Sculpture to help raise pollution awareness

Austin volunteers will gather Saturday to help construct a 14-foot tall “Plastic Storm” sculpture out of thousands of reclaimed plastic bottles, cups, jars and bottle caps.

The project, a collaborative effort between the city of Austin and Austin nonprofit Keep Austin Beautiful, aims to raise awareness about the damaged caused by polluting landfills and oceans with nonrecyclable plastics.

Volunteers will construct the sculpture, an innovation by Austin artist George Sabra, by sliding prepped materials onto metal rods, according to a city of Austin news release. The completed sculpture will be revealed at the third annual Austin’s New Year, a free family-friendly festival on Dec. 31 at Auditorium Shores. To learn more about the project, go to www.plasticstormsculpture.com.

The Arthritis Foundation bestowed its Lorraine Potocki Arthritis Walk Award to Cassi Taylor of Austin at its national meeting earlier this month.

The award recognizes an outstanding chairperson of the organization’s signature fund-raising event, the Arthritis Walk, which raises awareness and funds. Taylor chaired her area’s Arthritis Walk from 2009 to 2012.

Miss United States 2012 Whitney Miller, an Austin resident, will help conduct workshops Saturday for children ages 6 to 12 to decorate stockings for the dogs and cats at Austin Pets Alive!

The workshops are scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Town Lake Animal Center, 156 W.