Society & Community

Deerfield Beach – October 30, 2026 -- The youth charity Be Strong has named 16 students and alumni to its first National Student Advisory Board, a group that will help steer the organization's Never Alone campaign on youth mental health and peer support.

The board includes middle school students, high school students, and young adults. Some are current Be Strong Student Representatives and others are alumni. Members come from Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, Connecticut, Mississippi, New York, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia.

Never Alone aims to make help easier to find

Be Strong launched Never Alone in 2025 to close the gap between people who need help and the support available to them. The campaign combines awareness, peer leadership, immediate assistance, and pathways to ongoing care, with the goal of reaching people before struggles become crises.

NEW YORK – October 29, 2026 -- Four runners with personal ties to autism will line up among more than 55,000 participants at the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon on November 1 to raise funds for services for autistic adults. The race marks the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course.

Team NEXT makes its marathon debut

NEXT for AUTISM, a nonprofit focused on transforming services for autistic adults, is an Official Charity Partner of the marathon for the first time. Its inaugural Team NEXT consists of Eric Caldwell, Holly Fowler, Elizabeth Fox and Michael Mutino. Together they will cover 104.8 miles.

Their goal is to draw attention to a gap: an estimated 5.4 million autistic adults live in the United States, yet inclusive opportunities, services and resources for adults remain significantly limited.

Berlin – October 29, 2026 -- A new civil protection center in Luckenwalde, in the Teltow-Fläming district, can supply up to 5,000 people from transportable containers, according to German Red Cross (DRK) President Hermann Gröhe.

The center works like a mobile small town

Gröhe described the facility as a small town in containers that can be transported and then set up. He said it answers one of the major challenges Germany faces now: caring for up to 5,000 people at once.

The Red Cross is acting before the state asks

Speaking on rbb24 Inforadio on Thursday, the day the center opened, Gröhe said the DRK is going in with advance effort. He framed the center as an offer to help the state with a core task of government.

Gröhe also said Germany neglected civil protection in more peaceful times. The new center is meant to take a key role in national crisis preparedness.

SAN ANTONIO – October 29, 2026 -- Shoppers on Walmart.com and the Walmart app can round up purchases from November 2-30 to support military and veteran families, and Walmart will match those donations 2:1, up to $1 million.

It is the fourth consecutive year that Walmart has named Operation Homefront a beneficiary of its Spark Good Round Up program. The nonprofit is also running its annual 11 Days of Impact campaign from November 1-12, with a goal of raising $500,000 to help families keep housing, food and utilities covered during hardship.

Requests for financial help are up 48.8% this year

Operation Homefront reports a 48.8% increase in requests through its Critical Financial Assistance Program this year. More than 28% of military families have experienced some level of food insecurity, nearly double the rate of U.S. households overall.

NEW YORK – October 29, 2026 -- Town & Country's November 2026 Philanthropy issue, with four different covers, is available on townandcountrymag.com now and everywhere by November 3. It arrives alongside the magazine's 13th annual Philanthropy Summit, held at Hearst Tower in New York City.

Four honorees take the first Philanthropists of the Year Awards

For the first time, Town & Country presented "Philanthropists of the Year" awards to individuals and institutions working toward the greater good. The honorees were Tory Burch; Ciara and Russell Wilson; Andrew Shue; and Aerin Lauder with The Met Visionaries. That group includes the Lauder Family, Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, and Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield.

CHARLOTTE – October 29, 2026 -- If you smell natural gas, leave immediately and call Piedmont Natural Gas at 800.752.7504 or 911 from somewhere safe. The utility issued the reminder as temperatures fall and furnaces switch on.

Mercaptan gives odorless gas a rotten-egg smell

Natural gas has no smell on its own. Utilities inject an odorant called mercaptan, which smells like rotten eggs, so leaks are easy to notice.

Leaks can also be seen and heard

Smell is not the only warning sign. Piedmont says leaks can cause bubbling water, blowing dirt or dead plants. Sinkholes or exposed pipe may also appear, and a hissing sound can come from near a gas line or meter.

United States – October 29, 2026 -- Veterans with a federal VA rating can often add state property tax exemptions, income tax breaks, tuition waivers for dependents and housing help, but almost none of it is automatic. Most state benefits require a separate application, and the rules differ widely from state to state.

Federal compensation is only the floor

According to VetsForever, a veteran-founded organization, each state runs its own rules and deadlines on top of the federal baseline. Depending on where you live, that can include:

ORLANDO – October 29, 2026 -- Florida families facing food insecurity can get help with Thanksgiving dinner through The JOY FM's T-Shirts for Turkeys food drive, which Del-Air Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electric is sponsoring as presenting sponsor again this year.

Listeners, businesses and community groups collect turkeys and gift cards

The drive brings together The JOY FM listeners, community organizations and business partners. They collect turkeys, along with monetary or grocery gift card donations, so local families can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. The radio station's Florida footprint includes Orlando, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and Sarasota.

Del-Air became the drive's first presenting sponsor in 2025

In 2025, Del-Air became the first presenting sponsor in the drive's 21-year history. Employees across the company are taking part this year.

Madison, Wisconsin – October 28, 2026 -- Delta Beer Lab, the Madison-area brewery at 167 E. Badger Road, will end regular operations on Sunday, Oct. 25, after nearly eight years in business.

Final week brings drag queen bingo, trivia and a makers market

The brewery will host several events in its last week of operations, including drag queen bingo, a trivia night and a makers market. Its final beer, Supernova West-Coast IPA, will serve as a tribute to the brewery's journey.

Owner blames post-pandemic costs for the closure

Owner Tim "Pio" Piotrowski said rising ingredient, supply and freight costs hit the business once the pandemic's initial effects began to subside. He also cited persistent inflation that has reduced consumer spending nationally and locally, while operating costs, including labor, kept climbing. "We have ultimately run out of resources," he said.

New York City – October 22, 2026 -- Older adults in the U.S. can take free live tech classes on Zoom every week through Senior Planet, the flagship program of OATS from AARP. They can also visit one of four physical centers or a licensed partner site.

Free Zoom classes cover stretching, banking and telemedicine

SeniorPlanet.org lists a range of virtual classes each week, taught live by Senior Planet expert trainers. Topics include morning stretch and meditation sessions, online banking, telemedicine, and demos of new and emerging technology. Discussion groups are also on the schedule, built to encourage conversation and lasting friendships.