Rock Church beautification volunteers save city money An estimated 40 volunteers from the Rock Church San Diego began a long-term effort on March 31 to contribute hundreds of hours toward beautifying a community park in Point Loma. The team of volunteers began manually pulling thousands of weeds that have overrun NTC Park on Cushing Road, according to church officials. The weed problem had prompted complaints from neighbors and park users, and diminished the park’s natural beauty. Rock Church officials said the volunteer effort will save the city about $50,000 annually and is the result of a community partnership between the Rock Church and the office of Mayor Jerry Sanders. In 2010, church officials committed to Sanders that its members would provide 200,000 service hours to the city. In 2009, the church completed 166,251 service hours, equating to a value of $2.6 million (median wage calculated by O*Net® Resource Center). The weeding team is expected to return every Wednesday around the same time for the next several weeks until the job is done, said church officials. The Rock Church is located at 2277 Rosecrans St. For more information, visit www.therocksandiego.org. ‘Next Top Model’ casting call set at Liberty Station Producers of the popular reality-TV show “America’s Next Top Model” will host an open casting call Sunday, April 11 for the upcoming show cycle. The tryouts take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Corky McMillin Cos. Event Center, 2875 Dewey Road, at Liberty Station. The casting call is open to women between the ages of 18 and 27 who are 5’7″ or taller. For a complete details, rules and application, visit www.sandiego6.com. For more information, call (858) 650-6030, or e-mail judy.albrecht@sandie go6.com. Relay for Life to host happy-hour event The American Cancer Society’s Point Loma/Ocean Beach Relay for Life Committee will launch a happy-hour event at Liberty Station on Wednesday, April 14 to help educate neighbors about the fight against cancer. The happy hour takes place from 5 to 7 p.m. at Solare Lounge, 2820 Roosevelt ? Station. The event is open to the public, and Solare will provide small snacks.  Organizers said the evening will serve as a means to educating participants about the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event on July 10 and 11 at Liberty Station. Hundreds of participants are expected to turn out for the relay, where participants will come together to camp out, walk, enjoy bands and raise awareness and money to fight cancer.  For more information, visit www.relayforlife.org/PtLomaOceanBeachca. Those who are unable to attend but who want to be involved may e-mail [email protected]. Silver Gate school gears up for fundraising dinner Silver Gate Elementary School is currently seeking sponsors and donations in advance of its 15th annual fundraiser “Soiree Gone Green” — a silent auction and dinner dance set for 6 p.m. Friday, April 30. The annual gala will be held in the scenic Bayview Clubhouse at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD). All proceeds go toward The Friends of Silver Gate Foundation (FSG), a non-profit organization devoted to financially supporting Silver Gate Elementary School’s enrichment programs. The dinner, dance and auction serves as the biggest fundraiser of the year for Silver Gate Elementary and gives guests the chance to enjoy dinner, dancing and live and silent auctions. School officials said babysitting will be available. Tickets for the event are $65 per person, which includes dinner and wine reception. Tickets are also available for $45 per person for dinner only. Tables to seat eight people are available for $500, which includes two bottles of wine. To purchase tickets, call (619) 222-1139. School officials said there will also be a 50/50 opportunity drawing for a chance to win a portion of the net profit from the auction sales. These tickets are a available for $10 each. Sponsorships are available in various sponsor levels ranging in price from $100 to $1,000. For more information, e-mail [email protected]. Local businesses are also encouraged to donate something to be auctioned off. For information, e-mail [email protected]. Silver Gate Elementary School, located at 1499 Venice St., has been recognized as a California Distinguished School by the state Education Department, one of just a handful of public schools statewide to win the coveted designation. For more information about the fundraiser and directions, visit www.silvergateschool.com. Rockin’ dads slate concert to benefit school A group of musically-inclined fathers will soon be rockin’ the house to raise money for Correia Junior High School’s 7th- and 8th-grade music program. The Music4Music event is slated for Saturday, April 17 at 9 p.m. at Riley’s Music Lounge, 2901 Nimitz Blvd. Event organizers said the concert, coordinated in response to increasing school budget cuts, will help buy instruments for the Correia Band.  Tickets are $10 at the door. For more information, call (619) 255-8639, visit www.rileysmusiclounge.com, or e-mail [email protected]. Remembrance day planned at center San Diego will remember the Holocaust victims and survivors — both Jewish and non-Jewish — and the liberators of the death camps in a ceremony on Sunday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center at 4126 Executive Drive. April 11 is the international Holocaust Remembrance Day or Yom HaShoah. “Hopefully, we all will learn from this atrocity,” said Lisa Haney, spokeswoman for the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County. “We learn about tolerance, kindness and love and never forget it. My mother was a refugee from Germany. It’s personally very meaningful for me.” Mayor Jerry Sanders will declare April 11 Holocaust Remembrance and Liberation Day. A short film will screen interviews with three local survivors and military liberators. Two of the survivors will attend the ceremony. “It’s really very educational for younger people to meet some of the survivors,” Haney said. “They read about this in history books and learn about it in films but when they meet people who lived through it, it makes it much more real.” Nine candles will be lit during the ceremony. Twelve San Diego survivors will light the first six candles in pairs to remember the six Nazi concentration camps. The seventh candle will be lit in remembrance of the 1.5 million Jewish children killed during the Holocaust. The eighth candle will commemorate the 5 million non-Jewish people killed in the death camps. University City resident Abraham Horstein, a 92-year-old World War II veteran, will light the ninth candle to honor the liberators of the camps.