Record stuffed animal donation gathered to benefit Kosair Charities’ Bears on Patrol
Employees at UnitedHealth Group’s Louisville office collected 13,532 stuffed animals over the past four months to benefit “Bears on Patrol,” a charitable initiative of Kosair Charities and local law enforcement designed to comfort children who are exposed to traumatic circumstances such as house fires or domestic disputes. They displayed the animals on May 8 outside their offices before loading them onto a large truck.
UnitedHealth Group employees’ support of “Bears on Patrol” began in 2011, when they set a record by donating more than 4,300 stuffed animals. The 2014 donation more than tripled that former record.
It’s Time To Get Back To Art
Buttafly Arts, a local agency that partners with other community agencies, schools, and arts-related nonprofits to provide creative workshops for youth and adults, believes that it’s time to get back to art and is kicking off this initiative with the 2014 Summer Arts Series, which will run from June 23 to August 8.
The agency embraces the practice of art as a quality that, in some cases, has saved a community on the brink of chaos. This quality is summed up by quotes from a recent article titled “Art and Expression as a Catalyst for Change and Development.”
The article goes on to state: “This quality is key for any individual, especially for youth of color that have too often been the victims of a failing school system, an unfair judicial system, and a scapegoat for mainstream society. Yet, to transcend victimhood, one must develop a new positive identity, not rooted in deficits, but anchored in one’s strengths and abilities…Art and expression, when encouraged and praised by a supportive community, provides an ideal outlet for developing a toolbox of skills that can be useful throughout one’s life.”
The agency prides itself with being involved with projects that pushes the individual to combine art with social and communal change. Buttafly just finished hosting the “Freedom Mic Series,” which was a series of open mics sponsored by New Legacy Reentry Corp, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing reentry services for ex-offenders and returning veterans.
Many of the featured artists and support staff for this series were ex-offenders who have created news paths of progress for their lives.
The agency has appealed to churches, ministries and other community agencies to make community restoration happen via a partnership with Buttafly. The agency hosts an extensive catalogue of workshops and classes which are posted on its website. The classes can also be accessed via its Facebook page @ Facebook.com/ButtaflyArts. In addition, Buttafly also has a growing Artist Registry which can be viewed from a link on the page as well.
If you are interested in partnering with Buttafly Arts or you would like to become a teaching artist via their registry, please forward an email to buttaflyarts@gmail.com or call 502.354.3496.
Three Trinity journalism students win Three awards
Trinity students brought home three awards from the Kentucky High School Journalism Association’s competition, the state’s toughest journalism competition.
Editor-in-Chief and senior Jake Smith placed third in Feature Writing and third in Sports Writing.
One of next year’s editors-in-chief, sophomore Forde Womack, placed second in Newspaper Photography.
American Printing House for the Blind Receives Gift from USTA to Develop Sports Courts, Tennis for Students who are Blind.
The United States Tennis Association, Kentucky (USTAKY), has given the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) $1,000 to help develop the tennis component of “Sports Courts,” an interactive product designed to allow students with visual impairments to conceptualize 15 different sports.
“Sports Courts, Tennis” is the first of the series. Currently in the prototype stage, it consists of an 11” by 17” tactile tennis court model with magnetic pieces for demonstrating player positions. An accompanying guidebook will include the game’s history, rules, strategies and equipment needs, as well as instructional strategies, ways to adapt the game for visually impaired and blind students (such as a sound-adapted ball) and ways for students to become more involved with tennis.
The USTAKY donation will be used for prototype revisions and field testing of the Tennis Court model and guidebook. Visit USTA Kentucky for more information about the organization.
Once completed, Sports Courts will be used by thousands of students across the United States.
It will help educators fulfill Expanded Core Curriculum* goals that target lifelong skills for health maintenance, social skills and self-determination among students with visual impairments through participation in sports. Research shows that children with visual impairments have the same potential for fitness as their sighted peers, but lack opportunities, training and high expectations.
Sports Courts will also be a resource and reference for other organizations seeking guidance in developing adaptive tennis programs for children with disabilities.
Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation Brings Smiles to 3,440 Kids with Cancer in U.S.
A smile made possible by a simple act of kindness makes the life of a child with cancer more bearable and hopeful. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and corporations across the United States, the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF), through its Bear-Able Gift Program, is creating thousands of smiles on the faces of children living with cancer.
Recently, the Bear-Able Gift Program delivered 12,736 toys and gifts to 56 hospitals across the country to help brighten the lives of 3,440 children living with cancer.
The Bear-Able Gift Program distributes items such as games, toys, crayons, coloring books, video games, puzzles, books and teddy bears — all kinds of things that make children smile — to hospitals and oncology centers across the country. The program makes CCRF the largest supplier of gifts to children in North America who have cancer. It relies solely on donations of new and unwrapped toys.
“Childhood should be a carefree time that lets kids be kids, but children with cancer are often robbed of that,” said Greg Anderson, founder of the Harrisburg, Penn.-based CCRF. “The kindness and generosity of donors from across the country makes a difference in the lives of children with cancer, brightening their days and helping them to forget for a while that they’re sick.”
There are a number of ways in which individuals and businesses can help support CCRF’s Bear-Able Gift Program; they include sponsoring a toy drive, or raising or donating funds.
For more information, please visit www.childrenscancerrecovery.org/programs/bearable-gifts/, or contact us at childrens@cancerrecovery.org.
Kentucky Realtors Take Fight for Home ownership to Nation’s Capital
While thousands of Realtors from across the country convened in Washington, D.C. last week to attend the Realtor Party Convention & Trade Expo, 75 members from the Kentucky Association of Realtors (KAR) met with U.S. Senators and congressional staff on Capitol Hill to advocate policies that protect and advance investment in residential and commercial property and that are critical to buyers, sellers and investors throughout Kentucky.
“Attending the national meetings in D.C. is an excellent opportunity for Realtors to influence the public policy decisions that will directly affect consumers’ ability to buy, sell and own real estate,” said Ron Hughes, KAR President. “In hundreds of meetings with elected officials and staff last week, Realtors encouraged support for issues crucial to their business, clients, community and the future of the real estate industry.”
KAR members who met with the Kentucky delegation focused on important issues impacting the real estate market in the state, including preserving the mission and accessibility of Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs home loan programs, protecting real estate-related tax policies, keeping flood insurance premiums affordable and reforming the secondary mortgage market.
“With proposed legislation being debated in Congress this term that could have a significant impact on consumers and the real estate market, it was important for Realtors to meet with lawmakers,” said Joe McClary, KAR CEO. “Through the strength of the REALTOR Party, we clearly conveyed our position on key issues that affect home buyers, sellers and real estate investors right here at home.”
The Kentucky group also urged legislators to reinstate an expired tax provision that provides relief to individuals following a loan modification, short sale or foreclosure.
“The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expired at the end of 2013, and assured that individuals would not have to pay income tax on forgiven mortgage debt,” Hughes said. “Distressed homeowners who’ve suffered through the loss of their home should not be further burdened with additional income taxes; it’s not only unfair but harms families, neighborhoods and communities. We urge Congress to act quickly on this issue.”
National Association of Realtors President Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc., Realtors in Dayton, Ohio, praised KAR’s efforts to address the important residential and commercial real estate issues that affect individuals, communities, small businesses and the nation.
“Homeownership and commercial investment help shape communities and strengthen the economy. With several significant real estate issues being debated in Congress this term, it was important that Realtors met with lawmakers last week to share their views and positions on proposed legislation that could have a meaningful impact on consumers’ ability to purchase and own real estate,” Brown said.
Two Trinity students to participate in prestigious summer programs
Trinity High School rising senior Clay Grant will attend the Summer Scholars program at Miami University July 6-18. He will participate in a technology course entitled “The Art of Game Design.” Grant hopes to one day make this a career choice.
Trintity rising senior Derek Nafziger will participate in Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholar Program (GSP). As soon as the GSP program concludes, Nafziger will be in Costa Rica Aug. 4-12 to participate in the mission team for WaterStep. WaterStep provides clean drinking water to developing countries around the world. Nafziger will build and install two mini-water treatment plants, hold vision clinics and teach health and hygiene at schools and community centers in Costa Rica.