DEAR SUN SPOTS: Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice is gearing up for its volunteer training program again. We will post the schedule for classes in the near future.

We are also looking into opening a hospice thrift store by March and will be reaching out to the community for donations, as well as volunteers and shoppers.

Because we are a nonprofit, we subsidize over $1 million in care each year. We never turn anyone away for the inability to pay, so the thrift store is going to be a great addition to our fundraising plan. It will also be a wonderful way for people to donate items when a loved dies. It is always a difficult thing for people to do, so we hope the thrift store will let them know the items are going toward a good cause that will assist other patients.

Lastly, do you want to make a difference in the lives of hospice patients facing the end-of-life, and in the lives of their families? Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice is looking for volunteers to join the hospice team. Volunteers provide companionship to patients and respite for family members in the home and nursing home setting, as well as at our Hospice House in Auburn. Volunteers will learn the history and philosophy of hospice, family dynamics, spirituality, communication, the adult disease process, and other end-of-life issues.

We are also looking for volunteers for some of our special programs, including the Veteran-to-Veteran program, Androscoggin Harmony Choir, and our Complementary Therapy Program (reiki, massage, pet therapy and cosmetology). If you have an interest in any of these areas, call us.

Volunteers are needed in the Lewiston, Augusta, Norway, Bridgton, Rumford and Farmington areas. All that’s needed is a love for helping others, a commitment of one full year, and the willingness to commit to two to four hours per week and the ability to attend the 21-hour hospice training.

Classes start in Lewiston on Jan. 23; in Farmington on Feb. 14; in Mexico on Feb. 24; in Augusta on March 5; in Casco on April 1, in Lewiston on April 7; and in Oxford on April 9. Training includes 8.5 hours online and 12 hours in class.

For more information and to register, contact me at 777-7740, ext. 1286, or e-mail Volunteer Resources at volunteer@androscoggin.org.

— Kathy, manager of volunteer resources, no town

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Since Elizabeth Ann’s closed, where in Lewiston can individual bottles of beer be purchased? Since I only use it for cooking, I don’t need a six-pack.

— Trudy, no town

ANSWER: I have bought a bottle of beer at local grocery stories in the past, but you may want to check in at The Vault at 84 Lisbon St. They have an amazing selection. Visit them at www.wineatthe vault.com or call 376-4500. They are open Monday from noon to 6 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 60 p.m.

Readers, if you have other ideas for where Trudy can purchase a lone bottle of beer, let us know!

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