Tri-Cities briefs

Batavia pancake breakfast:The 31st annual Batavia Lions Club Pancake Breakfast will be held from 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at East Side Community Center, 14 N. Van Buren St. The funds raised from the breakfast go toward the Lions Club's scholarship program. The all-you-can-eat breakfast is $5 for adults and $2.50 for kids 12 and younger. For details, call Dave Burdelak at (630) 292-8214.Geneva fire safety check:Does your family have an emergency escape plan for your home? When was the last time you had a drill? Do your children know what to do in an emergency? Geneva residents can learn about fire safety during free home safety inspections by the Geneva Fire Department. Firefighters will check for hazardous conditions, check smoke detectors, review how a carbon monoxide detector works and help devise an evacuation plan. To schedule an inspection, call (630) 232-2530.New way to give:If you have event tickets you can't use, you now may donate them to support the Heritage YMCA Group, which serves residents in Naperville, Aurora and Oswego. Heritage YMCA has joined Tix4Cause.com, which provides a way to donate unwanted tickets and receive a tax deduction. Buyers may then purchase the tickets and Tix4Cause passes 100 percent of the proceeds to Heritage YMCA. For details, visit tix4cause.com. For information about Heritage YMCA, visit heritageymca.org.Drop-off site supports troops: Area residents wanting to support troops overseas can drop off letters and donations at Countryside Care Centre, 2230 W. Galena Blvd., Aurora. The short-term rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing facility is collecting items for Operation Support Our Troops-Illinois. Letters and cards can be addressed to "Dear Military Person." To find out what items are on OSOTIL's wish list, go to osotil.org or call (630) 896-4686. Financial donations also are welcome and are tax deductible. Each care package box costs about $25 to ship. Checks should be made out to Operation Support Our Troops-IL and sent to OSOTIL at 1807 S. Washington St., Suite 110, Unit 359, Naperville, IL 60565 or to Countryside.Volunteers for recycling:Kane County seeks adult volunteers to assist with its electronics recycling program. Volunteers are needed to help unload electronics equipment such as computers, televisions, and telephones from the public's vehicles. The program operates on the second Friday and Saturday of each month at the Circuit Clerk building on Randall Road in St. Charles. Since the program began in 2001, more than 38,000 residents and businesses have recycled more than 4.3 million pounds of used electronics. Contact the county's recycling office at (630) 208-3841or e-mail recycle@co.kane.il.us.