In brief

Money Mondays offer help

The Office of Human Resources will be offering a special series of “HARVie chats” on banking, benefits, investing, and other financial topics. Harvard staff are invited to visit http://harvie.harvard.edu/chats/upcomingchats.shtml to get information that may help in navigating through the current economic downturn.

Those employees who have never used HARVie’s “chats” feature should make sure their Java is updated before logging on. To find out more about how the chats work, visit http://harvie.harvard.edu/chats/overview/shtml. The chats take place Mondays at noon. Coming up:

Dec. 1, Ask a TIAA-CREF Investment Professional: A representative from one of Harvard’s investment fund providers will talk about managing money in a volatile market.

Dec. 8, Ask a Vanguard Investment Professional: A representative from another of Harvard’s investment fund providers will discuss managing your money in today’s market.

If you have difficulties logging on, contact paul_massari@harvard.edu, (617) 495-0511.

Harvard Real Estate Services plans home-buying seminar

Harvard Real Estate Services is holding a home-buying seminar on Dec. 4 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Titled “Home Buying Seminar & Obtaining a Mortgage: Tips to Assist You with This Process,” the program will be at 124 Mt. Auburn St., Room 3311. Feel free to bring a lunch. Registration is required. To register, e-mail fres@harvard.edu.

Fontainebleau Schools info session in Adams House

The Fontainebleau Schools program will hold a concert and information session at the Adams House Lower Common Room on Dec. 4 from 7 to 8 p.m. for summer study programs in architectural design and chamber music in Fontainebleau, France. Program alumni will perform, show their work, and discuss their experiences with prospective applicants. For more information, visit http://www.fontainebleauschools.org or e-mail fellowships tutor David M. Foxe at dmfoxe@yahoo.com.

Global health workshop, Dec. 3

The Harvard Initiative for Global Health (HIGH) will host “Innovation for Global Health: Creating Opportunities and Empowering Students” on Dec. 3 from 2 to 6:30 p.m. at the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS) South Building. The event’s keynote speaker will be George Whitesides, the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard, whose pioneering lab is currently using its competencies in materials science, engineering, and biology to address problems that affect developing countries, with a focus on health diagnostics and local energy production.

Harvard faculty and students are invited to this free event. Refreshments will be provided. Due to limited space, registration is required. To register, e-mail Eric Goodwin at eric_goodwin@harvard.edu.

Holiday gifts for those in need

The Phillips Brooks House Association and Phillips Brooks House will hold their annual holiday gift drive from Nov. 21 to Dec. 12, collecting gifts for underserved children in the Boston and Cambridge area. This drive will provide new books, games, toys, art supplies, and sports equipment for children, many of whose parents are impoverished, homeless, or incarcerated.

Last year’s drive donated more than 1,000 gifts from the Harvard community to 14 agencies in Cambridge, Allston-Brighton, Dorchester, Roxbury, and Boston. Those who wish to donate are asked to leave gifts for children of all ages (new and unwrapped) in marked receptacles in the Events and Information Center located in the Holyoke Center arcade.

A musical invitation

The Harvard Contemporary Gamelan group (open to Harvard students, faculty, staff, and other community members) is looking for new members. The group performs every Thursday in the Gamelan Music Room on the lower main floor of the Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH).

The group plays on a Javanese-style gamelan, performing works by American composer Lou Harrison and compositions by Indonesian and international composers.

Musicians and composers are welcome, but no prior experience is required. For questions or to sign up, contact Jody Diamond at diamond2@fas.harvard.edu.