Buy a calendar …

… and help fight hunger in the new year. Renowned chef Kent Rathbun, executive chef at Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen in Preston Center, has included 13 mouth-watering photographs of exclusive recipes in the 2011 Hunger and Thirst calendar. You can buy it online for a $25 donation, benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. For details, call 214.330.1396 or visit ntfb.org.

Eat a taco …

… and help a local cause. When you buy one of Blue Mesa Grill’s baja shrimp tacos this month, one dollar from each sale will benefit one of the restaurant’s charities, which includes Ball Dan, Carroll Education Foundation,Lena Pope Home, North Texas Food Bank and Operation Kindness. Blue Mesa Grill, which has a location at Belt Line and the Tollway, hosts the drive each month as part of its Tacos for a Cause program. To learn more about the charities, visit bluemesagrill.com/tacos-for-a-cause.

Know of ways that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com.