Fairy Wings & Pirate Things: A Magical Evening

In a land far, far away (just down in Franklin), a magical place awaits families from down the road. Well at least, on November 12 it is magical. Mercy Children’s Clinic will host a fun filled evening, “Fairy Wings & Pirate Things.”

Kelly Gilfillan is a weekly columnist and co-owner of the online newspaper Brentwood Home Page.

Women helping women

The Women Build is a Habitat Build where women from all walks of life come together to address the housing crisis that faces many of the women and children of Williamson County. Here are stories of four women and how their involvement has changed their lives.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Kelly Gilfillan is a weekly columnist and co-owner of the online newspaper Brentwood Home Page.

School Tools for Kids

Parents and teachers know that having the right school supplies can mean the difference between a passing and a failing grade for students. That's why Publix has teamed up with the United Way of Williamson County and local partners to host the School Tools for Cool Kids program.

Residents can stop by their neighborhood Publix grocery stores through Sunday, Aug. 14 to purchase and/or drop off school supplies in the School Tools bins.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Kelly Gilfillan is a weekly columnist and co-owner of the online newspaper Brentwood Home Page.

Mission to Kenya

Brentwood’s Sinard family traveled to Kenya as part of an eight-person group, five of which were on a medical mission. Dr. Bob Sinard and his partner, Dr. Kyle Mannion, head and neck ENT surgeons from Vanderbilt University Medical center, traveled to Kijabe Hospital, another teaching facility, to perform surgeries on patients they had met on a previous medical mission trip.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Kelly Gilfillan is a weekly columnist and co-owner of the Brentwood Home Page.

Looking for the hands of God
Many of you probably do not know this, but I grew up here and attended Brentwood High School. One friend from high school recently sent me this story of his trip to Costa Rica and I wanted to share it with you.

From Darryl Mott, Brentwood, TN: Many of us pray to God and look for God to be apart of our daily lives. On June 18, 33 people from Brentwood United Methodist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church went on a mission trip to Costa Rica.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Kelly Gilfillan is a weekly columnist and co-owner of the Brentwood Home Page.

Big Backpack Giveaway, July 30

It is hot outside and our minds are very focused on summer. But some are already preparing for back to school. The annual Big Backpack Giveaway at GraceWorks Ministries in Franklin, TN is short a few backpacks and items to fill them.

To read the rest of the article please click here.

Kelly Gilfillan is a weekly columnist and co-owner of the Brentwood Home Page.

Honduras Mission

Through Holy Family Catholic Church, mission groups have been expanding their visits to Honduras. Steve Hayes and his family have been for several years and many others have now gone along for the ride.

This year, three mission teams have already gone to Honduras. A medical mission team went in April and two teams in June. A fourth team, which will be medical, will travel in November.

To read the rest of the article click here.

Friday Night Fun

Nashville Star and American Idol alumni will be among performers at a family evening Graceworks benefit Friday, July 15 at Sodium in Franklin.

Singing will be Ashlee Hewitt, a 2008 top five contestant on Nashville Star, and Jimmie Allen, who finished in the top 40 on this year’s American Idol. The event is a collaboration of GraceWorks Ministries and Sodium. All proceeds will benefit both organizations.

The evening will begin at 6:30 and end at 9:30 pm at Sodium, 1725 Columbia Ave, Franklin, TN. Events will include face-painting, a balloon artist, a rock-climbing wall, pool tables, ping pong, a tree fort and a children’s play area. Middle and high school students are invited to participate in a Minute to Win It contest.

The music starts at 7 pm with guitarist Zach Nichols and singer/songwriter Jeff Schmid. Also performing will be singer/songwriter Tyler Flowers. The artists will be accompanied by musicians including international music producer Sammy Sylvester.

The cost is $5 per person, with a maximum of $20 per family. Sodium and GraceWorks also encourage those coming to bring a canned food item for Williamson County families in need. Tickets will be sold at the door.

Pizza and concessions will be available for additional cost.

Sodium is a family-friendly nonprofit coffeehouse. GraceWorks, organized in 1995, provides help with housing and utility payments, food, clothing, school supplies and other basic necessities to Williamson County residents in need.

For more information, contact Graceworks at 794-9055, Ext. 11.

Originally posted in the Brentwood Home Page.

Got Your Back Movement
Austin Casselman and the team at Got Your Back Movement have purchased an RV for a tour to promote their 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides school uniforms to children in need worldwide. GYB has selected five summer interns that will embark on an 8000 mile, 20 state tour from Nashville to Maryland, to Seattle and back.

The interns are young adults in their mid-20s from Florida, Oklahoma, Illinois and Tennessee, who have quit jobs to travel the entire summer, will work to bring overall awareness to this GYB movement, but their direct mission is to create sustainable change by providing school uniforms across the world. The RV, which is nicknamed Reggie Valentine, left at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning headed to their first stop in Kentucky.

“When I started YouthMerch, the for-profit company, I measured success quantitatively with dollar amounts. I thought that was how success was measured,” said Austin Casselman, president of Got Your Back Movement. “My father died and I realized then that success is measured qualitatively – what can you do to make a difference.”

The interns arrived June 1 for two weeks of training and also spent time booking their own housing through churches and houses during the down times. The crew will work at 17 Christian and 17 secular four-day festivals.

“We have a lot of campaigns but the one for festivals is the shirt for shirt campaign. Someone buys a shirt and the proceeds provide a school uniform,” shared Casselman. “Their goal is to provide 10,000 uniforms in 90 days and they will find this out Wednesday morning at 5 a.m. 70 million kids in the world are not in school and 70% are girls so we decided to address that in Africa. In Haiti we work for both boys and girls.”

The cost of a uniform can range from $15 to $20.

Being in the clothing merchandise business, selling t-shirts to raise funds was an easy fit for GYB so the group began there. The cost of the t-shirts is $20 and the funds raised will go to pay for uniforms that are created locally in the communities in Africa or Haiti.

GYB takes on partners that go through their vetting process and then GYB meets with their board of directors, application and interview process. Then Will Hill, executive director and other team member fly to Haiti or Africa to obtain a community assessment. It is important says Casselman that the assessment is led by their natives to prove that the school uniform is one of the major hurdles to getting their kids in school. GYB will then pay the local tailors to create the uniforms and the tailors are required to put the money back in the community. GYB will enter in to a 3-5 year memory of understanding agreement with the community.

“It takes a tailor three years for a community to undo what we can do in thirty minutes by dropping a box of clothes in a village,” said Casselman. “A campaign by the United Nations in their millennium goals called Education for All pressured third world country’s presidents to provide free education in primary school. The governments tried to counteract the edict by requiring school uniforms which kept the division of classes intact.”

The underlying goal besides the education of the children is making the community sustainable and never dependent. The non-profit began in October, 2009 and Casselman stresses that the biggest thing the team understands is this endeavor is led by God.

“We really felt us had to make sure we were being responsible and doing our due diligence to make this happen,” Casselman shared. “I will never make a penny doing this. And we don’t do anything unless everyone, the board and staff, agree to it.”

GYB Movement exists to restore purpose, give hope, & show love through the global distribution of school uniforms to children in need.

“Will and I did two events last year to test the waters and this year the interns will do 34 events over 90 days,” said Casselman. “Will and I met through some friends as he was helping run a non-profit called the Doorpost Partner project and knew he would be the perfect partner.”

Casselman will make the first stop with the crew of interns at the ICTHUS Festival in a town outside Lexington to show them the ropes. Then the group will travel as far north as Pennsylvania and far west as Washington across 23 states.

Austin Casselman (http://twitter.com/#!/austincasselman) works with a team consisting of passionate individuals who are committed to seeing lives restored through education & who understand the power of a simple gift given in the name of love. The group is talented including film, web, design, social media and photo experts.

The vision is to create a world in which children begin to see their hopes & dreams become a reality through the lens of education. By removing the financial obstacles of obtaining a school uniform, GYB hopes to help the children achieve a primary education. The longer term goal is to maintain an economically sustainable model for their entire community.

You can check out http://www.gybmovement.org/ and follow this movement across the country this summer. And Casselman is working hard to be at Bonnaroo next year. “Some left their families, they gave up their jobs and other internships and one is married. They all had to raise $2000 in 30 days to pay for their expenses of fuel and food,” said Casselman. “Two of the interns gave up internships with Fortune 100 companies.”

To organize Ground Force, Casselman did a lot of research. He shared, “You get ideas from other great non-profits. Invisible Children was inspiring and we modeled their “roadies” and made it our own.”

Originally posted in the Brentwood Home Page.

Unleash the Love
Looking for a best friend for life? Gallery 202 and Williamson County Animal Control will be teaming up Saturday, June 25 to “unleash the love” at the historic Franklin art gallery, located at 202 2nd Ave.

This special pet adoption day will run 10 am to 5 pm. Activities include vendors, live music, door prizes, and gourmet pet treats, with, of course, a sizeable number of dogs and cats on hand as well—all looking for homes and hoping for a shot at becoming your true companion.

“Kelly had the vision to showcase our wonderful adoptable animals in the best and brightest light, and Dillards has donated makeup for face painting animal faces on children,” said Debby Leddy, assistant shelter director. “We’ll have dogs and cats available for adoption that day, and the event will be held in the back courtyard of the gallery, which is a nice area with shade.”

Located in historic Clouston Hall, Gallery 202 is owned by Kelly Harwood, who will be on hand grilling hot dogs.

Leddy said the day will also provide members of the public an opportunity donate to the shelter, and that nationally known pet photographer Peter Nash will offer special photo opportunities for each donation of $100 or more. All donations are tax deductible.

June is Adopt-a-Cat Month at WCAC, with cat adoption fees reduced to $25 (regular $45). Price includes spay/neuter, rabies vaccination, feluk testing, microchip insertion and flea/tick products. Dog adoption fee is $65, and also includes vaccination plus spay or neuter.

Here is a little historic twist to the day. Clouston Hall was built approximately in 1821 by the Clouston family, who used it as a “town home” to entertain guests, including Tennessee’s three U.S. presidents; Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson.

If you cannot attend the event, please check out available friends at WCAC on Pet Finder: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TN75.html .

For more information, please contact Debby Leddy, Assistant Shelter Director at 615-595-8547 or email her at DebbyL@williamson-tn.org.

Originally posted at Brentwood Home Page

Need Summer Activities for Kids?
Well, here we are - it’s summer!

The kids are out of school and we need a plan! I know many of you have worked months to get the perfect plan in place to keep the kids productive and pleasantly busy over the summer months. For those of you who are like me, there may be some holes in the summer calendar needing to be filled. That may turn out to be a good thing!

Does your teen love tutoring? Working with kids? Gardening? Putting a smile on a stranger's face? Or do they maybe need to learn to love those things?

Maybe they could volunteer and make a difference in Nashville every day or just a few days this summer. Hands On Nashville's Youth Volunteer Corps gives teens the opportunity to explore their interests, meet new people, make our local cities a better place, and have fun while doing it.

The YVC involves a service-learning program for ages 11-18 in Middle Tennessee. The programs are a great way for clubs or sports teams to volunteer together.

If you have volunteer hours to cross off your to-do list, this is a great way to get involved. And if your teen is showing interest in social justice issues, this an easy way for teens to help address the issues they care about most, like hunger, homelessness, literacy, and the environment.

If you think you or your teens may be interested in getting involved. Here is where you start.

Step #1: Join the YVC! Click here to register.

Step #2: Volunteer. You'll be glad you did! Browse the YVC Project Calendar and sign up for an interesting project. What activity isn’t more fun with friends? Recruit your friends to join the YVC! Have ideas for a project or an issue not already being addressed? E-mail Emma@hon.org.

Step #3: Get YVC Updates. The Hands On Nashville e-newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter pages give you up-to-date info on cool new projects you won't want to miss.

"Like" them on Facebook. Follow them on Twitter.

Step #4: Ready for more? Be a YVC leader!

Check out our YVC Project Calendar for upcoming opportunities to get involved!

YVC Internships are also available. Hands On Nashville is looking for dedicated High School Juniors and Seniors to serve as Youth Volunteer Corps Interns for the 2011-2012 school year. These interns will work with reputable and diverse non-profit clients to gain experience presenting educational and skill building lessons while acquiring leadership and management skills!

Click here to download a YVC Internship application. To learn more, please e-mail Emma@hon.org.

Originally posted at Brentwood Home Page.

Tennis Community Serves
Gordon Pennington has been involved in the Middle Tennessee Tennis Family for over 25 years. Through the years, as the current and past Director of Tennis at the Green Hills YMCA, Old Natchez Country Club, Temple Hills Country club, and now a Teaching Pro with WPCR he looked for new ways to give back to his community and to support local charities and organizations that would best serve the Middle Tennessee area.

Since 1995, breast cancer has really been on Gordon’s heart. Over the years he held many tournaments to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the fight against Breast Cancer. Many of these tournaments have been extremely successful, but have demanded a lot of time from a lot volunteers in the tennis community.

Pennington said he racked his brain to come up with something new. Something that would be easy, yet allow the tennis community to give those dollars, once again, to charity. However, due to the recent economic downturn, he felt it was very important to provide these dollars to charity in our own community. To help the women in middle Tennessee who are directly affected with Breast Cancer. Pennington feel it is imperative that we provide help to those in our own backyard.

Because of time limitations with weekend tennis tournaments, Pennington did a lot of research for something that would produce money for our local women suffering from breast cancer, but something that would be easy for everyone to participate with.

The answer was to produce and publish a cookbook. Have you ever known anyone to give away a personal cookbook of their own or toss one out? Cookbooks have the longest shelf life of any publication.

This cookbook, which will be named WINNING SERVES - a collection of recipes from the Middle Tennessee Tennis Community, is especially designed for those in the tennis community. It will be published with a “tennis theme” that centers on the effects of breast cancer. The cookbook will be compiled of recipes from the Middle Tennessee tennis community and local friends and will feature a few local women who have suffered and survived this disease along with their testimonies.

The best part is all proceeds from the sales of the cookbook will be donated to The Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition. You can view more information about this organization at www.tbcc.org. Pennington chose this organization because they provide local women an established Emergency Access Fund which is called the TBCC Emergency Access Fund.

Pennington encourages the tennis community to get involved.

“Your time input will be very minimal and your name will be printed in the cookbook along with the recipe you provide!” said Pennington. “Please, don’t just participate, but support this very worthy cause by purchasing several copies for your family and friends!“

The participation expiration date is July 31, 2011 and Pennington urges you not to delay. The cookbook will be published and ready to sell during Breast Cancer month in October, 2011. To submit a recipe go to – http://www.typensave.com/ / group login is -ws10iscb – contributor password is – zyqh7. Please submit your recipe as soon as possible.

The pricetag will come in uner $20 and will be a great pricepoint under $20.

“We really need everyone’s support and if you would like to sell the cookbooks, please email me with the number you know you can sell,” said Pennington. “This commitment will help provide me with a better idea of how many to print on the first printing. Your sales help will make the cause that much more successful!”

WINNING SERVES will certainly help all of us entertain friends and family with new and exciting foods, help make our holiday shopping much easier this year and most importantly, significantly help The Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition http://www.tbcc.org/ with their fight to help women in Middle Tennessee that are struggling with this disease.

“If you would like to participate with sales or have a retail location we can display the cookbooks in please email with the amount you will need. The more we sell, the more we help,” said Pennington.

Originally posted at Brentwood Home Page.

Family Foundation Fund
Did you know that 15 million children live without their fathers in the United States? We have an epidemic of children living in fatherless homes in the United States. Our hometowns are no exception.
Twenty-six thousand of Nashville’s children have been abandoned or are neglected by their fathers. This epidemic crosses all social, economic, religious, and racial boundaries. According to research, children from single-parent homes are at a higher risk to experience challenges such as learning disorders, behavioral issues, and emotional problems.
I first discovered The Family Foundation Fund (FFF) when they received a grant from the Giving Tree in 2009. But their own giving goes back to when they were established in 1993 to address the fatherhood vacuum.
And now the Family Foundation Fund needs your help! They are raising awareness to the issues of the fatherless and celebrating fatherhood. They will host their 10th Annual 5k Run/Walk for Family and Fatherhood on June 18 at the Fontanel Mansion. You should come and celebrate family, fatherhood, and father’s day with them.
Race Day Registration begins at 6:00 a.m. However, pre-registration is strongly encouraged. The 5K begins at 7:00 a.m.
But besides a road race there is a lot of fun to be had. Stick around after the run and listen to Vince Gill's mini-concert. Hot air balloon rides are available for children 10 and under.
Proceeds from the event support the Family Foundation Fund. Registration is $25 per person and $75 per family including parents & children 17 and under until May 15. May 16 through June 3 the price will rise to $30 per person and $85 per family. Register online at http://www.nashvillesports.com/.
The FFF uses these funds to benefit many but mainly identifies boys from fatherless homes before their teen years. The boys enter a disciplined program where they are nurtured into Christ-centered manhood. Each boy is enrolled in a private Christian school and matched with a surrogate father (mentor).
The lives of fifty-four FFF sons (program participants) have been positively impacted through the work of the Family Foundation Fund. None of the program’s graduates have been involved with the juvenile justice system. Nor have any become teenage fathers. After completing high school, graduates have gone on to serve in the military, continued their education, or gone on to work.
For more information about the Family Foundation Fund or the 5K Run/Walk for Family and Fatherhood please visit http://www.familyfoundationfund.org/ or call them at 615.876.7170.

Originally posted at Brentwood Home Page.