SPECIAL EVENTS:

Thursday, February 23Visit the Third Street Promenade, get a free wireless phone and help a local charity receive $25,000, from Noon to 9 p.m. Sprint representatives will be distributing 150 multi-media Power Vision contest wireless phones at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Participants will preview broadband-speed access to live television, music, video and games then pass the phones from person to person, with the goal of building the longest chain of registered passes over a 14 day period. Participants register on the phones and on the website to vote for which local charity will receive a donation from Sprint. Sprint will donateup to $25,000 to the local charity that receives the most votes on the contest website. The five local Minnesota charities are: the HEART Project, Homies Unidos, the Los Angeles Chapter of the Red Cross, KaBOOM!, and Operation Homefront. At the end of the contest, every member of the chain with the most valid registered participants (up to 1,260 members) will win a Power Vision wireless phone and a $150 gift card from Sprint. For more details about the contest, visit www.gothookedup.com. Santa Monica College’s spring “Environmental Issues Lecture Series” – “Sustainable Works for You!” 6:45 p.m. in Room 123 of SMC’s Bundy Campus, located at 3171 S. Bundy Dr. in West Los Angeles. (310) 434-4743.Saint John’s Health Center Have and to Hold – Attendees can talk to our nursing staff about the work environment at Saint Johns Health Center, refreshments will be served. 8:00a.m. – 5:00p.m. Saint John’s Health Center, 1328 22nd Street. (310) 829-8824.Mattel Children’s Hospital hosts panel of early-childhood experts, discussing early intervention, the keynote speaker will be Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, UCLA Neuroscience Research Building auditorium, $25, (916) 453-8801.Friday, February 24The CAN Los Angeles Chapter is looking for volunteers to work 2 hour shifts on both Friday and Saturday February 24-25 at the Autism Society of America/Los Angeles conference at the Renaissance Montura Hotel at LAX. The conference runs 8 a.m.- 6 p.m.Friday (Feb. 24) and 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 25). Please contact Helen Motokane at motokane@msn.com if you are able to volunteer for this event! In your e-mail, let her know which day and time you are available.Watch Us Soar silent auction and dinner dance to benefit John Muir Elementary School Technology, Science and Arts Program, 6 to 7p.m. – Open Wine Bar 7 to 11 – Silent Auction, Buffet Dinner & Dessert, Music and Dancing The Victorian at Heritage Square, 2640 Main Street, Santa Monica (free parking).To benefit Technology, Science and Arts Programming at John Muir Elementary School.Saturday, February 25Mature Driving Program, AARP’s 55-Alive/Mature Driving Program Crestwood Hills Recreation Center, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., $10, (310) 472-5233.Self Care – Learn to use tennis balls as tools for self-massage and self-alignment. “Anti-gymnastics” a safe gentle French technique to relieve spasms, restore motion. 1-2:30 p.m. at Soma Syntax Studio, 630 Rose Ave. #6 Venice. Yoga type clothing Advanced registration required at (310) 396-3566 FREE.World Travel 101 – Budget Travel Workshop, 11:00 a.m., Hostelling International – USA is conducting a World Travel 101 Workshop on Europe. The workshop will be conducted at the Hostelling International Travel Centre, 1434 Second Street, $5 for HI-AYH members and $10 for non-members. Call (310) 393-3413 for reservations.Sunday, February 26Reef Check: Status of the World’s Coral Reefs and Tsunami Impact – Dr. Clive Wilkinson, Coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network which spans over 80 countries and supported in part by the United Nations, will discuss the health of reef ecosystems, impacts of the 2004 tsunami, and effects of global warming. 4 p.m., Crossroads School, Roth Hall, 1714 21st Street, Santa Monica, 90404. Street parking, light refreshments. FREE. For more information, call Reef Check: 310-230-2371. www.reefcheck.org..Who Am I? A Benefit for the Miracle Project, a program of song and spoken word presented by the Miracle Project, a not-for-profit theatre and film arts program for kids with autism and other special needs, Synergy Café and Lounge, 4455 Overland Ave., Culver City, 3 – 5 p.m., pay what you can at the door, (818) 480-8550.Monday, February 27“Kinesiology 101-Tuning into the Wisdom of your Body/Energy System” with Pamela McBride, Sha’arei Am- The Santa Monica Synagogue7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.,1448 18th Street Santa Monica, (310) 451-8902.The Independent Writers of Southern California presents, “Self-Publishing for Profit,” at the Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City, 7:30 PM to 9:00 p.m. on 2/27/06, $15 for non-members (IWOSC members free). Contact info@iwosc.org or 1-877-799-7483, or see www.iwosc.org.