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.

Registration is open for the 2012 iFive:K Run/Walk/Shuffle. The Charleston Digital Corridor and Comcast Business Class are presenting the sixth annual Innovator’s 5K at 6:30 p.m. April 19.

The race winds through downtown Charleston, and this year will have interactive, digital timing displays plus food from Taco Boy during the Boomtown post-race celebration. Registration is $25 and limited to 750 participants. The Digital Corridor donates a portion of the proceeds from the iFive:K to various causes related to developing Charleston's knowledge-based workforce through its Charleston Digital Corridor Scholarship Fund.

In a spring celebration, vocal superstars, tenor Rodrick Dixon and soprano Alfreda Burke, will share their operatic and Broadway talent to benefit the College of Charleston School of the Arts. The performance will feature works of Puccini and Verdi as well as showtunes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Andrew Lloyd Webber and others. The night will include some local flavor in a revival of popular songs from Dubose Heyward and Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Music faculty from the college will join Dixon and Burke on stage throughout the evening.
The event is set for 7 p.m. March 20 at the Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St. Cost is $40 for general admission tickets or $150 for preferred seating and a reception with the artists. For information or tickets, call 843-953-6527.

The fundraising efforts to renovate Allan Park received a boost with a $30,000 donation from Robb Allan, a direct descendent of Amey Allan who donated the property to the city in 1920 for a public park. Her late husband, James Allan, developed most of the eastern half of Hampton Park Terrace. Allan Park is located at 365 Ashley Ave. not far from Hampton Park. The Charleston Parks Conservancy has partnered with the community to complete a major park renovation. The community has pledged to raise $15,000 to give the park a facelift with renovated green spaces and an irrigation system upgrade. This effort comes just in time for the Hampton Park Terrace Centennial this year. New plants will be installed in the park in early spring. To make a donation to the Allan Park project or for more information, visit www.CharlestonParksConservancy.org.

The Charleston Concert Association has been awarded $11,000 by the S.C. Arts Commission for 2011-2012. This grant will further the efforts of the Charleston Concert Association to bring world-class music and dance to the Charleston community. Several area businesses, including Handsome Properties, Baker Motor Co. and Levelwing, along with local foundations and several major individual contributors are helping the Charleston Concert Association meet its obligation of matching the Arts Commission grant with local dollars. Grants from the Yaschik Foundation, South Arts, and Target are also being used to help with the local match.

Lowcountry Local First is celebrating its fifth anniversary with an oyster roast and chili from 6-9 p.m. Friday at the Charleston Crab House, 145 Wappoo Creek Drive on James Island. Enjoy all-you-can-eat oysters, chili and bluegrass from the Rusty Hook Ramblers. Tickets are $20 for LLF members; $25 for non-members. Proceeds from the event benefit the Growing New Farmers Apprentice Program and Incubator Farm.

The 12th annual Downs Byrd Memorial Oyster Roast and Silent Auction will be 6-10 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Miler Country Club in Summerville. Proceeds from the event benefit the Frances R. Willis SPCA. The event features oysters, pizza donated by Little Caesars, music by DJ Wendell Nolan and a silent auction. Tickets are $25 in advance; $30 at the event. For more information, email frwspcagrants@hotmail.com or call 843-871-3820.

Mac’n At The ’Drome, a concert film experience benefiting singer and songwriter Mac Leaphart will be Jan. 28 at The Hippodrome. Proceeds will help Leaphart in his ongoing recovery from a car accident and recent surgery to remove a brain tumor. Performances of Leaphart’s music will be set against a visual narration. The concert features collaborative performances by Mark Bryan, Danielle Howle, Five Way Friday, John Wesley Satterfield, Joal Rush, Doug Jones, Luke Cunningham, Greg Payne, Ryan Bonner, Jamie Resch with Shovels & Rope, Donnie Blackwell and more. Leaphart’s band, Mac Leaphart and My Ragged Company, will act as house band and musical conductors for the night’s celebration. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with music and a silent auction. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 the day of the event.

Career and job search programs are available through the Charleston County Public Library:

· Surviving career changes: speaker and networking lunch: Noon to 1:15 p.m. Thursday at Main Library.

· Searching for local, state, federal and overseas jobs: 10 a.m. Friday at St. Andrews Regional.

· Creating a career portfolio: 3:30 p.m. Friday at St. Andrews Regional.

The S.C. Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program has taken eight endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. The turtles were flown in from Bedford, Mass. For months, cold-stunned sea turtles have been washing up on the New England coast. Anyone wanting to help the sea turtles can make a donation at www.scaquarium.org.

FATZ in North Charleston partnered with the Charleston County Motorcycle Squad to raise money for Camp Happy Days. The Jan. 11 event raised $2,100.