Monday, August 31, 2009

SPCA Fundraiser

When you enter the Fluvanna County SPCA you’re met with a serenade of meows and barks from loveable creatures looking for their forever homes. It takes many volunteers and donations to keep the facility running and able to care for the 100 animals under its care. This month the FSPCA has partnered with Keswick Vineyards to host a wine-tasting fundraiser.
The event will be held Sept. 5 from 1-4 p.m. and include: wine tasting—festival-goers will receive their own special glass to take home; dessert—donated by local businesses; and a silent auction with items donated from the community. Some of the silent auction items are: gift certificates from upscale local restaurants, gift certificates for spas and acupuncture, four U.Va. football game tickets, an autographed baseball from a player on the Washington Nationals, green fees for four and other items.
The FSPCA has been in operation for 20 years and this event is an anniversary celebration, said Director Amy Kirchner, who started on May 1.
Kirchner said in her first few months she’s “made great strides in improving the FSPCA.” Her first priorities were to make the shelter a cleaner, friendlier place to visit. Greeted by friendly volunteers, you will notice the changes.
“The volunteer base is growing, companies are showing support and families are visiting,” she noted. She loves the support shown by the community and feels it will just keep getting better. Some of the 100 animals are being fostered in homes in the community, she noted.
“Fluvanna County has grown quite a bit [in the past 20 years], with a corresponding increase in the number of animals brought into the shelter,” said Kirchner, who used to be a manager at the Charlottesville SPCA. “We are a privately held SPCA so we depend on donations in order to provide quality housing, food and medical treatment for the lost and abandoned dogs, puppies, kittens and cats in Fluvanna.”
“In the past three months, there have been some major changes, but there is so much more that can be done. These animals belong to everyone in our community—I am just taking care of them until they find their permanent homes.”
Tickets for the Keswick fundraiser are $12 before the event and $15 at the door. Fluvanna SPCA, Fluvanna Do-It-Best Hardware, 4 PAWS SPCA thrift store, Happy Tails, Video at the Lake and the Dog & Horse Lovers Boutique in Charlottesville have tickets available. All proceeds from the event will go directly to caring for the animals, Kirchner said.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Nail It

Habitat for Humanity-Greater Charlottesville holds the next Women With Nails workshop on Aug. 27 from 6:30-9 p.m. This FREE workshop will be the last one for the summer and will include numerous demonstrations on small electrical and lighting projects:
How to Rewire a Lamp
How to Change an Outlet and Switch
How to Install an Overhead Light or Wall Sconce (wish I had taken such a course before paying to have a chandelier hung in the foyer that I discovered at a great price at an auction)

These topics are extremely useful for us do-it-yourself ladies, plus the knowledge could save you money. Save the big jobs for the contractors and learn how to tackle the smaller stuff yourself!

Arrive early, though, so you’re assured a seat. Take a few minutes to shop around the Habitat Store, selling new and salvaged building materials to the public at discounted prices. The goal, according to Habitat for Humanity, is to “educate more women, both homeowners and renters, about their own home maintenance.“ BUT, just because you lack the additional X chromosome does not mean you’re excluded. “Guys are welcome, too!“ Habitat notes.

Can’t make this workshop? There will be a half-day Women With Nails event so save the date: Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which will include lectures, demonstrations, information tables and fun. The focus will be on getting your home ready for fall and winter!

The Women With Nails workshops are held at the Habitat Store, 1221 Harris St. in Charlottesville. Call Carla at (434) 293-6331 or email carla(at)cvillehabitatstore.org. More information about volunteering for the store, or new merchandise, as well as about the Women With Nails program, can be found on the website: http://www.cvillehabitatstore.org. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Our fall issue hits the street Aug. 12!

Summer is almost over! I know it doesn’t feel like it with the thermometer edging close to 100 degrees, but it’s true. Students in our region will head back to school in the next two weeks and Labor Day is around the corner—the official marker that summer has passed. With fall closing in, we at Charlottesville Woman scoured the region to find the best ideas for you, including handmade jewelry, new hours at Focus Flea, Anthropolgie opening and LONDONS Bathecary expanding into Barracks Road.
Social networking has hit the news recently (we shared your frustration when Twitter was shut down the past week), but it’s something Charlottesville Airport Director Barbara Hutchinson has utilized for awhile now. This intriguing Charlottesville woman worked her way up from an assistant to the highest position in the airport—with a first-row seat to the numerous changes the airport has gone through and plans to go through. Pick up the magazine and find out more about her, as well as ideas for how to sync yourself to your family, utilize social media correctly, nutriously nosh at work and get trim through adult ballet classes.
Don’t forget we want to hear from you—send ideas for stories, calendar events, snapshots of goings-on, and general feedback to cwmag(at)dailyprogress.com! Follow us on Twitter, too, @cwmag.

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