UPDATED: Public radio plea: Volunteer during the pledge drive and we'll feed you well with GRIND

UPDATE: By 4 p.m. today, 10 people had signed up to volunteer. That's more than we actually need. But the more the merrier, right? Thank you so much for being so totally awesome, folks. I can't accept any more volunteers, but I encourage you to pledge online or call 502-814-6565 and pledge starting next Monday. It would be especially awesome if you called on Thursday, April 11 between 6-9 p.m. to make your pledge with one of our wonderful volunteers! Be well... Melissa

It's public radio pledge time again. And once again, I've secured a block of time for Loueyville readers and friends to answer phones and sign up new pledges with WFPL.  This is our fourth time manning the phones; every time has been more fun than the last. Again, rather than reinventing the wheel, I'm posting an old plea for contributors:

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."

[Several fund drives ago],  I 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 last [3 fund drives ago], I volunteered. Gave a little human capital to the pledge drive. And it was a ton of fun. And it would have been more fun if I'd been with friends.
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. 

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 and be eligible for a drawing for a 13" MacBook Air. Just click the link or call 502-814-6565.

We'll be manning the phones on Apr. 11 from 6 p.m until 9 p.m. The free dinner supplier that night is the Grind Burger truck. Yes, I planned our volunteering block with the food source in mind.  

Would you like to join us? Email lou@loueyville.com.

Cats & Musicals & Angels for No Kill Louisville

Editor's note: Because I have been working so hard at Insider Louisville, it's been a while since I let my freak flag fly on my own blog (not that I don't let my freak flag fly at IL-- bless their hearts for employing me anyway). So you get an extra helping of Lou here in this post. If you're only interested in the facts, skip down to the italicized bits. Lo siento mucho. I'll try to do better with moderation. -- Lou

Sometimes you just have to own your shortcomings.

Here's one that I'm willing to own: Sometimes (*cough* too often), I make up my mind about something based on what will later prove to be less-than-sufficient evidence. And I can be... well, a little recalcitrant about my opinions.

Exhibit A: musicals.

Ever since high school I have claimed to hate musicals. In retrospect, this may have been a case of sour grapes. I can't sing worth a damn. It's so bad, in fact, that Mama Lou would sometimes shush me when I was singing in the car (unless I was doing my spot-on imitation of Willie Nelson. Or Julio Iglesias. No joke, I can do both parts of "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," and you'd think that Willie and Julio were right there in the room with you... I never said I wasn't talented.).

I could dance, though. So I was always cast in the musicals in the silent dancing role. But I never got to sing unless I was deep, deep in the chorus.

(Oh goodness, sudden childhood trauma flashback: practicing for my first communion, I was asked by one of my classmates to just mouth the words of the hymn because I was throwing her off!)

But thanks to the good people at Broadway Across America here in Louisville, I've gotten over my "I hate musicals" prejudice. Sure, some of them still grate (I'm looking at you, WICKED), but I have been utterly delighted by the most surprising of musicals. LEGALLY BLONDE? So charming! JERSEY BOYS (now through Dec 2 at the Kentucky Center)? I'm not even keen on Frankie Valli's music and I loved it!

Opinion changed. You live, you learn.

Exhibit B: cats

This is a lighthearted post, so I'm not going to trace this back to very dark roots. Suffice to say that I have experienced two cat deaths that shook me so deeply that I convinced myself that I didn't like cats at all.

But I've been dating a cat person (actually an animal person, in general) for a little more than a year. And I've gotten to know his two beloved felines. And after months of practiced indifference I find myself deep in the thrall of kitty love. I talk to them all of the time-- even when The Guy isn't around. I am comforted when they cuddle with me at night. I am, I admit, a bit jealous when we both call for the cats and they inevitable choose to jump up on his side of the couch.

Do I love cats? I don't know. But I love these cats.

Opinion changed. You live, you learn.

Sorry to be Chatty Cathy there... sometimes I just get on a tangent.

Anyway, off to the point of the post:

No Kill Louisville is organizing it's 3rd annual Pet Angel Tree. 17 area businesses are hosting trees and serving as drop-off spots for donations for 17 area pet shelters. Each tree is decorated with tags representing wish-list items for the shelter. Take a tag, purchase something for the shelter, and drop off the gift where you picked up the tag.

It's so simple to do, and the needs, too, are very basic.

From the NLK news release:

Pet lovers can find a listing of the businesses taking part at nokill-louisville.com. Wish lists for each of the 17 area shelters and rescues in the program are also located on the site.  This year-end effort seeks to help thousands of abandoned and abused animals by providing needed supplies to area shelters and rescues. During our first year, No Kill Louisville’s Pet Angel Tree project collected more than $15,000 in food, equipment and other materials - all for local rescues and shelters.

This year’s list of rescues and shelters has expanded and includes (in alphabetical order): Alley Cat Advocates, Barktown Rescue, Furever Friends Rescue & Transport, GRRAND, Humane Society of Oldham County, J.B. Ogle Animal Shelter, Kentucky Humane Society,Kentuckiana Pug Rescue, Louisville Metro Animal Services, New Albany-Floyd County Animal Shelter, New Spirit 4 Aussie Rescue, No Kill Louisville (general and foster family needs), No Kill Louisville Pet Food Bank, Second Chances Wildlife Rescue, Shamrock Arrow Fund, Shamrock Foundation, Shelby County No Kill Mission, and Woodstock Animal Foundation.
 

Items needed for the upcoming year include but are not limited to cat or dog treats, paper towels, bleach, Ziploc bags, pens, peanut butter, dish soap, dog or cat food, gently used sheets and blankets, dog or cat collars, leashes, and much more.  For a full wish list, go to nokill-louisville.com/pet-angel-trees. 

Those who want to help can also choose to pick up a tag from a Pet Angel Tree at one of the following locations which also serve as the donation drop-off points (also listed in our website at the above address):

• Anchorage Animal Hospital
• Carmichael's Bookstore - Frankfort Avenuve location
• Dirty Tease
• Hair Lingo
• Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Deli
• Highland Coffee Company
• Jefferson Animal Hospital - two locations - Fern Creek & Okolona
• Kaleidoscope Hair Salon
• Moments Photography
• Office Supply in Jeffersonville
• Preston Animal Hospital
• Perkfections Cafe
• Shine
• Sonoma Cafe
• Tracy L. Carson - therapist's office

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.

Guest Blogger: Gabe Bullard on WFPL & Louisville Public Media

Gabe Bullard is the Director of News and Editorial Strategy at WFPL and a dear friend.

In the final hour of this fall's membership drive, I said something silly about my coworkers. I called us "true believers," like I was Stan Lee introducing a new Avengers adventure. 

You hear it a lot during pledge drives. "What we do is kind of crazy." We spend money buying national programs, sending reporters across the city and state and paying DJs, administrators and technicians. Then we ask people who have been getting this content for free for six months to voluntarily call us and help pay for it. No bills mailed to your house, no set amount to pay. It takes true believers to work in an enterprise like this, but it also takes true believers next to their speakers or computer to make it work. It's amazing to have a community that supports us, and I can assure you that every time you hear someone on air say thank you, they mean it.

The last pledge drive brought in $435,000. Now what? Well, we continue bringing you the shows, programs, music and coverage you listen to. But we're not resting. That would be too easy. It would be easy for our reporters to come in, read some press releases and knock off early. It would be easy to play the same hit songs over and over. But what we do here is a little crazy. We want to make things. We want to dig into stories. We want to develop new podcasts and shows. We want to find new music and uncover big news. We want to find more shows and bring them to you. And we hope that you'll help us pay for all this later on. 

I know this sounds a bit "group hug," but it's true. To spare you, though, I'd like to mention a few things I'm excited about. 

First of all, news. I have been a journalist my whole career. I always wanted to be one. Now I get to work with some of the best journalists in the city. It's great to be in news meetings and hear the ideas for stories that we'll be reporting in the next hours, days and months. Also, we're building an investigative reporting center.

Second, shows. We love the shows that have defined public radio for years, and we're always looking for what will define our sound in years to come. WFPL was among the first stations in the country to play some of my favorite programs: Q and the Tobolowsky Files (note: I didn't make the decision to put these on, but I certainly celebrated it). We also have Bullseye on Friday nights and WTF on Sundays. Both are must-listens for me, and they're hard to find on the airwaves in other cities. And there are also great pieces out there coming from independent producers. I go through the website prx.org the way record collectors dig through bins. You may hear short and excellent pieces from the Memory Palace, 99% Invisible and Decode DC when you listen to WFPL, because we want to showcase things we like. 

Third, more shows. We love finding great shows and bringing them to you. We also like making them. Phillip M. Bailey's Noise & Notes is a new addition to our Saturday night lineup, and our new podcast Strange Fruit: Musings on Politics, Pop Culture and Black Gay Life just launched. That's in addition to new reporting series: The Big Break, Unique and You Again. 

We want to bring you stories and shows that we find interesting and important on air, and we want to do it online and in person, too. Look for us to be in the community more. We're launching new blogs. Check out our Instagram, where we're showcasing photos from This...Is Louisville magazine. 

None of this is meant as a knock on anyone else in media around town. We share the same goals. We all want a robust media, and we all benefit from it. But this isn't a great time for media. Things are tough and we're always making sure we spend our money in the most beneficial ways possible. We're happy to be expanding. We're happy to be building a reporting center. We're happy that we can do all this through support from local people who like what we do and who want to keep it going.

Sometimes it helps to be a little crazy.

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!

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.

I Vant to Suck Your Blood! Early Halloween with Actors

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Actors Theatre Generation One Board. I am one of the Social Chairs (a little funny if you know me and know that I am not exactly a social butterfly), and I manage the GOBoard Twitter feed. You'll be hearing a lot from me about the GOBoard's activities. We're pushing hard to recruit new members this season. If you're young (we don't really have a cut-off age, but 45 or younger is the unofficial "young" -- woo hoo!) and you support Actors Theatre, we'd love to have you!

Remember when we all thought Tom Cruise was weird when he bleached his hair blonde to play The Vampire Lestat? Remember when that was the weirdest thing he did?

I loved Anne Rice's vampire books. And I'm not kidding all that much when I say that those books were one of the reasons I ended up in New Orleans for nine years. They were dark and sexy and arty and the literary companion of my musical diet of the Cure and the Smiths.

Those books made New Orleans seem so damned exotic, and the best part about New Orleans is that it lives up to every promise of grand beauty and sultriness that has been conjured by authors-- usually it exceeds these expectations.

As did the "real-life" vampires who roamed the streets at night in New Orleans. Some were just your standard Goths, but some were all-in living the lifestyle.

Don't think about that too much.

Anyway, to celebrate Actors Theatre's production of DRACULA, the Actors Theatre GO Board is throwing a Vampire Ball in the Victor Jory Theatre on September 29 at 9pm (or after the show).

Tickets are $30 or $20 with a ticket stub from any showing of DRACULA. Come dressed in costume, come dressed as a vampire. We have food and drinks from some awesome sponsors, and this promises to be a fantastic time. Get your Hallowe'en on a little early.

You can buy tickets at the box office or call 502-584-1205. If you're already a GO Board member, don't forget to ask for your discount. If

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.

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.

The Color Run: Louisville 7/29

Lately, I've been trying to get healthier. Eat better, exercise more. I'm still working on finding the best combination for me. 

But, I'll be honest with you: I think I can say for certain that there is one thing that will never fall into my fitness regime wheelhouse.  And that's running. 

I just don't get it. 

But, shoo... y'all seem to love the running, folks.  So here's a very cool running event. It's called the Color Run, and it's a 5k. At each 1k mark, volunteers toss colored powder on you, so by the end of the run, you're rainbow-y lovely. The route is along the waterfront, so you're guaranteed good scenery too. 

Better still: the Color Run is donating part of its proceeds to the Louisville Sports Commission and The Jefferson Street Mission.  

If you sign up by midnight tonight and enter the promo code KYCOLOR, you can get $10 off. 

I'll high-five my Wii Fit trainer in solidarity with you. (He says I'm "doing great!")

Costumes & Cocktails at Actors Theatre

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Actors Theatre Generation One Board. I am one of the Social Chairs (a little funny if you know me and know that I am not exactly a social butterfly), and I manage the GOBoard Twitter feed. You'll be hearing a lot from me about the GOBoard's activities. We're pushing hard to recruit new members this season. If you're young (we don't really have a cut-off age, but 45 or younger is the unofficial "young" -- woo hoo!) and you support Actors Theatre, we'd love to have you!

Have you ever wanted to poke around in Actors Theatre's Costume Shop? Here's your chance to go behind-the-scenes and see where the fashion magic happens at the theatre.

Join the GOBoard for cocktails, music, and food (provided by great local restaurants including the Silver Dollar and Mayan Cafe) on July 28 from 7pm -11pm for Costumes & Cocktails in Actors' Costume Shop. [enter at 315 W. Market Street, next to Kinko's]

The theme of the event is "Through the Decades"-- come dressed in costume or snag some duds from the costume trunk. Costumes & Cocktails is one of only two public events offered by the GOBoard each season, so come hang out with our fantastic group of young professionals who love and support Actors Theatre and want to share their passion for the arts with you.

The first 50 people get a free drink ticket with their $10 admission. YPAL members receive a free drink ticket as well. That means if you're a YPAL member AND you are among the first 50 people at the event, you get TWO tickets.

Our DJ for the evening is Jason Clark, who has rocked Lebowski Fests past. And of course we'll have a photo booth on hand to capture you and your friends in all of your crazy costume glory.

A little bit about the GOBoard (I'll be doing a full post on the benefits of joining next week) from the website:

The GOBoard is a vibrant group of young adults who are engaged with Actors Theatre. GOBoard members participate in fund raising opportunities on the theatre’s behalf. The GOBoard membership structure provides multiple opportunities to gain entry level experience working with a nonprofit board with other engaged, like minded young professionals while actively supporting and impacting a whole new generation of theatre artists and leaders. Membership has Benefits: The annual $50 membership fee entitles you to ... Discounted Season Tickets to the Brown-Forman Mainstage Series, discounted performances of Holiday Shows, discounted Actors Theatre swag, access to unique behind-the-scenes special events, social gatherings, meetings and drink discounts at Intermezzo.

For more information or to join, click the website link above.  Questions? Email me: Lou [at] Loueyville.com. 

A BAKE SALE AS BIG IS YOUR HEAD!: No Kill Louisville

I love everything about this poster...

"Sunday! SUNday! SUNDAY"

The sneaky kitty in the background (those of you who know me/Twitter-know me know I'm not a huge fan of cats but have been slowly changing my mind due to meeting my kitten-sister, Poppy, and getting to know my boyfriend's two ridiculously affectionate cats).

Most of all, I love the acknowledgment that you can't mention the business La Bamba, on Bardstown Road, without mentioning the best sign in all of Louisville: BURRITOS AS BIG AS YOUR HEAD.

Amen.

It's going to as hot as the inside of a dog's mouth on Sunday, but this bake sale, at the Fairleigh Pet Center from 1pm-5pm, will feature free iced tea to cool you down.

Every single penny of this fundraiser will go toward funding spay/neuter programs in Louisville. Sundays are already a little old-fashiony... come support this excellent cause in this very old school way.

Buy a brownie, save a kitty.


Sounds good to me.

Fund Drive Fun Times!

Once again it is fund drive time at Louisville Public Media. And for the second drive in a row, I'll be answering phones with some Loueyville blog readers and friends.

I can't possibly give Louisville Public Media what they're worth to me in hard cash (maybe next year when I have a big, fancy, high-paying job... a girl can dream), so volunteering and asking my readers to volunteer and pledge are just two little ways I can help make up the difference.

So give us a call-- we're working the late shift Thursday from 8p-11p. We're the only ones on the schedule, so if you call to pledge, you'll be talking to me or one of my readers!  I know! Fancy!

Or, if you're shy, you can pledge online here:  https://www.louisvillepublicmedia.org/support/

Call us at 502-814-6565. We'd love to talk to you!

Support public media and the wonderful people who work there!

Fund Drive Fun Times Again!

Once again, I have volunteered to pull together some blog readers and Twitter followers to volunteer at the Louisville Public Media Fund Drive. The Loueyville time slot is 8p-11p on Thursday, April 5. I only need a small handful of volunteers to help out, so first come, first served.  Drop me an email at lou (at) loueyville.com. Last time we had so much fun. This time, I think it's just us for that time slot... so we'll have lots of time to chat and get to know each other. Kind of like a Tweet-up... with a purpose.

Why reinvent the wheel? Here's my post from the last Fund Drive:


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."  


Last fund drive, I 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 last fund drive, I volunteered. Gave a little human capital to the pledge drive.  And it was a ton of fun.  And it would have been more fun if I'd been with friends.


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.


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 and be eligible for a drawing for a 13" MacBook Air. Just click the link or call 502-814-6565.

Loose Tie Happy Hour for Actors

Who would have expected there to be two great events on a random Thursday night? 

The good news is that #FACETIME starts a half hour earlier, so I can probably squeeze both of them in. 

I just recently joined the Actors GoBoard (shame on me for waiting so damned long!), so I am looking forward to checking out this event.  

Here are the details for the Loose Tie Happy Hour: 

Loose Tie Happy Hour Benefit

Celebrating and Supporting the Upcoming 36^th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays and the Actors Theatre Apprentice Company

The Green Building | 732 E. Market Street

Thursday, February 23, 2012 | 6:30-8:30p.m.

$25 GoBoard Members | $35 Non-Members

Enjoy tasty bites and delicious beverages from lots of great NuLu and surrounding area restaurants. Get the inside scoop on the upcoming 36^th Annual Humana Festival of New American Plays with excerpts from the upcoming shows performed by the Actors Theatre Apprentice Company. 

Tickets available at the door or through the Actors Theatre Box Office- Call 502-584-1205.

Young Survivors Benefit and Silent Auction 2/17

Once again, dear blog readers, you've come through with some fantastic donations for the Young Breast Cancer Survivors Benefit and Silent Auction (hoo, that's a mouthful).

This year, donations from Friends of Loueyville have included:

• 4 baskets of romance novels from Shiloh Walker and friends
• two sets of handmade pushpins from Sweeter Lemon
• A portrait session for up to 5 from Shutterboo 
• two pairs of earrings from the Daily Earring
• 4 tickets to Walden's Shakespeare Festival

There's still time to donate (although just barely...)!  Shoot me an email if you're interested.

In the meantime, mark your calendars: this fantastic event (really, so much fun every year) takes place THIS Friday, 2/17 at the Frazier Museum from 630p-10p. Admission (including food) is just $10. 

I hope you'll join me!  I'll be the one wrangling the team of 26 teen volunteers!  (Love my kids!)

Kentucky Homefront Fundraiser: Sunday Funday

I don't normally just cut and paste press releases, but this is already late notice, and I want to get it on the interwebs before people clock out of work for the weekend. You know how I loves me some jug bands... this is jug bands AND wine. On a Sunday.  Perfect.  Here's the press release:

Please join us this Sunday, January 29th, from 4-8pm for the 11th Anniversary fundraiser for the Kentucky Homefront Radio Show!  

Kentucky Homefront is a show featuring Kentucky's finest acoustic folk, traditional, blues, country, and bluegrass musicians, and its best storytellers. Their front porch broadcasts that air each Wednesday on WFPK at 8PM are reminiscent of radio variety programs of a bygone era. Hosted by the talented and inimitable singer/songwriter John Gage, Kentucky Homefront is recorded on the 2nd Saturday of every month (except January and July). 

You can expect a rollickin’ good time as River Bend will provide a limited menu, a full bar and is donating 15% of their proceeds to Kentucky Homefront! Also, a new guitar will be raffled off and there will be three 50/50 raffles. There will also be a “Keep the Front Porch Light Burning Bright” booth where you can buy season tickets at a discounted price.

Here is the entertainment schedule:
4:00PM - Songwriters in the Round with John Gage, Turley Richards and Mickey Clark
5:00 PM - Hog Operation
6:00PM - Mickey Clark & The Blue Northern
7:00PM - The Juggernaut Jug Band
Please join us for a great night! 

$10 suggested donation. 

River Bend Winery

120 S 10th Street

Louisvillle

Request for Donations: Breast Cancer Support Group Auction

Friends and Dear Readers,

It's silly to re-invent the wheel, especially when you invented the wheel in the first place.

When I sat down to write a post asking for donations for the upcoming Young Survivors Auction, I realized that I had said very many of the same things last year. And here's the thing about last year's post-- it worked! Last year my request for donations both here and on Twitter resulted in donations that raised more than $1000 for the Young Survivors. One of my proudest moments as a blogger.

The Young Survivors annual silent auction is right around the corner. It's February 17 at the Frazier Museum. I'll blog about the actual event closer to the date, but in the meantime, if you're a business owner or you make stuff or you have services you can donate to support this group, I hope you will consider doing so. It means so much to me.

Below is the text of last year's request (updated for appropriate dates). Whatever I can do to facilitate your donation, I will do. Email me at lou (at) loueyville.com for more information...

Friends and dear readers,


If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I'm a happy, healthy breast cancer survivor.  Likewise, if you read this blog, you'll know that I've gone on something of a "pink diet" (or really, "pink fast") in the past year or so.  When I was newly diagnosed and in treatment, I felt compelled to show up at every "pink" event, to walk in every "pink" walk, and to avail myself of all the fantastic free services offered in our city to cancer patients and survivors. But I always ended up getting crazy weepy at those events, listening to other breast cancer survivors tell their stories.  I'm also the kind of person who is deeply uncomfortable with the idea of being called "heroic" just because I survived cancer-- and a lot of survivor rhetoric lapses into that (the doctors were heroic; my friends and family were at times heroic; I just muddled through the best that I could).  Because I'm so shy, support groups and organizations made me snap over to social anxiety overload as soon as I walked into the door.


But when I was first diagnosed-- like the very day that I was diagnosed-- Norton Hospital put me in touch with Megan Schanie of the Young Survivors Group.  And she took me out to lunch and told me what to expect from surgery, chemo, fake boobs, the works.  And for the course of my treatment, the Young Survivors group was a fabulous source of support to me (right down to Megan's mother-in-law who fed me and took me to treatments when my own mom or Roommate couldn't be around).


And the Annual Young Survivors Auction is one "pink event" that I feel passionately about supporting.  First of all, it's a damned good time, and most years I come away with really good deals on silent auction goods.  Secondly, it supports a cause that truly helped me and truly helps a lot of young women.


So if you're a business owner or your make stuff or you have services you can offer to this group, I humbly ask that you donate something to the silent auction to be held at the Frazier Museum on February 17.  It doesn't matter how small your donation is.  Goods, services, gift certificates, experiences...  And I'll make it as easy on you as possible; I'm happy to come to you at your convenience and pick up the item.  These donations are tax deductible and a Young Survivors rep will provide you acknowledgment in writing of your donation.  Email me at lou [at] loueyville.com if you are interested or if you have any questions.


And for the rest of you, mark your calendars:  February 17 at the Frazier.  A good time and a great cause.


Thanks.  Y'all rock.
xo
Lou

KAAC CINDERELLA @ Kentucky Center

KAAC (Kids Acting Against Cancer) is an awesome local charity that is founded and staffed by some amazing local kids.

Their annual musical, a fundraiser for Gilda's Club and Kosair Children's Hospital, is almost always a sell-out and is always, always really fantastically done.

This production, I'm sure, will be no exception-- great director, great music director, and many returning cast members from last year's excellent HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (which is awful, but their version was as good as it could be).

Saturday Jan 14 @ 730pm at the Kentucky Center. Tickets are $20, $15 for students/seniors, $10 for kids 10 and younger.

Go. Take the kids. Support the arts. Support these great teenagers and help them raise money for these great causes.

Power 2 Give: Support the Arts this Holiday Season

I admit, I have a knee-jerk bias against just about anything that subs numbers/letters for words (unless it's the title of a Prince song).  But, I'll squash that sentiment for the rest of this post because I do love this opportunity to support the arts.

Power 2 Give (see, I just had to go back and delete "to" and replace it with "2"... sorry, squashing) works kind of like Kickstarter or Donors Choose.  It lists projects that need funding in the local arts and sciences, and you can choose which ones you would like to contribute to.  Or more precisely, from their website:

A project of the Arts & Science Council (ASC), power2give.org empowers you to give directly to local arts, science and history projects you are passionate about. Nonprofit organizations post projects that are in need of funding. You help bring them to life with a gift.

What I like most about this website for this holiday season is that you can purchase gift cards in $25 denominations so that your friends, employees, family, Secret Santa recipient, etc can choose the project that they want to support.  

Many of the projects are also supported by matching gifts from local and national sources. Some organizations have opted to eschew matching gifts from corporations, which is also cool. 

I admit that I have a wee bit of a personal bias involved in this recommendation (No I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm a woman of mystery.), but if you're not sure which organization to support, you can't go wrong with Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.  Get those actors some damned pants!