Educational budget cuts are common, forcing schools in every state to either eliminate valued programs or search for other means of funding.

“We know how important extracurricular activities are to our high school students, and as part of this community, we want to help,” said Aki Henderson, business development manager at Henderson Ford. “This is why we’re excited to raise money for Bishop Kearney High School meanwhile introducing parents, teenagers and other drivers to our high-quality lineup and innovative safety technologies.”

To address these needs at a local level and empower communities to support and protect valued programs, Ford Motor Company and its dealers partner with high schools across the United States to offer the Drive One 4 UR School program. This initiative has raised more than $10 million through nearly 3,000 events since its inception in 2007, and provides up to $6,000 per school through test drives of Ford products.

Seneca Park Zoo officials have announced the grand opening date of “A Step into Africa”, the Zoo’s new state of the art exhibit. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Thursday May 17.

The project has been in the works for eight years.  The lions’ exhibit is the fhird and final phase of the project.  A baboon exhibit and elephant splash pool opened in 2008. The overlook at the elephant splash pool is named in memory of former News10NBC anchor Gabe Dalmath, who donated money for the project.

Three African lions, a male born in September 2010, and two females, one born in 2010 and other in January 2011 came to the Seneca Park Zoo from South Africa.  They have already moved into their new home, but won’t be seen by the public until the grand opening of the exhibit.

The Zoo also announced today its new “Open Late Tuesday” promotion. This summer beginning June 26 and running through August 28, the Zoo will have extended hours.

For the sixth year in a row, the Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) and Linkages of Rochester Inc. are collaborating on a special “Russian-American Friendship” concert. The annual free event features music by Russian composers and celebrates the connection with Rochester’s sister city Velikiy Novgorod.

The concert is held in the first week of January (the Russian Orthodox celebrate Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian Calendar) and this year it’s on Jan. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. Besides music by ECMS faculty and students, there’ll be an exhibit of works by local artist Rand Darrow, who writes, illustrates, and composes music for his own stories based on Slavic mythology. In addition, concert patrons will see photographs of Novgorod, which is located in northwest Russia and dates back to the 10th century.