If you see a bag around your house labeled “Food and Clothing Drive,” don't toss it in the trash. Fill it with clothes or food and leave it to be picked up Sunday from 1-4 p.m. during the annual Scouting for Food and Clothing Drive.

        The drive is conducted each year by Boy Scouts, American Heritage Girls and volunteers who collect the items for nonprofit organizations.

        “We really need food and clothing this year,” said Patti Garibay, executive director of American Heritage Girls. “Last year donations were down, I suppose because of 9-11, and a lot went to disaster relief.”

        Each year, about 8,000 Boy Scouts, American Heritage Girls and volunteers pass out bags in neighborhoods before the drive. Contribution bags also were in the Sunday Enquirer April 7.

        “The food and clothing can be placed in any kind of bag as long as it is marked Food and Clothing Drive,” Ms. Garibay said. “The bags should be placed in clear view on doorsteps, prior to noon Sunday.”

        The food and clothing help such organizations as Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, FreeStore/Food Bank, Shared Harvest and the Brighton Center. They are used to support the needs of the organizations and the programs they offer.

        Joseph Byrum, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries, said the items will be resold and the proceeds used to provide job training and vocational support services for area men and women with disabilities.

        “The drive is important to us,” he said.

        The drive has been an annual tradition in Greater Cincinnati since the 1950s.

        For more information, call American Heritage Girls at 860-4670 or Goodwill at 771-4800.

        Cincinnati will be the host of a series of the 2002 Power of Prevention Conferences, dealing with substance abuse, crime and violence, April 15-17 at the Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel downtown.

        Speakers will include Ohio First Lady Hope Taft and Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken.

        More than 300 representatives from Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio will attend.

        The theme for the regional conference is: “Connecting and Leveraging Local Prevention Resources to Maximize Services and Outcomes.”

        Joyce A. Thomas, conference coordinator and director of Flint Central Weed and Seed in Flint, Mich., said the conferences will offer skills-building workshops for prevention.

        “We plan to have six regional conferences before the end of the year,” Ms. Thomas said. “We believe the regional conferences will be more beneficial than one national conference, because people can relate to local people they know who work in these areas.”

        The next regional conference is set for May 22 in San Antonio, Texas.

        Allen Howard's “Some Good News” column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahoward@enquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.
       

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