AIKEN

The First Thursday Writers Series is held the first Thursday of each month at the Aiken Center for the Arts, 122 Laurens St., SE. Call 641-9094.

CHARLESTON

52%, a women's political action group, meets the third Monday of each month. The group also meets for happy hour every second Thursday at 5:30 at Channel Red on King Street, followed by a board meeting (open to all) at 7 p.m. Call 803-853-0052.

Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon holds meetings every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic church community bldg., Rm. 5, 6650 Dorchester Rd. (near the air base). Call hotline at 803-744-4357.

Meetings of the Lowcountry Gay and Lesbian Alliance are held the last Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Charleston County Library on King Street. Call 803-720-8088 or write: LGLA, P.O. Box 98, Charleston, SC 29402.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at Metropolitan Community Church, 2010 Hawthorne Dr. Call 803-856-0577.

The Poets' Corner is a new group for published and unpublished writers of all types. For a calendar of events, send SASE to 5009 Jenkins Ave., N. Charleston, SC 29405. The next meeting will be on July 28 at 1:30 at the Red Lobster in N. Charleston.

COLUMBIA

Call the Association for Children for Enforcement Support for information on how to collect child support. Services are free. Call 803-892-3403 (Lexington County) or 803-755-6713 (Richland).

Need a true-blue pal? Adopt a pet from the Animal Protection League, 6080 Old Leesville Rd. Call 783-2119.

Carolina Cats, a pet rescue foundation, needs temporary homes for cats awaiting adoption. Vet care and supplies provided. Call 791-7707. Donations of all kinds are gratefully accepted. Write: P.O. Box 210705, Columbia, SC 29221.

Columbia Audubon Society sponsors a variety of free events. Call 737-7204 or the Audubon Society's Infoline, 803-748-9066.

The Columbia Zen Group meets Sundays from 6 8 p.m. at 2065 Blossom St. Call 803-790-5569 for details.

Hombres!, a support group for gay men, meets at 7 p.m. Mondays at the GLPM Community Center. Les Ms., a confidential group offering women the chance to learn about lesbian identity, meets on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Center, 1108 Woodrow St. Call 803-771-7713.

The Midlands Libertarians meet the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Lizard's Thicket on Bush River Road. Call 803-894-4073.

The Columbia Branch NAACP meets the third Sunday of each month at various churches. Call the NAACP at 803-256-8771.

Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services offers confidential support groups for people with HIV; one for HIV+ men and women, one for HIV+ women only. Call 803-779-7257.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) offers a monthly support group at 6 p.m. on the 3rd Thursday of the month at the GLPM Community Center, 1108 Woodrow St. For details, call 803-799-6533.

Pets Inc., a pet rescue group in the Midlands that has saved more than 5,000 cats and dogs, needs your support. To make a donation, call 803-749-9391.

Rape Crisis Network offers a support group for adult rape victims every 4th Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. Sessions are free and facilitated by professionals. Call 803-252-8393.

The S.C. Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement (GLPM) meets the third Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. Call 803-771-7713.

Third Thursday pARTy, a concert series presented by the young adult members group at the Columbia Museum of Art, will perform on July 18, Aug. 15 and Sept. 12 from 5:30 8:30 on the museum's front lawn. The concerts are $5; free to museum members. Call 803-799-2810.

Help build a Women's Resource Center in Columbia. Call 803-791-8156.

STATEWIDE

CAFE will hold its annual membership meeting on Aug 10, 10 5 at the Unitarian Church in Columbia. It is a free event; registration deadline is Aug. 1. For details, call 1-800-362-9675 or 803-383-0389.

Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse offers 24-hour crisis line counseling, emergency shelter and help with orders of protection. Call 1-800-868-2632.

The Cooperative Ministry is sponsoring a school supply drive. Boxes will be placed in stores and businesses in Richland and Lexington counties to collect school items from July 13 Aug. 10. The goal is to serve 3,500 kids.

The Fund for Southern Communities will offer a day-long workshop on July 13 titled "Fundraising: challenges and opportunities for community-based organization." Several foundations which provide funding will participate in a funders roundtable during the day. The workshop will be held at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Garrett Road, just south of Highway 15-501, between Chapel Hill and Durham, N.C. There is a fee; some scholarships will be available to FSC grantees. Other events are planned. For details, call 919-682-3702.

Rural Southern Voice for Peace offers The Listening Project, conflict resolution training in community organizing, public education and action. For details, call 803-252-2221.

The Recycle for Gold program lets you recycle your unwanted car simply by calling 1-800-590-1600. The program provides benefits to the donors, the environment and the 11,000 athletes in the South Carolina Special Olympics.

The S.C. Alliance of Black School Educators will hold its sixth annual conference in Columbia July 12 14. For details or to register, call 803-739-8183.

Quaker House offers soldiers help. Want out? AWOL? Homosexual? Call Quaker House at 1-800-FYI-95GI (394-9544) for free, confidential information about your rights and discharge options. Call 803-252-2221 for a Columbia contact.

Save Our Swamp seeks support for legal effort. A grassroots group has organized to oppose construction of the Interstate Speedway stock car track that would be located just 1,000 feet from Four Holes Swamp and two miles from the wildlife sanctuary. SOS worries about the impact on the swamp, as well as water quality stemming from the track's proximity to the swamp's ecosystem. Financial support is needed. Donations should be made to the National Audubon Society and sent to: Francis Beidler Forest, 336 Sanctuary Road, Harleyville, SC 29448. Call 803-462-2150.

The South Carolina Center for the Book, dedicated to building a "book culture," has a new toll-free number and address: 2820 Devine St, Box 102, Columbia, SC 29205. Phone: 1-888-SC-READS or 803-765-9209 (Columbia); Fax: 803-765-9219. Call to leave information about an upcoming event or to hear a list of upcoming events. The Center for the Book provides free publicity to bookstores, libraries, museums, literary groups and literacy initiatives; the public, in turn, has free access to this information at one stop.

The S.C. Sierra Club holds monthly meetings across the state. Find the group nearest to you and help wage the fight to save South Carolina's environment.

Charleston	1st Thursday	Baruch Auditorium, 284 Calhoun St. 7 p.m.
Clemson	1st Tuesday	Unitarian Church, 226 Pendleton Rd. 7:30 p.m.
Columbia	3rd Monday	Unitarian Church, 2710 Heyward St. 7:30 p.m.
Florence	2nd Thursday	John Calvin Presbyterian, 2000 Marsh Ave. 7:30 p.m.
Greenville	3rd Wednesday	Unitarian Church, 37 Hillcrest Dr. 7:30 p.m.
Hilton Head Island	1st Tuesday	Palmetto Electric Bldg., Matthews Dr. 7:30 p.m.
Murrells Inlet	2nd Monday	Belin Methodist Ed. Bldg., Business 17 7:30 p.m.
Rock Hill	2nd Thursday	Wesley Foundation, corner of Stewart and Park 7:30 p.m.