In the Community

Hey buddy, can you spare a book? Terry Fox Library in Port Coquitlam is offering its Reading Buddies program in the new year, pairing teens with younger kids looking to improve their reading.

Is English your second language? You can practise speaking in a free conversation group offered by Share Family and Community Services and Terry Fox Library. The group runs at the Port Coquitlam library on Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Mary Hill elementary school students in Port Coquitlam know how to run a marketing program.

The spirit of entrepreneurship - and Christmas shopping - was alive and well at Montgomery middle school last Friday, where a mini-mall was set up in the gym so students could market and sell their own products.

The Coquitlam Foundation is now accepting applications from qualified individuals and organizations for grants, bursaries and scholarships to be awarded in 2013.

There is little more than a week left before Christmas (and only two shopping weekends), so kick your holiday spirit into full gear with a family movie night, Santa skates and a trip on the Santa train. TODAY: Friday, Dec.

NICE NET Port Coquitlam firefighters who grew 'staches for Movember - a November-long moustache campaign to build awareness and money for prostate cancer - staged a charity hockey tournament last month at Planet Ice in Coquitlam.

Following are tips from the Canada Safety Council for the holidays: THE TREE If you're getting a live tree, check for freshness by tapping it on the ground. Dropping needles indicate a dry, highly flammable tree, so look for a fresher tree instead.

Hey kids, do you love to read? Are you in Grades 5 to 7? Port Moody Public Library's kids book club is the place for you.

Last week's wet, dreary weather couldn't dampen the mood outside Eagle Ridge United Church. With the scent of pine trees in the air, volunteers at Aunt Leah's Christmas Tree Lot, located at the Coquitlam church, can't help but smile.