Five Things You Need to Know Today: April 7

1. Blood Drive. The Daughters of Mary of Nazareth today at the in Newton Centre. The blood drive will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and those who donate receive a free pair of athletic socks from New Balance.

2. Free admission at the Jackson Homestead. It's the first weekend of the month, and that means Newton residents receive free admission to the . The museum is open noon - 5 p.m.

3. Looking for Passover services? . If there's a service missing, make sure you add it in the comments section of the story and post it on our events calendar. Also, if you're in need of some Passover recipes for this week, with tasty dishes like sweet potato gnocchi!

4. Rain barrels for sale. Want to help conserve water? The city of Newton will offer Newton-based pick-ups of rain barrels purchased through New England Rain Barrel. Pick-updates will be Sat., April 21 and Tues., April 24. Rain barrels must be purchased by April 16 for these pick-up dates. Find more information in the latest edition of the Green Bin.

5. Softball clinic. Newton Girls Softball will hold a general skills clinic today for grades 1-4 in the SOA (simulated outdoor arena). The clinics are open to registered Newton Girls Softball players. The grade 1/2 clinic will run from 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. and the grade 3/4 clinic will run from 3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.