Cornell Cooperative Extension and National 4-H Week will be celebrated from Sept. 30 through Oct. 7 on the Cornell campus and at events around Tompkins County. This year's theme is "Strengthening the Economic and Social Vitality of Communities."

Among the highlights:

• Sept. 29-Oct. 6 — Cornell Cooperative Extension staff and community members will build a house of cans, made of donated non-perishable food items. The food will be distributed later to needy local families in Tompkins County and the surrounding area. Find the house of cans in the foyer of Roberts Hall on the Cornell campus.
• Oct. 3 — "CCE Celebration Day on Campus," will be held on the Agriculture Quad from 11 a.m. to 2 :30 p.m., between the Plant Sciences Building and Kennedy Hall. There will be 40 exhibits of Cornell programs that help enhance community vitality.
• Oct. 5 — Cornell Cooperative Extension will broadcast "The Statewide Connection," a satellite teleconference at 11:15 a.m. It will include remarks about strengthening communities from Cornell President Hunter Rawlings. Also, Cornell Cooperative Extension Director D. Merrill Ewert will recognize Alan J. Sorensen, the commissioner of planning and community development for Sullivan County, as the 2000 Friend of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Community leaders and volunteers will gather at county extension offices throughout New York state for the 45-minute teleconference. The public and media are invited to attend the events at their local extension offices.
• Oct. 5 — There will be a chicken barbecue dinner at the Cornell Cooperative Extension-Tompkins County office, 615 Willow Ave., in Ithaca at 4 p.m. for $6.50 (eat in or out) .