Olde forge junction needs volunteers
Olde Forge Junction, an outreach program to improve the quality of life in the southern Stafford neighborhood of 229 townhouses, needs volunteers. The faith-based group offers an after-school program, recreational activities and spiritual support to the community just east of the U.S. 17/Interstate 95 interchange.
Opportunities include:
After-school tutor: Loving adults to provide homework assistance to elementary and middle school students. Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, 3-5:30 p.m. through May 31.
Bilingual volunteers: Persons fluent in Spanish and English to assist with translating program materials, with home visits, and with program activities. Flexible schedule.
Office assistant: Provides office support as needed answering phones, making phone calls, organizing files, setting up and maintaining computer databases, correspondence, organizing, etc.
Computer lab coordinator/techs: Assists students with age-appropriate educational software, directing them to educational Web sites, and developing/working computer projects with them.
To respond to any of these needs, call 540/368-0081 or
Email: oldeforge@hotmail.com.
Teams needed for sixth annual step show
The Fredericksburg Regional Boys & Girls Club will host its sixth-annual step show competition fundraiser at 5 p.m. on March 10 at Dodd Auditorium on the University of Mary Washington Campus.
Step teams from high schools, middle schools and community organizations are welcome to compete for gift cards. First- and second-place awards will be given at the middle- and high-school levels. Each performing step team will be judged on appearance; articulation and sound; precision; energy and enthusiasm; show complexity; and originality.
Advanced tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the Boys & Girls Club, 200 Gunnery Road, Room 16. Tickets at the door will be $10. For more details, e-mail
Email: djohnson@bgcgw.org or call 540/368-9531.
SPCA Yard sale gathering items
The Greater Fredericksburg Area SPCA Spring Yard Sale takes place March 10 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 1420 Central Park Boulevard, Suite 103, between Minnieland and Pho 89.
Items for the yard sale can be dropped off on Saturdays and Sundays at the yard sale site. On Saturdays, drop-offs are between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; on Sundays, drop-off times are between noon and 3 p.m. March 4 is the last day for drop-offs.
The SPCA is the only no-kill shelter serving the Fredericksburg community. More than 700 animals each year pass through the SPCA's doors. Nearly 100 percent of the agency's budget is from donations.
For details, call 540/373-9008 ext. 22.
RED CROSS LOOKING FOR FUND SPONSORS
The Rappahannock Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is looking for sponsors for its annual fundraising Bash in the Burg on March 31 from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Fraternal Order of Elks Lodge.
The local Red Cross chapter responds to local disasters, mostly house and apartment fires, that leave people homeless in the middle of the night. The agency provides emergency housing, food for the victims and relief workers and vouchers for clothing and prescriptions. When the need is there, the agency also helps local families get re-established in another apartment or rental home.
There are several levels of sponsorship available. Also donations are being accepted for a silent auction the night of the event. For details, call 540/373-5176.
SPAGHETTI DINNER WILL BENEFIT MILITARY WOUNDED
A spaghetti-dinner benefit to raise funds to provide care and comfort items to wounded service men and women hospitalized overseas will be at 7 p.m., Feb. 17, at the Lorton American Legion.
Tickets for the spaghetti dinner sponsored by Landstuhl Hospital Care Project and the Lorton American Legion are $5 each. Dinner includes spaghetti, salad and rolls. Karaoke, door prizes and raffle prizes will add to the evening's fun. All of the proceeds will benefit U.S. military wounded.
The Lorton American Legion is at 8210 Legion Drive in Lorton.
The Landstuhl Hospital Care Project is a nonprofit organization that provides comfort and relief items for military members who become sick, injured or wounded from service in Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan. Donated items are distributed to military patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the largest American military hospital outside the U.S., and to combat support hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraq.
DIGITAL ART SHOW DISPLAYED AT UMW
"Painting by Numbers: Digital Works by Scott Ligon" will be on display at the University of Mary Washington's duPont Gallery from Thursday through Feb. 11.
"Escape Velocity" explores the connection between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and creativity. The film has won several awards and has played in festivals and theaters all over the world. Ligon has accepted a distribution offer for "Escape Velocity" from Shorts International, the world's leading short film brand.
Ligon recently was elected to serve as education chair on the board of trustees for the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts. He lives in Fredericksburg with his wife, painter Laura Sherrill Ligon, and their two sons.
The duPont Gallery is located on College Avenue at Thornton Street. For details, call 540/654-1013. For more details about Ligon's artwork, visit his Web site at Ligon-art.com.
CHILDREN'S ARTS AT MELCHERS HOME
Gari Melchers Home and Studio will host two sets of children's art classes taught by Lafayette Upper Elementary School art teacher Tyler Ballard on Feb. 24, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., and again from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
"Winter Sky--Bare Trees" will encourage children to study the structure of trees and the winter sky while learning about warm and cool colors, positive and negative space, and the use of color. An introduction to Gari Melchers' artwork in the Studio also is included.
The class fee, which includes all supplies, is $20 for members of the Friends of Belmont and $25 for nonmembers. The classes are suitable for children ages 8 to 15, and each student will take home a finished art piece. Class sizes are limited and preregistration is required.
To register, call 540/654-1851 or e-mail
Email: mdolby@umw.edu.
GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL COACH TO VISIT AREA
Georgia Tech University head football coach Chan Gailey will speak at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Booster Club luncheon March 8 at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Central Park from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Gailey, the former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, has coached for 33 years--17 of which have been at the college level. Last fall, Gailey led Georgia Tech's team to a nine-win season ending with a heart-breaking loss to West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
For details, call area FCA director Kerry O'Neill at 540/899-3422 or e-mail FburgFCA @fca.org
TOUR OF ORANGE PROVIDES UNIQUE VIEW OF COUNTY
Frank S. Walker Jr., Orange County's premier historian and noted author, will host a tour of historic Orange County in conjunction with Friends of Wilderness Battlefield.
The tour will be March 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Orange County was a major combat area for the Civil War, with the Wilderness becoming one of the conflict's most famous battles. The Civil War is, however, but one focus of the tour.
The tour will include views of
Walking on the tour is limited. Information venues and presentations are maximized, including a brief narrated driving tour of the main Montpelier grounds and a visit to St. Thomas Church in the Town of Orange. A handout summarizing the tour experience will also be available to all participants.
The bus leaves from the Lake of the Woods Clubhouse lower level parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and returns at 5 p.m. Reservations are required. The cost for the tour is $65, which includes snacks and a buffet lunch at Mario's Restaurant in the town of Orange.
For details, call Dwight Mottet at 540/972-3204 or e-mail
Email: dwightmottet@aol.com.