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Writingacheckis not the only way to give to charity. Your pocket change can go a long way to help those in need. These are a few simple, easy ways to help your local community while still being smart about your funds. One solution is collect- ing grocery coupons and donating these items to charity. The value of cou- pons adds up quickly — it is easy to turn them into $10 worth of food and per- sonal care items that shel- ters and food pantries need desperately. You can find out what your local food pantry needs most and collect those specific coupons. Soup kitchens or organizations feeding the homeless most accept soups and stews, canned tuna, canned fruits and vegetables, cereals, oat- meal, etc. You can also gradually work your donations into your shopping every week. Add a couple of inexpen- sive, nonperishable items to your grocery list. Start collecting these items in a box and take it to your lo- cal food pantry when it's full. This can be a fun way to involve your children in the process. Combining discounts from regular grocery store sales and coupons is a clever way to purchase high-quality foods with- out sacrificing your wal- let. Teri Gault of The Gro- cery Game is the queen of coupons. She routinely cuts as much as 70 per- cent of her total grocery cost by using coupons on top of store sales This im- mense saving helps your budget but also frees you up to buy extra grocer- ies for donations. This ap- proach will cut costs but make you feel like a mil- lion bucks. Stephanie Nel- son, known as the Coupon Mom, started the Cut Out Hunger Program after vis- iting her local food pantry and discovering that the shelves were empty. She began teaching friends how to buy food with cou- pons for charity. Today, thousands of shoppers are using this method to fight hunger across the country. You can even involve your kids with the Kids Cut Out Hunger Program. Here are a few ways to locate and get involved with donations: Call lo- cal churches, as they of- ten hold food drives or keep food pantries to dis- tribute goods. If there are none, start a food pantry at your church or commu- nity center Many schools have food drives. Call schools in your district and ask where they send their donations. See if you can contrib- ute to their collection, or send your donations di- rectly to the organization they use. You can also visit the Feeding America web- site to locate the closest food bank or distribution center. Oftentimes, grocery stores donate day-old bread to a local food pan- try. Ask a grocery store manager to place a year- round food collection bin in the store, as shoppers are more likely to donate food if there is a collection bin on-site. Create a carpool with your friends and volun- teer to deliver collections of food to the distribution site once a month. If 1,000 people in your community each donated a few items per week, this small act of generos- ity will make a big impact for those in need. Start now with what's in your pocket. Your contribution is priceless. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Givefromthebottomofyourcart By Michelle Barnard School Readiness Director Looking for which school district your family lives in? Visit the Tehama County school district lo- cator website http://tcsd- locator.mapport.net and type in your address. Easy peasy. Corning Union Elemen- tary School District: reg- istration begins Feb. 17 at Olive View School Gym, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gerber Elementary School District: registra- tion begins March 23, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Los Molinos Unified School District: registra- tion begins March 1, 8:30 a.m. to noon. Red Bluff Union Ele- mentary School District: registration begins at Jackson Heights School March 2, 1-6 p.m. To be eligible to regis- ter for kindergarten, your child must have his or her fifth birthday on or before Sept. 1. For entry into tran- sitional kindergarten, the birthday must fall between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2. Bepreparedfor kindergarten There no time like the present when it comes to getting kids ready to en- ter school. Children be- gin learning the moment they are born. Some stud- ies have shown there is also learning going on be- fore they are born. School Readiness teaches parents to teach their children — parents are, after all, the first and most important teacher in their child's life. Here are a few sim- ple milestones that can help prepare children for their first day of kinder- garten: Talk, read and sing to your child every day; skips, hops and bal- ances on one foot, ties a knot, holds a pencil cor- rectly, prints some letters and numbers, draws a per- son with six or more body parts, can copy squares and triangles, counts to 10 and names at least four colors, tells a simple story with full sentences and lis- tens and follows simple di- rections. To learn more about School Readiness contact Michelle Barnard at 528- 7348. Oral health The kindergarten den- tal checkup requirement ensures children are seen by a dental provider — documentation of the visit is part of the kinder- garten entry process and is required at school reg- istration. Many things influence a child's progress and suc- cess in school — and one of the most important is their health. Children with cav- ities may have difficulty eating, smiling and pay- ing attention or learning at school. Taking children to see a dentist early can help make sure they are healthy, ready to learn and avoid missed school days. If your pre-k child doesn't have a dental pro- vider, contact one of the many doctors and clin- ics throughout Tehama County. For a listing of providers in the area and those that are accepting Medi-Cal, contact First 5 Tehama and one will be provided free of charge. Vaccinations Classrooms and play- grounds can expose chil- dren to germs that in- crease their chances of get- ting sick. Immunizations are important in helping prevent serious diseases and are required by the California School Immu- nization Law. Check your child's im- munization record to make sure he or she is up- to-date on required vac- cines. Schedule any other immunizations your child may still need before school starts. If your child recently re- ceived an immunization and needs a second dose to finish the series later in the school year, he or she can still start school in the fall. Your child will be re- quired to receive the next immunization in the series when it's due. For immunizations con- tact your primary doctor or Tehama County Pub- lic Health Department in Red Bluff at 527-6824 or in Corning at 824- 4890. Children who have Medi-Cal, no insurance or are American Indian or Alaskan Native are el- igible to receive immu- nizations through Public Health. Some or all im- munizations could be cov- ered by insurance, check with your primary care provider about what that means for your family. Parenting classes Nurturing Parenting Classes are offered at Jackson Heights School Cafeteria, Red Bluff, 5-7 p.m. every Tuesday eve- ning. Classes held in both English and Spanish. Call Fernando Villegas at 527- 8491 ext. 3068 for more information. Separate class for children 5-12 and their parents with a focus on the same topic. A free dinner is provided and free childcare available for children younger than 5 years old. Learn the phi- losophy and skills of Nur- turing Parenting, while having fun and growing closer as a family. EDUCATION Kindergarten registration coming up COURTESYPHOTO TheTehamaCountyStateofJeffersonCommitteeheldadrawingFeb.5forapatriotic quilt, locally made and then donated by Elaine Decker. The winners, pictured here, were Tom and Patsy Mohler of Red Bluff. The committee thanks Decker for the dona- tion and everyone who purchased tickets to support the State of Jefferson movement. FUNDRAISER QUILT WINNERS Mary Hunt Etzler Financial Advisors will host "How to Avoid the 10 Biggest Retirement Plan- ning Mistakes," an educa- tional workshop at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24 at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Red Bluff. The workshop is targeted to help individuals plan right for a rewarding retire- ment and avoid some of the common mistakes that can lead to a life of poverty, de- pendence and penny pinch- ing. The two-hour interactive workshop is free and open to the public, but online res- ervations are required as space is limited. Write to events@etz- lerfinancial.com or visit etzlerfinancial.com for a link to make reserva- tions. The workshop's speaker is Matt Etzler, an accred- ited fiduciary advisor and founder of Etzler Financial Advisors, LLC. Etzler has dedicated most of his career to retirement planning and is passionate about help- ing individuals better un- derstand important finan- cial topics that can impact their lives. "Only one out of six Americans has an actual plan for their retirement," says Etzler. "Financial independence or retirement is one of the most important financial goals. There are no second chances. "Yet, most people spend more time planning for their annual vacation. With the lowest savings rate in history and poor financial practices, many people lack sufficient re- sources to maintain their standards of living with financial security late in life. In this workshop, we introduce practical steps to enable individuals to develop a realistic retire- ment plan. "It's really important to make sure your money doesn't run out before you do." FINANCE Free workshop on retirement planning PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! BringingNewLife to Senior Living TM Brookdale Red Bluff (530) 529-2900 Thursday, February 18 ▲ brookdale.com Join us for a Winter Ball and Fundraiser. Love abounds this time of year, and we want you to count the reasons to love our community. Join us for a special Winter Ball, themed along Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" and complete with spaghetti dinner and live entertainment. The proceeds will benefit 2-1-1 NorCal, a free phone number that connects area residents with information on health and human services. Come enjoy the warm comfort of good food, good friends and good fun. ThisadCo-SponsoredbyTheRedBluffDailyNews HighqualityeducationinRedBluff Sacred Heart School www.shsredbluff.org Language Institute • English/ Spanish Dual Immersion Classes •Transitional Kindergarten •Multi-cultural experiences •Highly trained staff • Small class size • Parental Involvement 2255 Monroe Ave. (530) 527-6727 Bi-lingual Education 2255 Monroe Ave. (530) 527-6727 (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St. Red Bluff $ 50 .00 No Enrollment Fee with ACH sign up monthly COUPLE SPECIAL Coupleconsistsof spouse, significant other, or child under the age of 20. Any children added to that is only $10.00 a month. LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, February 17, 2016 » MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5