6 p.m. June  25 at the former Staley Middle School building, North Lee Street.

Robotics Class: Sumter County 4-H presents “Introduction to Robotics” from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. July 14 at the Sumter County Extension Office, 127 William Bowen Pointe. Free for youth ages 10-15. Learn more about STEM and be introduced to robotics, programming, and career opportunities. The basic components of a robot will be discussed. Students will work in sub-teams to construct a robot and participate in application demonstrations. A box lunch will be provided by Sumter County Nutrition Program.

Ongoing
Americus
Six Flag Tickets: 2016 Six Flags Tickets are $43.50 each at the Sumter County 4-H Office, 127 William Bowen Pointe. Cash only. You save $25.39 on adult tickets and $4.20 on youth and senior citizen tickets. Youth must be under 48 inches, seniors 55 years or older, Children age 2 and under are free. Gate Price is $68.89. Tickets valid any regular operating day through Jan.1, 2017.  Questions, call 924-4476.

Free Service: Americus Fire & Emergency Services offers free blood pressure checks from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday at Station 1 (South Lee Street).

GriefShare:  First Baptist Church offers a non-denominational video series and biblical concepts for healing after the death of a loved one. Led by caring people, participants are provided workbooks for personal study and receive encouragement through small-group discussion. Meetings are from 7-8:30 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month. There is no cost and the meetings are open to anyone grieving the death of a loved one. For information call the church 229-924-9035 or Ann Beaver 229-894-9825.

Narcotics Anonymous: First Step Group meetings have moved to a new location at 126 Forest Street and are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.

Volunteers Needed: Learning for Everyone Inc. (LEAP) is seeking volunteers for its Mentor Partnership with the Sumter County School System. Volunteers will mentor children in the grades 3-9. Interested applicants may check out www.learningforeveryone.org or contact Brittany Dawson, Mentor coordinator at 229-924-9443 or bdawson@learningforeveryone.org. They may also attend our mentor trainings. Mentor trainings are held at 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at 200 Cotton Ave.

Volunteers Needed: The Flint River Chapter of the American Red Cross seeks volunteers willing to invest time in Disaster Preparedness Education for our chapter and the surrounding areas. Looking for dedicated individuals willing to speak and train others on what to do before, during and after a disaster. Any volunteer with time on his/her hands is an excellent candidate for this program. This is of vital importance to our area as we never know when a disaster will happen. Call Marvin Grace, Community Disaster Educator at 229-733-9738 or the chapter at 229-436-4845 for more information.

Weight Watchers: Weight Watchers meets Thursdays at First Presbyterian Church, 125 S. Jackson St. Weigh-in is at 5 p.m., followed by meeting at 5:30 p.m. Visit weightwatchers.com

Mustard Seed House: Calvary Episcopal Church’s Mustard Seed House is open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. every Saturday on Brannan Avenue. Stop by for some great deals.