If sampling excellent local food for a good cause sounds like a fun evening, Protect Self-Sufficiency is bringing back A Taste of Talent for you.

The chance to mingle with the area’s top chefs and sample their creations will be on Monday, May 2, at 6 p.m., at Perona Farms, Route 517, Andover, with indoor and outdoor seating. Volunteer musicians will serenade the diners.

The chefs will prepared appetizers, entrees and desserts as a fund-raiser for the non-profit social service agency.

Project Self-Sufficiency is seeking sponsors with a sponsorship range from $500 to $25,000.

Some of the restaurants which have participated in the past, and are expected to return, include 403 Broad, Andre’s Lakeside Dining, Black Forest Inn, Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse, Café Pierrot, Caffe NaVona, Chocolate Goat Gift Shoppe, The Circle, Clay Oven, Cliff’s Ice Cream, Fossil Farms, Front Porch Organics, George’s Wine & Gourmet Gallery/Fran’s Farmhouse Kitchen, Gourmet Gallery, Green Cart Catering, Hayek’s Market, il Porto, Chef Jesse James, Krave Café + Caterer, L’Amico NYC, Lorraine’s Cake Shop & Tea Room, Mama’s Café Baci, North Shore House, Pattycakes Bake Shop, Perona Farms, Portofino Ristorante, Ryland Inn, Chef Tim Schafer, Slamwich Scratch Kitchen, Springhouse Creamery, St. Moritz Bar & Grill, Stone Water, Tanti Baci Caffe, White Birch, and Windy Brow Farms. “A Taste of Talent is our signature fundraising event and the cornerstone of our annual campaign,” said Deborah Berry-Toon, executive director of Project Self-Sufficiency

A limited number of tickets for individual donations are available at a cost of $300. To make a contribution to Project Self-Sufficiency, to obtain tickets to A Taste of Talent, or to find out more information about the programs and services available at the agency, visit www.projectselfsufficiency.org or call 973-940-3500.

ELDER LAW SEMINAR

Project Self-Sufficiency will host a virtual elder law seminar on Thursday, April 7, at 6 p.m. Legal issues faced by senior citizens will be discussed, including general estate planning, development of a will, advance directions for healthcare, dealing with Medicare and Medicaid, caring for aging parents, and other issues. It is free and is open to the public on Zoom. Call Project Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500 for log-in details. The agency’s legal seminar series is a program of the Sussex County Family Success Center at Project Self-Sufficiency and is funded by the New Jersey Department of Children & Families.

TRAUMA SURVIVOR WORKSHOPS

Project Self-Sufficiency will continue the workshop and discussion series, “Connections Matter”, designed to facilitate the conversation about issues surrounding Positive & Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs), with an in-person session on Tuesday, April 5 at 5 p.m. Participants are invited to explore the Connections Matter curriculum, a program funded by the state Department of Children and Families. Discussion will focus on understanding adverse childhood experiences and trauma and demonstrate how caring connections serve as a primary buffer in the negative effects of trauma. The training is appropriate for parents and providers raising and teaching school aged children. Pizza will be provided.

During the workshop series, trauma experts and guest speakers address the impact of adverse childhood experiences on social, emotional, and cognitive development, and offer tips and strategies for building resiliency. Adverse childhood experiences are widely recognized as falling into three distinct categories, abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction.

The agency’s program brings together professionals, providers, and parents who are committed to increasing awareness of the impact of childhood trauma on juvenile development, future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity.

The program is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Call 973-940-3500 to register. Project Self-Sufficiency is located at 127 Mill Street, Newton.

PARENTING WORKSHOPS

A series of parenting workshops begins April 12 at Project Self-Sufficiency, 127 Mill Street, Newton. Therapist and author Diane Lang will lead the workshops for parents with children of all ages. She will teach about the different stages of physical and emotional development during infancy, childhood and adolescence, as well as techniques for positive discipline and improved communication.

The course will be offered on Zoom, Tuesdays, April 12 through May 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. Classes are co-sponsored by the Sussex County Family Success Center and Project Sussex Kids, the Sussex County Council for Young Children. The sessions are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Interested participants are invited to call 973-940-3500 for log-in details.

The parenting classes offered by Project Self-Sufficiency follow the Nurturing Parent curriculum which teaches age-specific parenting skills and includes components designed for parents as well as children. The workshops encourage parents to share their experiences with each other.

Diane Lang, MA is a therapist, certified positive psychology coach, public speaker, and author who give workshops about a variety of mental and emotional health topics including happiness, resiliency, stress management, parenting, positive aging, anxiety and depression in both teens and adults. Learn more at www.dianelang.org.

To register for the free parenting workshops, to discuss your parenting needs, or to find out more about other programs and services available at Project Self-Sufficiency, call 973-940-3500.

FAMILY LAW

Project Self-Sufficiency presents another in its series of virtual family law seminars on Thursday, April 14, at 6 p.m.

Participants will discuss child support, grounds for divorce, court procedures, alimony, parenting time, equitable distribution of assets, and other topics related to divorce. The Zoom presentation is free and open to the public; interested attendees should call Project Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500 for log-in details.

The agency’s legal seminar series is a program of the Sussex County Family Success Center at Project Self-Sufficiency and is funded by the New Jersey Department of Children & Families.