You, the readers, regularly tell us you want to know how to help in the community. Today, I've rounded up a couple of projects that have landed in my in-box.

-- This year, local organizations have campaigned for Pepsi Refresh grants. Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois is hoping for $50,000 for a financial literacy and tax prep program called “Put Millions in the Hands of Those in Need."

Advisory board member Courtney Geiger passed this along. Vote online or text 102350 to 73774.

-- The Rockford Symphony Orchestra is bringing back its Trivia Night fundraiser at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at the new Kresge Hall in Riverfront Museum Park, Rockford.

I was on a team a few years ago; I believe we were "robbed" of first place. It's a good, family-friendly time (but probably not ideal for kids under 12). Cost is $15 per person; register your team of eight ahead of time. Call 815-965-0049. 

-- Just a reminder that On the Waterfront benefits dozens of nonprofits; the festival has raised more than $9 million since 1986.

Today On the Waterfront kicks off  with Dierks Bentley and “Weird Al” Yankovic  in two prefestival performances.

Bentley, whose hits include “What Was I Thinkin’ ” and “Come a Little Closer,” will be on the Great Lawn Stage from 9 to 10:30 p.m. in Davis Park, 320 S. Wyman St., Rockford.

Weird Al, known for his songs “Amish Paradise” and “Smells like Nirvana” will be at the Coronado Performing Arts Center, 314 N. Main St., Rockford. His show begins at 8 p.m.

The carnival also opens tonight.

From 5 to 9 p.m., you can ride as many times as you can fit in by paying $15 for a wristband.

Would you mind taking a few minutes and head over to Insight to show readers there how to do status updates?

I know you're busy, but the more than 800 fully registered members of Rockford Woman understand more about social media than the average guy. I think readers of Insight could use your help since they're not quite as comfortable with status updates and the whole social media scene.

We knew when we launched Insight in early August that the audience would be different from Rockford Woman. Rockford women quickly adopted the status updates and have used them effectively to share news and information, ideas and solutions and, sure, the occasional tidbit of gossip. The site is comfortable, smart, interesting and safe.

Insight Updates follows a similar model, and when it is fully built out, it will offer members an opportunity to share information, update a community project, float an idea or issue, and, sure share that occasional tidbit of gossip.

Some Rockford women have already registered at Insight Updates and are posting regularly. I'd like the rest of you to do the same. I think if you show others how it's done, Insight Updates will be as effective as Rockford Woman. So, take a few minutes and head over to Insight.

Oh, but be sure to come back here so I can thank you properly. Afterall, Rockford Woman is "home."

There's a first-day-of school ritual in my house. Get up at the crack of dawn because, well, we're excited. Get dressed, eat, doublecheck everything's in the backpacks before heading out to the front porch so I can take a zillion pictures of my boys, Luke and Abe. And this year, the family dog Miles got in on the action.

And somehow every year it's just as special and exciting. (Mostly for me, but what's wrong with that?)

I know many of you have a zillion pictures of your kids or grandkids. You should send them to us so they can be featured in our online gallery and possibly the newspaper.

We do plenty of reader interaction. If you're ever wondering what we're up to, you can check it out here. Or you can click on the "Share with us" link at the top of the rrstar.com home page.

It's an odds-and-ends kind of Monday as I fill in for Annette LaCross, who hardly ever takes a day off.

-- I found out from Dominican University that graduate Miriam Cecilia Carlson, whom we featured as a Young Rockford Woman this spring, was named an up-and-coming designer in Michigan Avenue magazine's "The Next Big Thing” feature. If you want to nominate a Young RW ages 16 to 25 for the feature, e-mail me at jpollock@rockfordwoman.com.

-- Winnebago County officials believe four infant deaths this year have been caused by co-sleeping. This weekend's Register Star story highlights safety advice. There you'll also see that co-sleeping is a controversial topic (maybe not as much as breastfeeding).

-- If you're into garage sales, the big annual Charity Market on Brandywine is coming up from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 10-11, Nancy Stacy reminded me. This started in 2008, according to a story last year. Enter Redansa off Newburg (near Perryville and CherryVale Mall).

In this issue of Rockford Woman, we feature Rockford Map CEO Suzanne Young.

While she shares smart business acumen, she also shares a personal mission of hers: Raising money for the American Cancer Society in memory of her sister.

In the past, she has held the Great Big Accessory Sale, basically an upscale garage sale. This year, she is putting Rockford in the fourth annual Thrill the World event Oct. 23 at Rockford College. Last year, more than 22,000 people in 32 countries simulataneously dressed as zombies and danced to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

I can see all different groups signing up for this: theater and dance students, people who were MJ fans in the '80s (I had a poster -- guilty as charged).

On Saturdays before the event, Evolve Dance Company will offer choreography lessons. Check the schedule and links to Web instructions.

Last week I was sitting at my desk looking at my calendar and suddenly realized that August was almost over. Where did it go?

I have a late summer birthday so as a kid I would anxiously await for the end of July so I could have a party, cake and presents. Then it never failed that just a few days later I would realize that I had rushed summer and it was back-to-school time.

Now that I'm adult, it's no longer the start of school that marks the end of summer for me, it's Labor Day weekend.

If you're anything like me, then you probably have a long list in your head of all the things you wanted to do this summer but somehow never got around to.

Women of my generation -- before we burned our bras and wore skirts shorter than tunics -- would not have been caught dead in Sunday morning's pew without make-up, heels, hose, a dress with a jacket (no bare arms, period) and gloves (those little white ones.) In some places, a hat was also required every Sunday, not just at Easter.

Women of my generation -- assuming we had the good sense not to dress like our teenage daughters and to put the bra back on -- consider business casual to mean a pair of slacks and a matching jacket, slightly lower heels and no hat. It makes me irritable to have the obligatory dress code discussions. Sigh. Shouldn't they just know? Makes me feel crone-like when I yammer away at the no-Spandex on interviews with the mayor rules.

But, do it I do. Because for whatever the reaasons -- and they are legion, starting with the bra burning and backside-uncovered skirts of my youth -- we just don't have much sense of what's proper in a workplace these days.

It's easier for the boys: collared shirt, tie, slacks, jacket, hard shoes and socks. There's not much room for error with those basics. But for the girls? Oh dear. No flip flops. OK, I get that, but what about the cute, strappy sandals that LOOK like flip flops, but aren't? Egads, the splitting of hairs.

The newsroom dress code is pretty simple: We are a professional work environment and we deal with the public. Dress accordingly.

I've periodically had to spell out the "accordingly." No Spandex. Age- and size-appropriate. No jeans; not even the designer ones. No skin. No visible underwear. No pajamas. No shorts. And, yes, you have to cover your legs: socks, hose. No bare legs even in the summer. No clevage. No sneakers and t-shirts.

Yeah, women of my generation, we shake our heads and wonder: Don't they know? But, no, they don't. No one taught them and they dress their little girls like sluts and let their teenagers bare skin like Brittany. They dressed like that in college, and figure, what the heck, why not at work, too.

So, we have to teach adults what would best have been learned at their mothers' knees. We were, however, too busy burning bras and shortening our skirts. Smile, it's OK. That's what old folks do: teach. That's what  younguns do: test the limits.

It's hard to think about all the kids in the Rock River Valley whose birthdays aren't special. Could be because Mom and Dad aren't working or Mom and Dad aren't around. There's a nonprofit called Rosie's Birthday Club that gives those kids a special birthday.

You can help Rosie's Birthday Club today through Saturday by buing a book or other item on the Barnes & Noble website. On Saturday, you can go to the the CheryVale Mall Barnes & Noble and participate. Either way, all you need is a special code -- ID #10236411. Barnes & Noble donates up to 12 percent of online purchases to the charity and 15-20 percent if you come into the store Saturday.
 
The organization also has a fundraising event Sept. 15 at the Clock Tower. Ten loal bakers will make child-themed birthday cakes and they will be auctioned off.

In any economic climate, you'll find economists identifying the industries they consider recession-proof. These can run a full gamut of industries, from cell phone technologies to cosmetics to amusements parks. Unfortunately, in an extended weak economic period, all bets are off. These days, in fact, nobody's bothering, since no industry will emerge unscathed.

Today the talk centers around recession-resistant industries. And in my mind, the one that sits atop the pile is the cable television provider. Twenty-five years ago, cable was considered a luxury item. Today,  cable television is as ubiquitous as the cell phone.

And it may just be the most important addition to the house. I've talked to seniors who will scrimp on their prescriptions before they'll cut cable. There are people who have been laid off for months who are looking to cut costs -- everywhere but the Comcast bill.

This struck me the other day, given that my cable isn't functioning as I await a new box of some sort from the friendly folks at Comcast. So for the past week or so, I haven't had a TV. And I haven't really missed it.

Granted, I've never been a big television watcher. But what really struck me, as I considered what has essentially become a black sculpture in the corner of my living room, is that it never occurred to me NOT to have cable hooked up to that sculpture.

But why should I have it? It is, on one hand, a non-essential service that doesn't deliver on my investment. I am, in effect, paying for something just so I have it. That would be a justifiable investment if it were a one-time investment.But a monthly cost? Nonsense.

And even now, faced with the proof that there are plenty of things to do in the absence of must-see TV, I'm debating whether or not I want to continue this service for which I pay faitthfully every month but use so little. Indeed, that I'm struggling to justify it to myself tells me how subtle is its presence in our lives.

Ultimately, I fear, I will continue to ask this question -- while I'm scanning through channels to see if there's anything good on.