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This Sunday marks the 2009 Great Strides™: Taking the Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis fundraising event. This walk has become one of the largest national fundraising events in Canada and includes thousands of co-workers, friends and families who come together each year as a community to help find a cure or an effective control for Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common, fatal genetic disease that affects the digestive system and lungs in children and young adults. Not only does CF block the absorption of adequate nutrients from foods, the disease severely affecgreatstridests the lungs and in time respiratory problems become increasingly severe and life-threatening.

This year’s event will be held at the Toronto Zoo from 8:30a.m. to 2:00p.m. on May 31st and CTV’s Tom Brown will be joining participants for this day of family fun. If you collect a minimum of $25.00 in pledges (per participant) you will receive entrance to the Toronto Zoo, a map, walk activities, a FREE lunch, a loot bag (for children only) and access to a special show. Best of all, you will be helping to find a cure for this terrible disease that affects the lives of many children and young adults each day.

Last year, $1.73 million was raised to support vital Cystic Fibrosis programs. And over the years, this walk has proven to be a great opportunity for local supporters to make a difference in the lives of people who live with cystic fibrosis everyday.

Employees steal from child abuse nonprofit

WASHINGTON — A national nonprofit that helps victims of child sexual abuse across the country was ripped off in a scam orchestrated by three of its own employees, according to federal court documents.

Prosecutors say the Washington-based National Children’s Alliance lost more than $50,000 in a payroll scheme run by the organization’s former chief financial officer and two of his subordinates.

As described in court documents, each person’s take in the scheme appears based on their position in the organization.

On Friday, Michael Young, a staff accountant from Washington, pleaded guilty to taking nearly $10,000 in five extra paychecks. Young showed no emotion as he acknowledged he stole the money, and he told the judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay, he now has a new job at another nonprofit.

Last month, former finance director Sharon Martin of Upper Marlboro, Md., who pleaded guilty earlier this month to stealing eight payroll paychecks totaling more than $15,000. Young and Martin each face up to six months in prison at sentencing in August.

The former CFO, Marvin Perry, is scheduled to plead guilty on June 11. He has been charged with stealing $27,114.43 in additional paychecks.

The alliance’s executive director, Teresa Huizar, said the theft was discovered after she took over in February 2008 and asked an outside auditing firm to review the finances.

Huizar said she had no indication that employees were stealing until auditors came to her with their suspicions. “It was a very unpleasant surprise,” she said.

“Obviously it’s a terrible thing whenever an employee betrays their employer’s trust,” Huizar said. “What’s particularly horrible about this situation is they stole from an organization that helps victims of child sexual abuse.”

The alliance, based in Washington, has more than 700 Children’s Advocacy Centers across the country devoted to helping children who have suffered sexual or severe physical abuse.

When there are reports of abuse, the centers intervene with teams of legal, medical, social service and clinical experts. They work to stop the abuse, provide counseling and try to help prevent the continued cycle of violence of victims from becoming perpetrators themselves one day.

Their work is funded mostly by grants from the Justice Department — more than $76 million since 1995 — with other revenue coming from membership fees. Huizar said the theft hasn’t affected programing — the former employees are being ordered to pay back what they took as part of their plea agreements — but damaged the organization’s reputation.

NCB Capital Impact benefited from the latest wave of New Markets Tax Credits from the Treasury Department.

The Arlington-based nonprofit affiliate of NCB, which supports health, housing and education facilities in low-income areas, was one of 32 organizations competitively picked to get a total of $1.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credits through the stimulus package.

The $90 million in credits, which aim to help retain and generate jobs and forge economic development in distressed communities, will help NCB Capital Impact and its partners create 1,000 new jobs, 3,000 new school seats for low-income children, 100 units of workforce housing, and provide 25,000 working families with quality, affordable health care across the U.S., said NCB.

Since mid-2005, NCB Capital Impact has closed on $205 million in credit transactions that have leveraged over $500 million in capital for underserved populations. NCB used funds to help Media and Technology Charter High in Boston reduce its debt service costs by 40 percent.

Last year, NCB Capital Impact gave out a record $208.1 million for education, health care and affordable homeownership programs that benefit low- and middle-income communities nationwide.

The New Markets Tax Credit Program, created by Congress in 2000, lets individual and corporate taxpayers receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in investment vehicles.

Other local organizations to get funding were McLean-based Capital One Community Renewal Fund LLC, which received $90 million, and McLean-based Solomon Hess Loan Fund LLC, which received $50 million.

Over the weekend, a 4-year-old Molalla boy tumbled from his family's second-story window and later died from his injuries. In another tragic case that grabbed national headlines this week, Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter died after getting tangled in a cord on a treadmill.

Falls, burns from house fires or appliances and poisoning are the most common causes of injury and death in young children. Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to falls - one recent study found 60 percent of all infant injuries were due to falls. The most common culprits: falling from furniture, down stairs and falling in an infant walker.

Portland area hospitals typically see more than a dozen children who are injured from window falls each year. Last year's numbers included three Canby toddlers who fell from windows within four days of one another. All three survived, even though one fell headfirst into a flower bed and another onto concrete. All three pushed out screens that were meant to keep insects out, not children in, according to a recent Oregonian report.

Nationwide, more than 4,000 children, most 5 years old or younger, visit emergency rooms each year because they fall from windows. An average of 18 die.

It was those numbers that persuaded administrators at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center to apply for a federal grant for a store dedicated to keeping kids safe at home. The hospital was one of 6 nationally to share the $1 million grant. A couple weeks ago, Legacy Emanuel opened its Safety Store, which sells childproofing products at prices below retail.

The shop is a sobering reminder of the everyday perils and risks our homes pose to young children. The store offers safe crib bedding - those pillowy bumpers are a big no-no, by the way - window guards, smoke detectors that let parents record their own voices to alert children to danger. The shop also sells plastic covers for knobs on the stove and bike and water safety supplies.

The store also carries a line of products designed for families with special needs and disabled children.

"Every child is at risk, and at greater risk than you realize," said Sandy Nipper, nurse and child safety coordinator at Emanuel.

And here's the thing: No question is too basic or silly for Nipper and her colleague Jan Berichon. Just walk in and talk to them about your house and they'll help you identify possible risks and hazards. The store hours are 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Thursday. (Go here for directions.)

"It's OK that you don't know it all yet," Nipper said. "It's OK to come in and ask questions."

CHINO - Danny Mendoza and his friends are using their skills as well as their hearts to promote fitness and inspire young people.

They have formed a nonprofit that puts together sports camps for foster children in Chino Valley and, ultimately, throughout the Inland Empire.

The nonprofit, called "Together We Rise," held a football workshop in January. Recently, it was awarded $12,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds from the Chino Hills City Council.

To date, the nonprofit has raised about $30,000 for its work, and, next year, hopes to raise $100,000 in order to expand to areas outside of Chino.

"It's all a bunch of people doing it for free and having a good time," Mendoza said.

"Foster kids don't get to have much contact with their parents and I am what I am because of my parents. So we're trying to influence them to do more exercise and physical fitness with sports. We're trying to reduce obesity rates and we're trying to inspire them to have a second chance."

For Mendoza, the quest to help foster children started in 2006, when he wanted to help out his 10-year-old cousin who had become homeless. But, because he was not 21 at the time, Mendoza was too young to become a guardian.

Mendoza said he wanted to help young people living without parents and who were unable to hang out with friends.

Mendoza logged onto the social-networking site Facebook and made phone calls to other young.
people who were willing to contribute their time to better the lives of local foster children.

Project Unity USA plans to make its presence here known Saturday by having a "Unity Day and March Celebration" against violence in North Charleston.

The nonprofit organization started in Columbia by working with local law enforcement, churches and businesses to create programs that reduce violence and educate the public. Marlvis "Butch" Kennedy, director of the organization's Charleston branch, said Saturday's event is aimed at letting criminals know that the community is fighting back and raising awareness about health and social issues.

The 10 a.m. march will be led by North Charleston and Stall high schools' marching bands.

The celebration will feature vendors, entertainers and speakers. Entertainers include several gospel choirs, rap performances and an aquatic animal display by the South Carolina Aquarium. There also will be a health fair, jump castles and face painting.

"This is sort of like our coming out party," Kennedy said. "It's going to be a multi-cultural, big diverse day. To me, it's going to be a historical day."

Kennedy said the organization already has joined with local business and community leaders to establish new programs in the Charleston area, such as a mentor program and a summer internship program that has found government-contracting jobs for 14 high school and college students.

Kennedy said the organization also sponsors the REALMAD program, which teaches students that "Real men don't hit women."

"When you get churches together, when you get businesses together, when you get community leaders together all as a group, you can get so much more done than just as one person," he said.

Moscow Ballet is showing fundraising professionals around America that nonprofit organizations can still succeed in 2009 by participating in its CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (“CDPP”).

Moscow Ballet’s CDPP is a comprehensive, performance-art based fundraising program for charitable organizations looking for a sure-fire holiday development campaign. Every organization that has participated in the CDPP has enjoyed success.

With businesses either shrinking or eliminating their budgets for charitable giving

and foundations scaling back on grant-giving, nonprofit organizations increasingly need new, creative solutions when crafting their development strategies. The CDPP is that solution!

Charity events centered on Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” with receptions offer nonprofit organizations the opportunity to stimulate their supporters while attracting new ones. As well, corporate sponsorship is easier

to attain when a high quality Moscow Ballet event is the basis for the campaign.

If your organization would like to know more about the CDPP, please contact Timothy Kushi (tim@nutcracker.com) at 413 499 1733 ext. 102.

As budgets and fundraising levels for non-profits get smaller, more organizations are turning to using social networking online as an essential part of their overall marketing strategy. Non-profits see online social media as an inexpensive way to build relationships, increase involvement, and help out with publicity and education efforts.

According to the Nonprofit Social Network Survey conducted in March 2009 by NTEN, Common Knowledge, and ThePort, social networking has become an increasingly important part of nonprofits’ online strategy.

This survey provides a rare snapshot of how non-profit organizations are embracing and using social media online, and provides concrete evidence that the use of social networking is becoming essential to a successful non-profit marketing plan.

• Of the 929 survey respondents, nearly three-quarters (74.1%) of non-profits reported having a presence on Facebook, with an average community size of 5,391 members. YouTube (46.5%) and Twitter (43.2%) were cited as alternate social networking tools.
• Despite having decreased resources, staffing and budgets for social network marketing on commercial social networks, like Facebook, are real although relatively small. Over 80% of respondents are committing at least one-quarter of a full-time staff person to social networking online. Additionally, more than half (55%) of survey respondents intend to increase social networking staffing over the next twelve months.
• Funding for external resources dedicated to helping social networking online is also expected to increase, according to nearly one-quarter (24.1%) of respondents.
• The survey revealed that social networks provide little real revenue for non-profits via fundraising, and are mainly utilized for traditional marketing efforts (promoting their website, email lists, and events.)

Non-profit organizations are realizing that while social networking online may not directly translate into fundraising dollars, by using social networking as a part of their marketing plan, they are able to engage supporters and prospective donors by building relationships, as well as gaining trust and loyalty towards their cause. Social networking also allows non-profit organizations a cost effective way to promote events, educate and raise awareness, and ultimately, create an ongoing conversation and involvement between the organization and its supporters.

They’ve busted suspects for marijuana possession, stolen cash and purse-snatching.

They’re members of the Holland Police Department but wear no uniforms.

They’re the department’s two canines, Henry and Harrand.

“We view the canines as being such an important asset to patrol activities,” said Sgt. Drew Torres, canine unit supervisor for the Holland police. “To not have them would mean suspects getting away from police, a missing person possibly not getting found and narcotics going undetected.”
But city budget restrictions mean the department has had to seek alternative means of fundraising to equip and train the canines and their handlers.

So for the second year in a row, the department will host a golf outing to raise money for a new dog. This year’s outing will be 9 a.m. June 22 at Macatawa Legends Golf Course.
The department raised $15,000 for the canine unit last year, money that helped fund the addition of Henry to the force. Henry was purchased after Grego retired after seven years of service.
The department’s other dog, Harrand, likely will need to be replaced within the next year, Torres said.

A new dog can cost the department between $10,000 and $13,000, with additional costs for training the handler.

The dogs assist officers in a variety of searches, including narcotics, weapons and missing persons. They also provide protection for officers.

Patrol Capt. Jack Dykstra said the protection is invaluable.

“If we have to go into a dangerous situation and a canine can go in versus an officer going in first, it clearly assists us in keeping officers safe,” Dykstra said.
In 2008, the canine unit assisted Holland police in narcotics searches in which $74,575 worth of drugs were seized.
In February, Grego tracked a purse-snatcher who was hiding from police in a basement crawlspace.
In March, Harrand helped West Michigan Enforcement Team officers confiscate 20 pounds of marijuana from a vehicle.
Those are just a few examples, Torres said, of how the dogs aid police in investigations.
“A dog’s sense of smell is anywhere from 100 to 400 times more sensitive than a human’s,” he said. “It can make the difference between finding something and not finding something.”

As many foundations reduce giving to charities, McAuley Ministries is helping nurse them to life.

"In the current economic climate, foundations are seeing their asset bases shrinking and the size of their annual grants tends to shrink with that," said Scott B. Leff, associate executive director of the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management. "As a result, there's special value to our nonprofit sector having a new foundation appear to fill in some of that gap."

Born last year from the sale of Mercy Hospital to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, McAuley Ministries is targeting the neighborhoods of Oakland, West Oakland and the Hill District with money for health and wellness, education and community development.

"We see it as continuing to serve the neighborhoods served by Mercy Hospital, but now in new way, in a way that addresses new problems with resources made available from the sale of the hospital," said Sister Patricia McCann, vice chairwoman of the McAuley Ministries' board of directors.

"In a way, it's a blessing that the funds have become available right at this time, because now is when the needs are great," she said.

The foundation is named for Catherine McAuley, caretaker of Catherine and William Callahan, a wealthy Quaker couple in Dublin. When he died in 1822, he left his estate, now worth about $1 million, to McAuley.

She later founded the Sisters of Mercy, the religious order that established Carlow University, and dedicated her life to serving the sick, the poor and the imprisoned. She is considered by the Roman Catholic Church as venerable, the first step toward sainthood.

The foundation is run by the Sisters of Mercy and located on Carlow's Oakland campus.

McAuley officials say the development of a new arena in the Hill District and improvements Uptown, such as the new recreation center built by Duquesne University, signal rebirth.

"We've come into existence at a time of tremendous change and opportunity in those neighborhoods," said Michele Cooper, executive director of McAuley Ministries.

Because the foundation is targeting three neighborhoods, it has a chance to magnify its impact, Leff said.

"From those communities' perspective, it should have a multiplier effect so that the resulting impact makes it equivalent to a much larger foundation that might be spreading its giving over a broader region," he said.

Since first giving away money in December, the biggest grant has been $500,000 to the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh. That money will create a "vegetative roof" to help teach children about environmental friendly buildings.

"They see that community as their own community," said Eric Mann, president and CEO of the local YMCA. "Therefore, they want to see it continue to survive and keep kids and families healthier."

Another potential beneficiary of McAuley Ministries is Bethlehem Haven of Pittsburgh. That nonprofit group provides housing to homeless women and their children.

The group's case managers had been doing two jobs — finding housing while meeting the women's other needs. That led to homeless women spending up to two months in shelters and two years in temporary housing.

A housing specialist should reduce that time to six or nine months, said Lois Mufuka Martin, executive director of Bethlehem Haven.

"We need a faster way to take people out of our shelter and transitional housing into permanent stable housing," she said.

Pink-slip parties and avid online networking have grown popular as the recession continues. But taking some time each week to volunteer and apply skills learned on the job to help nonprofits could only help in the long run, according to job-search experts.

"It's so essential to get out from behind your computer at home and get engaged in organizations where people meet and get together," said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement firm. "Doing volunteer work is a great way to get engaged with an organization. You'll get to know the people who work there, the board, the people who run the organization, which is valuable in your job search. You feel like your skills aren't atrophying. In fact, you could put it on your resume."

BVU is in the early stages of organizing a program called the Council of Professionals and Executives, or COPE. Organizers hope that COPE will tap scores of laid-off workers - attorneys, marketing pros, human resources and financial experts - for their specialized skills, and link them to nonprofit groups as short-term project consultants and advisers. Levesque hopes to be one of them.

Pink-slip parties and avid online networking have grown popular as the recession continues. But taking some time each week to volunteer and apply skills learned on the job to help nonprofits could only help in the long run, according to job-search experts.

"It's so essential to get out from behind your computer at home and get engaged in organizations where people meet and get together," said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement firm. "Doing volunteer work is a great way to get engaged with an organization. You'll get to know the people who work there, the board, the people who run the organization, which is valuable in your job search. You feel like your skills aren't atrophying. In fact, you could put it on your resume."

BVU is in the early stages of organizing a program called the Council of Professionals and Executives, or COPE. Organizers hope that COPE will tap scores of laid-off workers - attorneys, marketing pros, human resources and financial experts - for their specialized skills, and link them to nonprofit groups as short-term project consultants and advisers. Levesque hopes to be one of them.

NORTH HAMPTON — The Carella Company, one of New Hampshire's leading full-service marketing agencies, has launched a new Web site for Friends of ASAPROSAR, a nonprofit organization of medical professionals and lay volunteers that provides free eye care to rural, impoverished communities of El Salvador.

The project included refining the Friends' message, the consolidation and division of all content for improved readability and search-engine indexing, as well as development and imagery consistent with their mission. The Carella team also enabled online donations through PayPal.

"Since our inception more than 20 years ago, we have been so busy with our work, finding the time to refine our Web site and make it a more useful resource for our supporters and those within our organization seemed impossible," said Scott Zeller, whose family has been going on trips to El Salvador with Friends of ASAPROSAR for many years. "We now have a site that we are not only extremely proud of, but one that reflects what Friends of ASAPROSAR is really about."

Friends of ASAPROSAR performs surgeries and eye exams, as well as providing eyeglasses from an inventory of more than 10,000 pairs the group has gathered. The group also donates money for the education of children, trains health promoters for rural villages, and has special programs for women's health.

Friends of ASAPROSAR also has micro-credit programs for women-owned businesses, and donates toys and clothing to those in need.

"The work Friends of ASAPROSAR does is truly admirable," said Mike Carella, vice president of The Carella Company. "This group gives so much to people in need, so to support their future success really was an honor for us."

A New York mother was arrested in Arkansas City Wednesday after local police learned she left her home state with two young daughters of which she did not have custody, police chief Sean Wallace said.

Amanda Perot and her two children – ages six and two – were taken into custody at a residence in the 1500 block of N. Fourth. Perot was taken to the Cowley County Jail after police learned she was wanted in Yates County, New York on a count of endangerment of a child.

She will remain in jail until New York officials can pick her up.

Wallace said his department received information about the children from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and quickly learned they were considered endangered.

The children had been reported missing by their grandmother. Perot was reported to have been visiting two Ark City men, one of which she had met on the Internet and was a registered sex offender, Wallace said.

The children were taken to the Wichita Children's Home and will stay there until their grandmother – who is their legal guardian – can travel to Kansas to pick them up.

The pulse of electronic music could be felt blocks away from Hart Plaza on Saturday, the familiar sign of the arrival of techno festival weekend. After nearly a decade, it has become a Memorial Day weekend staple in downtown Detroit.

The crowds began to grow around 4 p.m. -- just as the action on the event's four stages began to heat up.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything. It's the best time to be in Detroit," says Andrea Pullen of Southfield. Her husband, DJ Stacey Pullen, has performed at past festivals. "I like getting turned on to the new music. It's gotten better over time, the sound systems, the stages. It doesn't lose the excitement."

Jason Huvaere, president of Paxahau, the event's producer, said ticket sales were going better than expected for the festival, which continues through Monday. Movement drew more than 75,000 over three days in 2008. At nearby hotels, the lobbies were flush with out-of-town partygoers preparing for a weekend of music and afterparties.
Organizers try to make Movement greener

Heaps of paper flyers strewn across Hart Plaza had always been a telltale sign that techno festival weekend had arrived. They also meant that Aaron Siegler had done his job.er

At the first electronic music festival in 2000, Siegler realized he could get into clubs and events for free if he helped pass out promotional leaflets. Over the years, the 29-year-old Farmington resident made a business out of distributing the circulars, which are a mainstay in the electronic music scene and particularly present during Movement, when promoters are trying to draw the crowds at Hart Plaza to the many related after-parties.

Siegler has worked at every Detroit techno festival, and in peak years, he and his street team handed out 40,000 flyers.

But those kinds of numbers are no longer aligned with the growing desire for greener forms of communication, or fans' increasing reliance on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook for information.

Though Siegler traveled to California last week and Miami in March to distribute flyers for this year's Movement, his numbers are down, hovering around 10,000. And his time spent promoting on the Internet is up. Movement's producer, Paxahau, offered a free ticket to festival fans for reposting 90 electronic promotional ads.

The new archbishop of Westminster faced continuing criticism from victims of child abuse today

as he was formally installed as the leader of the 4.2 million Catholics in England and Wales.

Child safety campaigners were outraged when the Most Rev Vincent Nichols said it took "courage" for religious orders and clergy to "face the facts from their past" in response to a report examining the systematic abuse of thousands of children by Ireland's religious orders and state-run institutions. The comment was made in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

Judge Sean Ryan, who chaired the nine-year inquiry, only praised one order, the Rosminians, for attempting to understand the abuse as well as document it.

The Christian Brothers, who ran the largest number of institutions, agreed to drop legal challenges and give evidence only once a deal was agreed not to name guilty clerics. A spokesman for the Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, John Kelly, said: "The religious orders ran to the safety and sanctuary of the Ryan inquiry knowing their guilty evidence was granted privilege and immunity."

The archbishop sought to clarify his remarks before his investiture. On BBC 5 Live he said the "main use of the word courage" referred to victims and that anyone who overcame an addiction had to overcome "self deceit". He said: "It is a tough road to take, to face up to our own weaknesses. That is certainly true of anyone who has deceived themselves that all they have been doing is taking a bit of comfort from children."

SYDNEY — Nearly two dozen community leaders in Cape Breton are being exiled to the Fortress of Louisbourg today, in order to help children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses through a fundraising event based on the reality TV show Survivor.

Exile Island, the Children’s Wish Foundation’s major fundraiser in Nova Scotia, has been held twice on George’s Island in Halifax harbour and is making its Cape Breton debut this week, with the money raised staying in Cape Breton.

The reality is that the Children’s Wish Foundation annually helps about 900 children across Canada from 3-18 years old and needs financial donations from the public to do that. That’s where the community leaders come in.

Exile Island features rival tribes of business and community leaders calling friends, family and colleagues to raise donations that will help the Children’s Wish Foundation and, hopefully, save the participant from exile.

The foundation has seven children in Cape Breton waiting for a wish to be granted, said Cheryl Matthews, Nova Scotia chapter director, adding the fundraising event’s goal is to raise enough money to cover three wishes.

Co-chaired by Cape Breton Explorations president Luciano Lisi and Cape Breton University president John Harker, the event will see participants compete in a variety of challenging mental and physical contests and try to collect the largest amount of pledges.

In addition to Lisi and Harker, participants include accountants John Nash and George Unsworth, farmer Chris Eyking, Mayflower Mall general manager Paul Carrigan, Cape Breton Regional Police Chief Myles Burke, Membertou First Nation Chief Terry Paul, and CBU students’ union president Ricky MacCarthy, among others.

Matthews said Cape Breton Post publisher Anita DeLazzer recorded the first online donation. As of Tuesday morning, she also led the pack with the most donations.

Matthews said wish kids and their families will be present but spectators won’t be allowed into the Fortress of Louisbourg for the event. However, anyone can take part by making a donation on the event website where they can immediately get a tax receipt.

Matthews said participants will be divided into three tribes for the competitions and declined to reveal the kinds of challenges they will face, except to say they should be dressed comfortably.
“They’re all CEOs and managers and it’s very interesting to watch them try to compete as a team,” she added. “It’s an afternoon of the highest philanthropy, but it’s also a lot of fun.”
For more information or to make a donation, visit www.exileisland.ca and click on Cape Breton on the map.

Presented by local agency Shoreline Productions, the fifth annual Suzy McGrane Memorial event is set to go down on Gold Bug Island (1560 Ben Sawyer Blvd.) this Saturday evening. Nicknamed "S.O.S.: Share Our Suzy," it's a sweet-hearted get-together with an admirable goal in mind.

Gold Bug is a cozy spot located on the Mt. Pleasant side of the Intracoastal Waterway, just at the foot of the Ben Sawyer Bridge.

Considered one of the "originators of the jam band movement," Charlottesville, Va.-based band Indecision is a twangy, funk-filled ensemble popular among all sorts of groove-rock fans. Armed with a new album titled The Great Road, they bring their Little Feat-fired rock back to Charleston to play two sets during the memorial.

Indecision hit in Charleston last summer after a six-year absence from the road. They played an early evening acoustic show at Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ followed by a fully amplified gig at the Pour House the same night.

Share Our Suzy is a nonprofit organization that started out under the name Save Our Suzy in Columbia in the mid-2000s. Suzy McGrane was a well-loved S.C. photographer who was diagnosed in her early 20s with breast cancer. After completing her initial treatment, she worked with various S.C. cancer centers, raising funds for breast cancer patients. Sadly, her cancer returned, and she passed away in 2005.

Share Our Suzy's current goal is to "honor the spirit of Suzy McGrane by raising money and resources to assist and support breast cancer patients from diagnosis to remission." Fund-raising events like this one aim to enhance the quality of life for breast cancer patients in S.C.

Special VIP tickets for the Suzy McGrane Memorial are available. A hearty menu will be provided by Charleston Bay Gourmet and Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ. A convenient shuttle service and extra parking will be available as well. Space is very limited, however, and attendees are strongly encouraged to take cabs and shuttles or to carpool.

Otley clergyman Graham Buttanshaw is getting all dolled up to become his local boozer's answer to Anne Robinson.

The Rev – or rather his alter-ego Brainy Brenda – will be hosting a charity quiz night to raise funds for Christian Aid.

Rev Buttanshaw, the vicar at All Saints Parish Church, said: "A vicar in drag is not a usual sight in a pub, but we're very open-minded in Otley!

"I hope it might intrigue enough people to come and pit their wits against me for a fun night out while raising money for some of the world's poorest people."

Rev Buttanshaw is staging the wacky stunt on Thursday as part of Christian Aid Week.

As well as distributing its famous red envelopes to homes across the country, the charity also organises QuizAid – a nationwide fundraising event which it hopes will this year raise £225,000 for its overseas development work.

Rev Buttanshaw added: "Participants are invited to dress as Brainy Brendas or Smart Alecs but it's not required!

"Teams can be as small as two or as large as eight. People can come on their own or in teams.

"It's a great chance to meet people if you come on your own – Brainy Brenda will help you find or make up a team.

"There is no entry fee, but a donation to Christian Aid of at least £2 is requested from each participant."

The event is being held at the Red Lion in Kirkgate, Otley, from 8pm.
QuizAid questions come in groups of five across a range of 12 subjects, including sport, music, geography, history, maths and pot luck.

There will be prizes of Fair Trade chocolate for categories including "best costume", "top of the class" and "could do better".

The New York State Police is again putting the spotlight on seat belts this week with the annual “Buckle Up New York” blitz.

Maj. Christopher Cummings said the latest zero-tolerance enforcement blitz began Monday and will continue through May 31.

The program involves more than 500 police agencies throughout the state and will include safety restraint checkpoints and special patrols dedicated to seat-belt enforcement.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend, considered the unofficial opening of the summer travel season, is the perfect time to remind people about the importance of seat belts, Cummings said.

“Buckling up clearly saves lives, and if you don’t, you will be ticketed,” Cummings said in a news release. “Unfortunately, too many New Yorkers still need a tough reminder, and we’re going to provide it.”

Cummings said the enforcement blitz is “a matter of life and death.”

“It’s tragic and unnecessary, but someone we know will likely die or be unnecessarily injured for failing to take one simple step — buckling up,” he said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, highway crashes in 2007 killed 41,059 people and injured more than 2.4 million others. About 54 percent of those killed were unrestrained.

Among those killed were 2,022 children and 3,108 young drivers, age 16-20.

“Kids and young adults learn best by example, and parents set that example,” Cummings said. “Infants and toddlers are even more vulnerable, because they can’t buckle up themselves — they must rely on adults to do it for them.”

During last year’s blitz, troopers issued 19,000 safety restraint citations statewide, including 877 for child seat violations.

Cummings said local troopers will conduct 15 safety restraint checkpoints during the enforcement sweep.

SEAT-BELT LAWS

New York State law requires:

• All front seat occupants must be secured, regardless of age.
• All rear seat passengers under age 16 must be secured.
• Children under age 4 must be properly restrained in a federally-approved child safety seat.
• Children under age 4 but weighing more than 40 pounds may be restrained in a booster seat with a combined lap/shoulder seatbelt.
• Children ages 4, 5 an 6 must be properly secured in an appropriate child restraint system, based on their height and weight.
• Children riding in booster seats must be secured with a combined lap/shoulder seatbelt, unless the vehicle is not equipped with lap/shoulder belts, or all lap/shoulder belts are already being used. In either of those cases, the child should be secured in a lap belt without the booster seat.

The Tom Joyner Foundation, a major driving force in raising money for historically black colleges and universities since 1998, has kicked off an aggressive fundraising campaign for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

During a Wednesday mid-morning kickoff event on the UMES campus, individual gifts were made of more than $10,000 from vice presidents, deans, faculty, staff, students and alumni within the crowd that gathered for the announcement. The total was added to the $42,500 already raised.

“We are grateful that the Tom Joyner Foundation chose the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as the School of the Month for August 2009,” said Thelma B. Thompson, UMES president. “There has never been a greater need or a better time to raise scholarship dollars than now.”

According to the foundation, formed by nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner, UMES was chosen as part of its on-going effort to assist HBCUs in broadening and strengthening efforts to raise money to help keep students attending these institutions.

As a Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month, UMES will receive funds raised from listeners, alumni and other interested parties during the month of August. The Tom Joyner Morning Show, which airs in 115 markets around the country and reaches nearly eight million listeners every week, will promote the university and award scholarships to deserving students.

UMES, twice named in the top tier of America’s Best Black Colleges by U.S. News and World Report, emphasizes select baccalaureate programs in the liberal arts and sciences and career fields with particular relevance to the Eastern Shore and its land-grant mandate, offering programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Established as Princess Anne Academy in 1886 with one professor and nine students, the school is home to 4,000 students today.

“The foundation is really happy to work with UMES,” said Tom Joyner, a graduate of Tuskegee Institute and chairman of the foundation. “The university has a wonderful history, and this foundation is all about making sure students are able to stay in school.”

It's about a mother who punched a teacher for supposedly choking her five year old son. After the principal sat down with both parent and teacher, the teacher denied choking the boy but admitted to shaking him, the mother then right hooked the teacher on his head.

"What would I have done if I were in that situation" I asked myself. After much deliberation on my part, my answer is still not clear. I guess I would have to BE in that situation before I pass judgement on either party. What I can answer however, is the fact that I'm a quick reactor. I tend not to think of the consequences of my actions. I do as my emotions tell me to. Perhaps the mother involved in this dispute was the same way.

Since becoming a parent, I feel an extremely strong pull to always defend my son. I'm always making sure to keep him out of harms way so that I won't ever have to feel like I have to defend him physically. But, I can tell you, that I wouldn't hesitate to do so. Any good mother knows...you don't disrespect someone else's children. No matter how bad they're acting up, you don't ever discipline someone else's child. Ever. Period.

I know that schools have it hard when it comes to disciplining kids. You're not allowed to physically restrain them or put a hand to them. With some kids these days, verbal discipline doesn't always work. The article fails to explain what the child did, but that in no way excuses the fact that the teacher put his hands on someones child. Still, was it right for the mother to put her hands on the teacher?

I don't believe violence solves anything, however, I do believe in standing up for your child. It is your right as a parent to ensure your child's safety. And who knows what really happened between the teacher and child. The child says the teacher choked him, but the teacher claims he shook the child. Either way, bodily harm could have come to the child. Lets not even go there with all the neurological harm that can come from shaking a child.

Sutton Coldfield - St. Giles Ladies Lunch Club is organizing a fashion show for a cause on June 30 at Moxhull Hall Hotel’s garden. The activity aims to highlight the fashion show and at the same time to help in the caring services of St. Giles Hospice through the proceeds that will be raised sometime after the event ends.

With its summer theme, Helen Relihan, Head of Fundraising for St Giles, said that the group decided to come up with the fashion show as the highlight of the event aside from the delicious three-course buffet lunch in the gardens, presentation of a live jazz band, game shows, browsing of the craft stalls, etc. The group’s main goal is to help St. Giles Hospice. On top of that, the Lunch Club also serves as a perfect avenue to meet new people across ages, to do something unique with loved ones, and to be eager to invite people to join.

Tickets are available at only $ 25.00. The proceeds, as mentioned, shall be used to finance the health care services of the local people in the area who are suffering from cancer and other seriously related diseases. For ticket inquiries, please contact Sarah Shelton on 01543 434 542 or email at sarah.shelton@st-giles-hospice.org.uk..

Photo above taken from http://www.shawlaneflowers.co.uk/images/IMG_0295.JPG

Almost five thousand people joined the 14th Walk to Cure Diabetes held last Sunday at RIT. The event was hosted and sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation whose aim is to help finding a cure for juvenile diabetes. One of its highlights, apart from the walk, is a fundraising activity. The proceeds will be used for the continuing research and study towards better medication of the disease.

For more than 10 years, the organization was able to gather donations for about $ 1 million through fundraising events. In 2008, around $ 800,000 donations were recorded. They hoped that this year’s event will beat the record.

So far, the event last Sunday is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Rochester chapter of the organization.

Photo above is taken from Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, htt://www.jdrf.org

MADISON - Last May 5, the door of the newly established Price Chopper supermarket was finally opened to the consuming community of Madison. Its primary location is in Madison Marketplace, a newly launched shopping center within Hamilton Municipal Airport and Colgate University. The opening featured a flag-raising ceremony American Legion Post 1556 and a musical performance by Madison Central School band.

Price Chopper has a primary market in Oneida. It extends to New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and finally, in Madison. The recently launched store will introduce the consuming market with grocery items, bakery, seafood products, florist, and ready-to-eat delicacies like pizza and chicken in its 37, 000 square feet of space. The objective of the store is to operate 24 hours during the first few days. Afterwards, schedules may now vary.

According to Barbara Page, spokesperson of Price Chopper, the store is expected to offer 150 job opportunities to people in Madison. On top of that, the store is currently applying for LEED certification from the US Green Building Council in order to help and promote environmental-friendly products.

Prior to its opening, Price Chopper conducted a fundraising activity that aimed to benefit the three local organizations namely, the Madison FFA, Community Memorial Hospital and the Madison Wrestling Club. The fundraising event presented live music and samples on what the supermarket has to offer. As a result, the event was able to raise $3,427 worth of money which was divided equally among the three organizations.

Price Chopper’s Store Manager, Matt Frey said that both highlights were well-attended by the consuming community of Madison. He also added that he's expecting more consumers in the coming days.

The Breeder’s Invitational Derby spearheaded by Director Bob O’Bannon will launch another competition in the sport of cutting in Expo Square that is going to run from May 13-23. According to the director, Tulsa is an ideal place for the event because it gathers participants across the country. It also gives a chance for neighboring residents to witness the said competition.

The Breeder’s Invitational has been hosting competitions like this for quite some time now. For its first 6 years, it has given out around $8 million. Today’s competition offers free admission and parking spaces for the participants who shall present the country’s top horses. The teams are expected to compete from 8am – 6 pm running through an 11-day run. It is also a perfect avenue for Western goods which are made available for purchase. The emerging winner of the competition will bag a $1.5 million worth of money.