Helping Out highlights some of the many charitable events and activities going on in the Charleston area. Submissions should be sent to dailyjournal@scbiznews.com.

Thanks to a donation of $25,000 from the USS Yorktown Association and a partnership with Charleston County School District, 3,100 Charleston County fifth grade students will take part in the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum’s History & Science Program free of charge in early 2010.

The program was created in partnership with the Charleston County School District to complement curriculum taught by area fifth-grade teachers.

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Area organizations will benefit from donations that will be accepted at performances of George Younts’ one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

This is the second annual goodwill tour for Younts, a theater teacher in Charleston County schools and classically trained actor. His version of the Dickens classic will be performed at schools, churches, correctional facilities and performance sites in nine cities. Proceeds will be donated to charity.

Local performance dates and times:

Dec. 6, 3 p.m.
Wesley United Methodist Church, 2718 River Road, Johns Island, SC 29455
843-557-0315
Donations will be accepted.

Dec. 11, 7 p.m.
McClellanville First Baptist Church, 1064 S. Pinckney St., McClellanville, SC 29458
843-887-3548
Donations will be accepted. Refreshments provided after the performance.

Dec. 16, 7 p.m.
Highland Park Baptist Church, 6211 Murray Drive, Hanahan, SC 29410
843-797-1100
Donations will be accepted.

Dec. 20, 2 p.m.
Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St., Charleston SC 29401
843-577-6400
Donations will be accepted for Crisis Ministries.

For further information, contact George Younts at 843-766-4942 or via e-mail.

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The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors recently donated $15,000 to support the ongoing work of The Education Foundation, an initiative of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

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Possibilities Without Borders Inc. and the Global Business Resource Center at the College of Charleston will host A Global Affair gala and silent auction on Dec. 11.

The event will be held from 6-9 p.m. at the Beatty Center, located at 5 Liberty St. in Charleston.

This year’s event will benefit Possibilities Without Borders’ new project, Bandage for Africa. The project seeks to ship a 40-foot container of medical equipment and supplies to one of the two medical universities in Cameroon by March. Event organizers hope to raise at least $10,000.

The featured item in this year’s auction will be a weeklong, expenses-paid cruise on a private yacht off the coast of Marmaris, Turkey.

Other auction items include paintings, carpet, jewelry, clothing, gift baskets, chartered fishing and leisure trips, private dinner for four people, sunset plane ride with champagne, College of Charleston graduation tickets and much more. See a complete list of items.

Gala tickets are $25 per person, $45 per couple and $30 per person at the door. Tickets include beer and wine, food, entertainment and access to the silent auction.

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Google and Cypress Gardens co-hosted a benefit Nov. 14 that raised more than $3,000 to help protect and maintain the nature preserve.

Nearly 300 people attended the event.

Cypress Gardens, the Supporters of Historical Cypress Gardens, the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and representatives from the Pimlico Rural Fire Department provided assistance for the event.

A&M Brown’s BBQ sold food at the event, with 20% of the proceeds benefiting Cypress Gardens, and Kool Kats sold shaved ice and donated 25% of proceeds to Cypress Gardens.

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Harbor Homes of Charleston has provided a three-bedroom, two-bath home to serve as the park manager’s residence at the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. The S.C. state parks service is planning a major makeover at the park, which includes removal of the current park manager’s residence to make way for a new visitor center.

The new residence, worth almost $100,000, was custom-built to meet park specifications and is tucked away in a wooded corner of the 325-acre site.

The Colonial Dorchester State Park sits on the site of Dorchester, a trading town that flourished on the Ashley River inland from Charleston from 1697 through the Revolutionary War. Planned improvements at the park will be the most comprehensive since the state first acquired the site in 1960.

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Applications are now available for the 2010 Cooper River Bridge Run Grants Program, an annual program that awards cash and in-kind grants to nonprofit organizations.

The objective of the Cooper River Bridge Run is to promote regular physical activity for a healthy lifestyle. Grant requests of $500-$1,500 each will be accepted from any nonprofit organization addressing this objective for residents of the tri-county area.

The deadline for applications is Jan. 8. Recommendations for grants will be made by an advisory committee by Feb. 1. Funds are disbursed through the Coastal Community Foundation.

Charitable organizations may also request a hard copy of the complete application guidelines by calling the foundation at 843-723-3635, or via e-mail.

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Lowcountry Local First is presenting two events during “Buy Local Week,” which starts Monday and ends Dec. 6.

The third annual Buy Local Week will feature a series of local shopping, dining and cultural events that will encourage Lowcountry residents to think “local” when considering where to make purchases, to buy local whenever possible and to be local by supporting businesses that keep our community unique.

See the full line-up of scheduled events.

The events kick off Tuesday with a viewing of the film Paperback Dreams at the Terrace Hippodrome Theater at 360 Concord St. in Charleston. Paperback Dreams is the story of two landmark independent bookstore owners, Andy Ross of Cody’s Books and Clark Kepler of Kepler’s Books, and their struggle to survive over the course of two tumultuous years in the book business.

Following the film, LLF will hosts a panel discussion featuring local business owners and book enthusiasts. An after party will be hosted by American Automated Payroll in the adjacent Hippodrome Lounge.

Tickets for this event are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. They may be purchased online or by calling 843-740-5444.

Charleston-area residents are also invited to participate in “Eat Local Night” from 6-10 p.m. Wednesday. During this event, diners may visit any one of various participating restaurants for dinner, and 5% of proceeds from the evening will be donated to Lowcountry Local First.

Restaurants include: Blossom, Cypress, Fat Hen, FIG, Fish, Kaminsky’s, Liberty Tap Room and Grill, Magnolia’s, Monza, Pane e Vino, Pearlz, TBonz and Wild Olive.

For more information call 843-740-5444.

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Slow Food Charleston has been selected by Whole Foods Market in Mount Pleasant as the beneficiary of its 5% Day on Tuesday.

Four times a year, Whole Foods in Mt. Pleasant donates 5% of day’s net sales to a selected charity.

Slow Food Charleston will staff an information table inside the store from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will have materials to promote Slow Food USA’s Time for Lunch campaign. Slow Food volunteers will have a lunch tray coloring project available for children to send to legislators to advocate for healthy school lunches in local public schools. Additionally, an interactive Slow Food/Fast Food display board game will be available, and a banana mascot will hand out bananas as an example of a healthy snack food.

Slow Food Charleston will allocate funds received from the 5% Day to the creation of an organic garden with second-graders at Stono Park Elementary School, a Title I public school in West Ashley that serves at-risk children.

Whole Foods Market is located at 923 Houston Northcutt Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.

For more information call 843-225-4307.