David Libby, President and CEO of Town & Country FCU, awards a $2,000 grant to Erin Ludwig of the Maine Society for the Protection of Animals. Photos courtesy of Whitney J. Fox Photography

Windham nonprofit receives grant

Erid Ludwig, on behalf of the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, accepted a $2,000 grant from the Town & Country Federal Credit Union’s (Town & Country FCU) Better Neighbor Fund at a recent reception held at the credit union’s Operation Center in Scarborough. The grant was awarded to help promote and expand on the Society’s Maine Horse Matchmaker program. Town & Country FCU awarded $25,000 in grants during the course of the reception to nonprofits serving Cumberland and/or York counties.

“Tonight is about people and the spirit of coming together to help others,” David Libby, president and CEO of Town & Country FCU, said at the reception. “You all make our communities better places to live because of your mission and commitment of being better neighbors.”

The Better Neighbor Fund was started in 2010 to celebrate the ideal of neighbors helping neighbors in Maine. Town & Country has awarded $250,000 to 80 charitable initiatives to date.

Free community meal

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 919 Roosevelt Trail, is hosting a free community meal at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9. This month’s meal has a festive Mexican theme. You’ll enjoy a quesadilla appetizer followed by a main course of tacos or a taco salad. Mexican-inspired cookies and fruit are for dessert. Families, singles and seniors are welcome.

Off to the mall

Windham Parks & Recreation is honoring the request of some of Windham’s seniors with a trip to the Maine Mall Tuesday, Dec. 10, to do a little Christmas shopping. The bus leaves the Town Hall parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and will return at 2:30 p.m. The day includes a stop at the Olive Garden for lunch. The cost is $8 per person for transportation to and from the mall. For more information or to register for the trip, call Parks & Rec at 892-1905.

Poetry recitation

John Farrell, artistic director of Figures of Speech Theatre in Freeport, will give a robust recitation of T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets” from 7-8:30 p.m. Dec. 14, at the Windham Public Library. “Four Quartets” is a set of four poems published over a six-year period between 1936 and 1942. These interlinked meditations all have a common theme that explores man’s relationship with time, the universe and the divine. Farrell will recite these moving pieces, thought by many to be a masterwork of the poet, from memory. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and admission is free. Reservations are required by calling Ray at the library at 892-1908.

Haley Pal can be contacted at haleypal@aol.com.