NPOTM: Hand in Hand Ministries

One of the many things I love about Louisvillagers is their willingness to come together and share ideas. The idea for Non-Profit of the Month sprang from a conversation I had during a lunch with the lovely and talented Robyn Sekula in late May. So next time you see her, thank her.

Each month for the foreseeable future, My Loueyville will feature an ad and promoted content from a non-profit that I believe in and want to celebrate. On the website, you'll see a prominent ad and throughout the month, the blog will feature guest posts, contests, and/or special posts related to that non-profit.

When Robyn Sekula approached me with an idea for a new Non-Profit of the Month, I pretty much had to say "yes." This whole thing was her idea, after all.


But bless her for "getting" me and this blog and the kinds of stuff that I am happy to throw my support into. In fact, her initial email about this group included this disclaimer: "This is a NON-PROSTHELYIZING organization. They send teams of college students and adults to these countries, and it’s amazing the stories they bring back to us."


Well, alright then. That's good enough for me.

Here's how Robyn explains Hand in Hand Ministries:

Hand in Hand Ministries is a Louisville, Ky.-based international service organization that works to share life’s essentials, including shelter, medical care and educational opportunities, with the world’s poor. We do this by leading groups of volunteers living in the United States and Canada on immersion trips to Appalachia, Belize and Nicaragua. Immersion trip teams are made up of individual volunteers, or groups from universities, high schools, or churches. Most groups work side by side with local people to build or repair homes. Others provide medical, or educational assistance, depending on the skills of those on the trip. An important part of each trip is to immerse the volunteers in the culture of each region and to encourage year-round support of our educational and medical programs. It is our hope that our volunteers will return home and become better for the experience while working to build a more just world. In all that we do, we seek to build community.

Next week is one of Hand in Hand's biggest events. The Legacy Breakfast is on Nov. 13 at 7:30 a.m. (registration at 7 a.m.) at the Olmstead. This is the ninth annual event and it is free and open to the public and up to 400 people are expected.


Here's how the news release describes the Legacy Breakfast: "The event will feature two speakers. An 11-year-old boy named Mauro from Nicaragua will speak, along with two young men from Appalachia who plan to further their education after volunteers helped them with their home this past summer."


Unfortunately, I dropped the ball a bit, what with being so busy lately... you have to RSVP TODAY to attend the event. 

To make a reservation, call Hand in Hand at (502) 459-9930 or visit the web site, www.myhandinhand.org, and make a reservation through the link on the home page.

Do it. Go and learn more about this incredible program. 

Thanks to Robyn for bringing this to my attention. And my apologies for not getting this information out there soon enough.

Thursday Randomness: What have I been up to?

Is it the middle of October already? My goodness. Time really flies when you're having fun.

And, gentle readers, I am having so much fun these days!

Sure, money is way tight, and I am still struggling with what to do about my lack of insurance. But if you zapped those two stressors from my life (anyone? anyone?), I'd be fool happy.

I'm totally crazy about my new freelancing life. I have the best readers (that's YOU!). My friends never cease to amaze me. And The Guy and I just passed the one year of dating mark, and I couldn't be more in love.

So, what else have I been up to? 

• Tomorrow marks the end of my second week of employment at Insider Louisville. Depending on who you talk to, I'm either the "Deputy Director of Content" or the "Associate Managing Editor." I'm not really hung up on titles; whatever you want to call me, I'm having a hell of a good time. I've been helping out around the joint, writing 2-5 articles a day, working on vetting freelancers and much more. We're still moving into our new office in NuLu, and every morning when I drive to work I have to pinch myself. Ever since my job hunt began, I've had a superficial goal of either working downtown or in NuLu, and here I am with my own desk, an endless supply of good coffee, and a job that I can't wait to go to when I wake up. My bosses respect me. I feel like I add a lot to the organization. And I'm getting paid to do cool stuff and write about it. My fingers and toes are crossed that this turns into a full-time gig with benefits someday soon. (And my fingers and toes are crossed that I continue to be this happy with this job).
• For the past six weeks or so, I've been working part time as a "Twitter Specialist" for 520 East Brands. Shane is a dream to work for, and I'm thrilled to be the "twitter voice" for many beloved local and national brands. I knew one day my Twitter addiction would pay off!
• Chipman Creative was hired two months ago to "ghost blog" for local real estate agent, WordCamp maestro, and fellow Start-Up Weekend attendee, Scott Hack. We did the true "ghost" thing for a little while, but over the past few weeks, we've started to put my name on the posts. So if you're looking for more of my posts, follow Scott's blog. And obviously, if you have any real estate needs, you should contact Finish Line Realty. Scott is awesome.
• Last Saturday, my Louisville, Not Kentucky co-host Linda and I worked a booth at the Flea off Market. We signed people up for our mailing list and interviewed people for Episode 7 and beyond. We met lots of listeners and even got to interview the Mayor. It was a beautiful day, and we're looking forward to doing it again in November.
• Tuesday, a group of Loueyville readers and friends volunteered to answer phones at the NPOTM, Louisville Public Media fund drive. Thanks to Kara, Dawn, Bethany, Stephanie, Stephen, Ashlee, and Linda for coming along. We ate lots of pizza and talked to some great LPM supporters on the phone.

So now, besides this blog, my twitter, my facebook, and my pinterest, you can now catch me on Insider Louisville, the Finish Line Realty blog, Louisville Not Kentucky, and as the voice of brands you know and love on Twitter. 

Hope you all have had an excellent fall so far! Thank you for your support!

Bonus Moth StorySLAM in October!

One of the best things that I do every month is volunteer at The Moth StorySLAM on the last Tuesday of every month at Headliners. My dear friend, Tara Anderson, is the producer and has allowed me to basically become the "permanent volunteer" for the event (I actually have it listed on my resume, that's how hardcore of a Moth fan I am).

This month you have TWO chances to check out The Moth StorySlam-- at its regular date and time AND in conjunction with the current exhibit at the Kentucky Museum of Art & Craft (KMAC) called "Storytelling as Craft."

The event is on Thursday, October 18 at 8pm (doors at 7pm). It's free for KMAC members or $8 for the general public. Awesome Louisvillager, Gabe Bullard, will be hosting.

According to the press release: 

The Theme for this evening is: MUSE. Throughout history, artists have been inspired by influential individuals in their lives, motivating them to create their best work. Now it's your turn. What is your interpretation of this word and more importantly - how will you TELL it? This is an open-mic event where anybody can sign up to tell a story. Between 7 and 8pm, place your name in the hat and 10 storytellers will be chosen at random to present on the stage. Three teams of judges will also be randomly chosen from the audience. They will give each story a score and help determine the winner at the end of the night. Storytelling tips are available on The Moth's website: themoth.org/tell-a-story/storytelling-tips. Event information can also be found on KMAC's Facebook page.

I assume I will be there "taking stories" like I normally do.  Stop by and say hi!

And no. I am too much of a wimp to get up on stage and tell a story myself. I gave a speech at the LFPL a while back and truly, TRULY thought I was dying of a heart attack halfway through. If the theme is ever "superheroes" then maybe... MAYBE... I'll tell a story. Maybe.

Don't forget Louisville Public Media is the NOPTM this month!

NPOTM: Louisville Public Media

One of the many things I love about Louisvillagers is their willingness to come together and share ideas. The idea for Non-Profit of the Month sprang from a conversation I had during a lunch with the lovely and talented Robyn Sekula in late May. So next time you see her, thank her.

Each month for the foreseeable future, My Loueyville will feature an ad and promoted content from a non-profit that I believe in and want to celebrate. On the website, you'll see a prominent ad and throughout the month, the blog will feature guest posts, contests, and/or special posts related to that non-profit.

When I was weighing my move to Louisville, I made a pro/con list. The "con" side of the list consisted of mostly ill-informed stereotypes like "1) It's in Kentucky" (hence the name of the podcast I co-host).

The pro list looked like this:

1) Bourbon
2) Bluegrass music
3) Great Public Radio

Again, still ill-informed... I got a healthy dose of Bluegrass music when I lived in Knoxville, TN for a summer with WDVX. I just assumed I would get even more in, you know, the Bluegrass State.

But I came to Louisville Public Media before I even moved here. Before I visited for the first time, I googled Louisville Public Radio to make a mental note of the channel just in case I decided to rent a car. I was floored to discover that there was not just one station but three.

New Orleans has some damned good public radio, but what always bummed me out was that there were so few options when it came to talk programming. We had "Car Talk" and "Wait Wait" and "A Prairie Home." The standard news programs of course. But-- if I remember correctly-- only classical music from 9am til 4pm and from 7pm on. And all day on Sunday.

I did a happy dance at my computer when I brought up WFPL's programming. And that was before the programming got as awesome as it is now. So. Much. Talk.

And you may think that my "pro" list is silly or tongue-in-cheek, but as Kai Ryssdal is my witness, the quality public radio in Louisville was a very big reason why I decided to take the plunge and move here.

I'm super-excited to be going to see Stephen Tobolowsky this Friday at the Kentucky Center. If you aren't listening to the "Tobolowsky Files" on WFPL at 9pm on Thursdays or on his podcast, you're missing something special.  But it was the final lines of his bio that made me swell with love for our Louisville Public Radio.

His bio concludes: "He currently performs his stories on “The Tobolowsky Files” at Slashfilm.com and on iTunes. They are also broadcast weekly on radio in Seattle, Louisville, and Austin. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons."

Right? His brilliant show is only on three stations... and Louisville's WFPL is one of them.

It's pledge drive month. So October is the perfect month to make Louisville Public Media my Non-Profit of the Month.

Here's my standard pledge drive spiel:

It's that time again, Louisvillagers.

Louisville Public Media is gearing up for their fund drive in a couple of weeks. During the past few fund drives, online personalities have repeatedly said, "Give what you can. Give what Louisville Public Media is worth to you." 

I've realized I really can't afford to give what WFPL and WFPK are worth to me. They are the only radio stations I listen to. WFPL is the source of all my non-online news (and the source of much of my online news as well through their blog). I live in a very NPR world. I probably should pledge 10 times what I actually do in order to really "pay back" what WFPL and WFPK give to my life.

But I can't.

So I volunteer to answer phones. Give a little human capital to the pledge drive. And it is a ton of fun. 

So this fund drive I'm putting a little group of Readers of Loueyville together to volunteer to answer phones at the fund drive. If you're interested in joining us, please drop me an email at Lou (at) Loueyville.com. Our block of time is from 6pm until 9pm on October 16. 

If you're reading this blog, you probably listen to one of our public radio stations. So I hope you consider giving back. 

 If you can't join us, volunteer to answer phones on your own. Email: kwilkinson@louisvillepublicmedia.org for details. 

You can also pledge in advance . Just click the link or call 502-814-6565.

GUEST POST: Kyle Ware on the Hows of Le Petomane

As with previous Non-Profits of the Month, My Loueyville is proud to feature a guest post from one of the members of this month's NPOTM-- Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble. 

Kyle Ware is a Louisvlle-based actor, artist, and educator. He is a co-Producing, Founding Artistic Director of Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble; serves as Executive Director for Tourism Honors Academy, an academic leadership program for high school seniors in Louisville; and is a freelance artist, illustrator, and designer. 

If I were a betting man—which I’m not, but if I were, and you asked me—I’d wager our most frequently asked questions here at Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble Headquarters fall somewhere in the category of “how do you do that?” with the “that” in question most often being a production of WhateverWe’veJustMadeUp.  To that point, it’s one of the things Melissa Lou suggested I talk about for this very post.  Sometimes the question is “Why would you do that?” depending on the show, but that’s another matter entirely.  And the “how” is actually easier than the “why” anyway, which I’m happy to share with you here.  For your consideration: How to Build a Show Like Le Petomane in 3 Easy Steps:

Step 1: Find somewhat like-minded friends, with enough variation in background and skills to make things interesting. 

Step 2: Set a performance date.

Step 3: Play with aforementioned friends until performance date arrives.

Now, to be fair, I may have glossed over a few things.  Step 2, for instance, can be tricky in Louisville, where performance spaces are tough to come by and hotly contested by the bevy of quality theatre groups in town.  For our current show, TIME FLIES, we’ll be back at The Bard’s Town (1801 Bardstown Rd).  This will be our fourth show there, and I don’t mind telling you, Scot and Doug are good people and very supportive of the arts community across the board.  We’ve been fortunate there: Ken and Sheila Pyle at the Rud, the good people at the Speed and their Art After Dark series, the producers of Actors Theatre’s now-defunct, sorely missed Late Seating, and on and on.  All great people.  We’ve been lucky.  And to the scarcity issue I mentioned before, there is good news on that front: a promising new space, Vault 1031, which should open in the neighborhood of soon.  Vault 1031 has been our base of operations for our last week of TIME FLIES rehearsal, and Jon and Barb have some exciting things in store for all of us.

Step 3 is a little more involved and changes with each show.  Some shows may require more research; others may need to gestate in a room consisting of various combinations of the six of us and seeing what happens by the end of the night.  Some are heavily scripted; others closed years ago and still don’t have a full script.  All of that is dictated by just a few factors: what’s the show about, what’s it need, and who’s available to do it?

For TIME FLIES—September 6-16, every night but Tuesday, all shows: 7:30—it was a combination of heavy research and attempting to make each other laugh while in the room together while fashioning all of that into a story statement with a dramatic structure, such that it is.  We travelled to different art museums for inspiration; we discussed the history of time; eras of civilization; what it means to have lived and be alive; who celebrates our first step onto the world’s stage and who will remember us past our final bow.  We scrawled our notes and discussion points on a giant roll of paper, with dates and facts and figures alongside characters, scenes, and ideas yet unformed.  Most of that won’t make it to stage, by the way, but all of it informs “play,” and that’s what you’re paying your $8-20 sliding scale (call  609-2520 or us@lepetomane.org for reservations) to see.  

And here’s the thing about Step 2: it only really works with due diligence and care on Step 1.  Step 1 is the one that makes the show what it is.  If the show is your recipe, Step 1 is your list of ingredients.  The way we work, that means your writers, directors, designers, costumers, choreographers, composers, producers, as well as your singers, dancers, and actors:  you drop one out or add one in, you get something a little bit different.  And you’re going to need people you respect.  People whose work you enjoy and admire.  People you know will work with the same dedication and passion that you have.  People with whom you may have disagreement of taste or aesthetic from time to time, but never of their motivation to produce the best work possible.  People you like spending time with long past any reasonable expectation, because you’ll see them more than anyone else.  Friends.  You do that?  You’re golden.  

There was a great article with our pals over at Theatre [502] in The Paper (shouts to all), in which they talk about much of this.  “How do you work with three Artistic Directors?”  “Well, we all like and respect each other…” seemed to be the sum up.  To which we say a collective, “Yep.”

We came together back in 2005 for one show, a 6-person adaptation of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, brilliantly and beautifully cut by our own Greg Maupin.  A mutual professional friend asked what we would be doing next, and well, there was no next—that was to be it for us.  She paused for a while, looked up and asked, simply, “Why not?”

We didn’t really have a good answer for that. 

And so we stayed, the six of us. More family now than company (helped along by two-thirds of us being married to each other already).  Or a theatre gang, which may be about the least threatening thing this side of West Side Story or the backup dancers in “Beat It.” (“Officer!  There’s a group of people doing high kicks and a box step.  With a knife!”) That’s what I think we’ve cultivated over the years.  And I think ultimately, that’s what you see when you come to a Le Petomane show. 

Not coincidentally, there happens to be a way for you to see for yourself.  Our season opener, in case I haven’t said, is just around the corner: TIME FLIES, at The Bard’s Town (1801 Bardstown Rd), September 6-16, all shows: 7:30.  

Non-Profit of the Month: Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble

One of the many things I love about Louisvillagers is their willingness to come together and share ideas. The idea for Non-Profit of the Month sprang from a conversation I had during a lunch with the lovely and talented Robyn Sekula in late May. So next time you see her, thank her.

Each month for the foreseeable future, My Loueyville will feature an ad and promoted content from a non-profit that I believe in and want to celebrate. On the website, you'll see a prominent ad and throughout the month, the blog will feature guest posts, contests, and/or special posts related to that non-profit.

I will neither confirm nor deny that I saw Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble's A DERBY CAROL five or six times.

It was just that every time a friend or friends said that they were going, I wanted to go with them. Not just because I loved that show that much, but because I wanted to see my friends' faces when they caught certain jokes and to see how they reacted to this surprise or that. Most of my friends were, at the time, Le Petomane newbies-- I wanted to watch them become Le Petomane converts. It only takes one show.

Am I a superfan? A groupie? Am I a stalker?

Yes. Yes. And if so, I need a better disguise because they recognize me all the time.

The first article I ever wrote for The Paper was about Le Petomane and their production of 5 THINGS. It's still my favorite article. I had such a good time watching them rehearse. I had so much fun figuring out how to best represent their unusual process in the article. And it was that article that introduced me to Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble-- I was a newbie then myself--  which I now know is one of the most consistently excellent theatre organizations in town-- if not THE most consistently excellent.

But, you know, I can't help it if part of the reason that I like them so much is that I like them so much as people.

And that's also why I'm so happy that Le Petomane applied to be this month's Non-Profit of the Month.

The 2012-2013 Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble season opens on September 6 at the Bard's Town theatre with TIME FLIES. Here's what their Facebook page says about it:

... and boy, are their arms tired. Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble returns to the Bard's Town for their season opener, Time Flies, September 6-16. Four weary travelers race through time from beginning to end, from the prehistoric muck to the great beyond, with a few layovers along the way. Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble proudly presents a comedic exploration of the Annals of Time through song, dance, and bare-knuckle boxing.

Le Petomane has six members, and each show features different combinations of these performers. This show is being brought to you by the same foursome who performed in last season's ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: Heather Burns, Tony Dingman, Kristie Rolape, and Kyle Ware.

TIME FLIES hits the stage September 6-10 and September 12-16. All shows are at 730p, and admission is by sliding scale from $8-$20. Heck, $8 is cheaper than a movie, and I'll vouch that the Bard's Town bar makes a dandy and reasonably priced Manhattan.

As I said, last time I went to a Le Petomane show, I ended up going five or six times... and that was because I brought friends who loved it so much they told more friends, and more friends, and so on. A Le Petomane show is pretty much a sure bet.

The second show of the season will be a relaunch of 5 THINGS in November, a show which ranks right up there with Actors Theatre's CHAD DEITY as one of the best things on stage in the 2011-2012 season.

Le Petomane only does comedy and almost always does wholly original comedy (they'll slip in a Shakespeare now and again). That means that every member of the six-member ensemble is a writer, a director, and a performer. TIME FLIES was built from the ground up by Burns, Dingman, Rolape, and Ware-- script, music, lyrics, choreography and all.

Reserve tickets at: us@lepetomane.org or by calling 503-454-4477. Here's their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LePetomaneTE

Guest Post: Adam Price on Family Scholar House

Guest Blogger: Adam Price

Adam Price (@wapaytick) is a Grant Management Accountant at the University of Louisville who is active with several area civic groups and an incoming member of the Fund for the Arts NeXt! Leadership Development Institute. He lives in the Beechmont neighborhood with his wife Melissa and their two dogs Maya and Louie.

It’s the summer of 2011, and I’m a finance staffer in a local affordable housing agency about to attend a meeting with a non-profit I’ve never heard of called Family Scholar House. 

As Cathe Dykstra, CEO of Family Scholar House, walks in and begins her “sales pitch” it becomes clear she’s dynamic, energetic, and believes in what she’s “selling.” Only she’s not actually selling a product or service; she’s selling Family Scholar House as a way to elevate families out of poverty through education.

As odd as it sounds, since I’m married without kids, I identified with her stories of parents balancing the demands of education against the demands of raising children. Like Lou, there was a night when my mother went to bed with a husband and woke up the single parent of two children. She tried her hardest, but wasn’t able to finish college. I was also a non-traditional student, the result of an indulgent period majoring in music and the resulting three-year “semester” I took off once I realized I couldn’t support myself playing tuba. I waited tables, sometimes 50+ hours a week, throughout my education and became the first person in my family to graduate from college.  As hard as that was, I can’t imagine how hard raising children at the same time would have been.

Within fifteen minutes of Cathe beginning to speak, I go from bored to interested to excited to suddenly realizing I want to speak up in support of HER argument. The partnership between the agency and FSH never materialized, and soon I transitioned to the next phase of my career at the University of Louisville. When I heard a FSH radio PSA asking for male volunteers, I jumped at the chance.  Since then, I’ve attended mentoring sessions, donated gifts at Christmas and Easter, and arranged what felt like hundreds of pieces of patio furniture in advance of the grand opening of one of their residence halls.  Most recently, I volunteered at Field Day, playing football and spending time with the children of program participants. I always feel like I’ve gained more than I’ve given. 

This summer has driven home that our community faces serious issues and many have mistaken complaining about those issues for working to solve them. I’ve lived my entire life in this city, and I unabashedly love it. When I heard that PSA, and remembered how excited I was listening to Cathe articulate her vision, I decided I want to be part of the solution.  Wendell Berry once wrote, “A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other's lives. It is the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, (and) their trust in each other.” 

From day one everybody at FSH has articulated that the size or scope of your involvement as a volunteer is less important than the signal it sends to participants that they are part of a broader community. Their website is attached to Lou’s post, and can be accessed by clicking the ad on this page. There are too many opportunities to become involved to list here, suffice to say they come in all sizes and many of them are fun and rewarding. Please, join me in signaling to these parents that they are part of a true community. One that isn’t perfect, but cares about their success and the success of their children, and will work to help and embrace them. I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Tiny Review: Gruesome Playground Injuries

It's always a bit of a crapshoot when, as a blogger, you choose to throw your support behind (ie. write a post/several posts about) something you haven't experienced yet.

I knew it wouldn't be a mistake to make Theatre [502] July's Non-Profit of the Month-- in fact, I approached them. Every production of theirs that I've seen has been amazing. Gil and Mike and Amy are inspiring. They cast stellar actors and choose complicated and literary scripts.

But, I have to be honest, I spent all month promoting their production of GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES... and I worried a little. What if it was their first dud?

I'm so happy to report that I saw the play on opening night... and was floored.  It was SO good. Leah Roberts and Mike Brooks were perfectly cast. I've seen Leah in a bunch of plays, but in GRUESOME, she outdid herself. I laughed, I cried. Gil Reyes, the director, elevated an already poignant script with his staging.

The story tracks Kayleen and Doug from age 8 to age 38-- non-chronologically-- through their various injuries and illnesses and disorders. A two-person play is so hard to carry off, but a play with this much pain and drama... I'm stunned at how measured these performances were. Brooks and Roberts perform 95% of their transformations from age to age onstage-- stripping off clothes, applying stage make-up-- in under 60-second, perfectly soundtracked (kudos, Scott Anthony) vignettes. Reyes milked so much character out of a simple "costume changes should occur on stage" stage direction... sweet and gorgeous and brilliant.

There are three more shows. Don't miss it! Tonight (August 6) and Friday & Saturday, August 10 & 11. All at 8p at the Victor Jory Theatre at Actors Theatre. Reserve tickets here-- opening night was nearly a sell-out; I'm sure it will get nothing but busier.

Non-Profit of the Month: Family Scholars House

One of the many things I love about Louisvillagers is their willingness to come together and share ideas. The idea for Non-Profit of the Month sprang from a conversation I had during a lunch with the lovely and talented Robyn Sekula in late May. So next time you see her, thank her.


Each month for the foreseeable future, My Loueyville will feature an ad and promoted content from a non-profit that I believe in and want to celebrate.  On the website, you'll see a prominent ad and throughout the month, the blog will feature guest posts, contests, and/or special posts related to that non-profit.

I am so pleased to announce that this month's Non-Profit of the Month (NPOTM) is a cause that's near and dear to my heart. Mama Lou dropped out of college when she decided to marry my dad. From all accounts, she was kind of a wild child anyway, and maybe wasn't making the most of her tuition dollars. But when my dad passed away just a few years later, Mama Lou suddenly found herself looking to support herself and me with only a half of a BA to show to employers.

We were super lucky. We lived in New England just a couple towns over from my dad's family-- a huge, extended family: half Portuguese, half Mayflower descendants. Everyone truly believed that "it takes a village" to raise a child, and so everyone-- grandparents, uncles, aunts, great-aunts, cousins-once-removed-- helped us however they could.

I still remember the day that Mama Lou finished up her degree at Salem State College. She took her final final exam, we hopped in the car, and we drove to Florida for vacation. When I say that I was amazed by this woman, that she was my hero, I'm saying that Lorelei and Rory (at least until the last season and a half) had nothing on us. (Clicky the click if you need the reference.)

I'd venture to say that most single parents don't have such a good support system (and I would never, ever say that Mama Lou had it easy by any means... she just had help).

But what if you're a single mom or a single dad without a village? What if not having a college degree is keeping you from supporting your children in the way that you'd like to?

That's where Family Scholar House comes in.

And that's where we come in too.

Adam Price (@wapaytick on Twitter), who volunteers for FSH, nominated them for NPOTM and will be joining us later in the month for a guest post. But I'll let his nomination letter explain the FSH program:

Family Scholar House is a unique and extremely effective program that helps break the cycle of poverty. They provide numerous types of support, including housing, to single parents while they complete their college education. This not only helps the parents find the path to sustainability, but also instills a value for education and hard work in their children. They celebrate the academic achievements of both parents and their children. Of late they've added some Fathers to the program, though participants are primarily Mothers. They operate 3 residential sites, two near UofL and one close to Spalding University...

Another unique thing about FSH is the way they choose program participants. They have a very long waiting list, but rather than select the first name off of that list for housing support, they focus on those who have been active and attended workshops with topics ranging from cooking to academic tutoring. In short, they select people who have exhibited commitment and desire to tackle the enormous challenge of raising children and attending college full time in order to make sure there limited resources are utilized to their full potential.

Until August 10, you can help support FSH by dropping off school supplies for the coming school year (for both parents and kids!) at any branch of the First Capital Bank of Kentucky. Here's a list of things that they need to Help Pack a Backpack.

That's just a quick and easy way for you to get involved and help support these scholars. Throughout the month, I'll be posting other ways to get involved. Their website offers lots of opportunities to volunteer, provide childcare, tutor, or support the organization financially.

Thank you so much to Adam for nominating FSH. The ad for FSH will be up all month on My Loueyville.

Thanks too to Theatre [502] to be the first non-profit to try the NPOTM experience. And thanks to all of you who have nominated... we are, as of today, booked through the end of the year!! For information on how to nominate a NOPTM, visit this link.

Guest Post: Gil Reyes Reports on Gruesome Playground Injuries

Gil Reyes, who wrote this post, is one of the founders of Theatre [502]. We here at My Loueyville thank him and the group for being our first Non-Profit of the Month. Can't wait to see this play-- xo Lou.


Now here's Gil:

When staring at a stack of recent and relevant plays, it’s easy to decide to read the one titled Gruesome Playground Injuries first, but impossible to know that it would be the one that stayed with you the longest. It’s everything you want from the title and a whole bunch of wonderful unexpectedness too.

Yes, as a Co-Artistic Director for Theatre [502] I want to entice you to spend an hour and a half with me in early August. I want to show you eight pivotal, intimate (and possibly gruesome) moments in the lives of Kayleen and Doug, as they made their ways from the day they met on at age 8 to the day they met at age 38. But as Gil Reyes, who remembers the first time he read [end of play] and put Gruesome Playground Injuries down - I don’t want to give too much away.

So below is what I hope will be a treat for Melissa’s loyal followers and [502]’s soon to be audience: insight and foreshadowing in the form of a fictional school report card. As with theatre, you have to suspend your disbelief a bit, since a) no school would issue one progress report to two individuals and b) no school would allow the drama teacher to substitute teach science.

English: Unfortunately Kayleen will have an incomplete until she turns in this semester’s term paper. Despite being able to draw from any number of the readings, including Romeo and Juliet, The Four Loves, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and The Scarlet Letter, Kayleen insists that the broad subject of “Love” is unworthy of a 20-page paper. It’s a shame, as she received high marks in participation for the first time this year reading scenes from A Streetcar Named Desire in class for extra credit.

Phys Ed: While I cannot penalize Kayleen for being excused from the semester by her doctor, I can’t say that avoiding physical activity altogether is healthy. Still, it’s better than sitting on the sidelines all semester because of a snow cone-related concussion.

History: Doug has an exceptional memory for historical events, even recalling details from outside sources, but seems at a loss when asked to place them in the proper timeline. Have you had Doug properly examined after the head injury he suffered shaving ice at the spring carnival? Or perhaps tested for ADD?

Science: I’ve been thinking of Kayleen and Doug as two atoms in one volatile molecule. As celestial bodies in dangerously concurrent orbits. They are powerfully equal. Constantly in motion. Inexorably linked. Their existence requires balance. Their future requires timing. Their story demands attention.

If you want to know how these two crazy kids end up, you’re just going to have to come by the Victor Jory Theatre at ATL August 3, 4, 6, 10, and 11 at 8pm and catch a performance of Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph. We keep our tickets at a reasonable $15 and we welcome community engagement in the form of memberships. Check out the website for details: www.theatre502.org

New Feature: Non-Profit of the Month

One of the many things I love about Louisvillagers is their willingness to come together and share ideas. The idea for Non-Profit of the Month sprang from a conversation I had during a lunch with the lovely and talented Robyn Sekula in late May. So next time you see her, thank her.

Each month for the foreseeable future, My Loueyville will feature an ad and promoted content from a non-profit that I believe in and want to celebrate.  On the website, you'll see a prominent ad and throughout the month, the blog will feature guest posts, contests, and/or special posts related to that non-profit.

I'm so excited that our first Non-Profit of the Month is Theatre [502]. I love these people, and I admire what they're doing for the Louisville theatre scene.  Keep your eyes out over the next couple of days for a post about why I asked Theatre [502] to be my first Non-Profit of the month. We'll also have guest posts from people involved in their upcoming play, Gruesome Playground Injuries, and ticket giveaways for that show.

Do you work for or have a favorite LOCAL non-profit that you'd like to nominate for Non-Profit of the Month? Send me a brief email (this isn't an essay contest) at lou@loueyville.com telling me why your non-profit should be featured and giving me a couple of ideas of blog posts I could write about that non-profit over the course of the month.

I'm really excited about this series, and I'm so happy to have Theatre [502] on board!

{LOL, I just Googled NPOTM (Non-Profit of the Month) to make sure it wasn't dirty or anything-- you have to do that these days!!-- and it's already the acronym for a fairly popular blog called Nail Polish of the Month. I guess we can share.}