Kids have sweet spot for helping other people

Anne Sullivan School in Prospect Heights has initiated an effort to educate their third- through fifth-grade students about life in South Asia while raising money to help people in that part of the world.

Last fall, faculty at the school, 700 N. Schoenbeck Road, chose 35 students for the South Asia Ambassadors Club from a field of 86 applicants. The group's responsibility is to get the whole school involved in learning about poverty, education, health and sustainable development in South Asia.

The group immediately got involved in fundraising. Candy Cane Grams were made with a tidbit of information about poverty noted at the bottom of each candy cane gram. The students at Sullivan purchased them for a quarter and wrote a note to someone in school. Then they were delivered to the classrooms and teachers handed them out to the students. The club raised $352.50 to be sent to South Asia.

Now, they are working on educating the students about poverty and the education in the various countries in South Asia.

Isn't it nice to see children stepping beyond their own busy schedules and families to help people they will never even meet?

Research your family's roots:: Professional genealogist Maureen Brady will offer tips to aspiring genealogists on researching their Chicago family histories from 10 a.m. to noon, March 29 at the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St.

Brady will use her own experience in using family stories, the census, church records, civil records and the Internet to trace five generations of her Chicago Irish family.

Co-director of the Crystal Lake Family History Center, Brady is a former school librarian and computer educator with more than 20 years of experience in genealogical research. Her presentation will help show those present how to unearth historical information on their own family lines.

Chicago area family research can be a challenge due to the region's size, population and diversity, Brady said. Her program will present strategies for tackling these challenges and provide participants with a better understanding of how local historical events impacted families of all backgrounds.

To register, call (847) 253-5675 or log onto www.mppl.org/events .

Macular degeneration:: Experts say there are promising new therapies designed to minimize the vision loss people suffer when afflicted with macular degeneration.

Dr. Mark Piotrowski, a board-certified ophthalmologist, will present an overview of some of these new therapies when he speaks at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mount Prospect Public Library. He will also discuss basic anatomy of the senior citizen's eye, the types of macular degeneration and vision testing options that are available.

To register for this program, call (847) 253-5675 or log onto www.mppl.org/events.