NWA Kids Guide

The Jackson L. Graves Foundation will host its annual Red, White & Baby Blue fundraising event on Friday, June 26 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Garden Room in Fayetteville next to the former Ozark Mountain Smokehouse on Dickson Street.

This year’s event is presented by Everett-Maxey Buick Pontiac GMC and will feature live music from award-winning local band, Leah & and the Mojo Doctors, heavy hors d’oeuvres, assorted beverages, and a silent auction including trips to Sonoma or Napa Valley ,CA and Key West, FL, a Razorback kids’ party at Bud Walton Arena, Princess for a Day party, and many special interest packages. JLG Foundation merchandise will also be available for sale. Attire is Casual Chic and tickets are $25 each. Tickets may be purchased on our website ( www.jacksongraves.org ), at the Northwest Arkansas Mall Guest Services booth and at Everett-Maxey in Bentonville.

The JLG Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is to provide funding to improve care for the very sickest of infants in need of complex, long term medical attention as well as for support services for the families of these infants – including quieter areas, smaller doctor/patient ratios, dedicated medical staff, and equipment geared toward their growing bodies. Babies with such medical conditions and surgical needs make up a small percentage of the overall NICU population.

The Foundation is currently raising funds toward a recent $125,000 pledge to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital NICU to provide the Jackson Lee Graves Sibling Playroom and Jackson Lee Graves Room, which will be a private family transitional care room for use by long term infant patients and their families.

Jackson Graves was born in 2004 at University Hospital in Little Rock. He was eight weeks premature, with a birth defect, breathing difficulties, and a life-threatening condition of the blood vessels to his lungs. Jackson endured heart stoppages, several surgeries, severe infections, blood and liver ailments and numerous other difficulties. Jackson finally lost his battle in 2005. Jackson’s life, all of which was spent in a neonatal intensive care unit, inspired his parents, James and Angie Graves of Fayetteville, to establish the Jackson L. Graves Foundation in his memory.

For more information, contact Mitzi Traxson at 479-466-6103. The foundation’s website is www.jacksongraves.org . You may also go to www.caringbridge.org/ar/jacksong… to read about Jackson’s life.

PLEASE JOIN US Saturday May 30, 2009 10:00 AM-6:00 PM FUND RAISING BENEFIT FOR ALLY COURTNEY
BELLA MIA SALON AND DAY SPA
108 N. 34TH STREET ROGERS, AR

Ally Courtney is 5 years old and a Kindergarten Student at Centerton Gamble Elementary. On March 6th she went to the ER in Rogers because her tummy hurt. They ran a CT scan and noticed she had a Wilms Tumor (Kidney Cancer.) They sent us straight to Children’s Hospital in Little Rock that night. They arrived at Children’s around 10pm and on Monday March 9th they removed her left Kidney and part of the colon. She stayed in the hospital 8 days and got her first round of Chemo. They were home for 6 days when they had to return to Little Rock due to very high fever. She will have Chemo every week for 10 weeks then every 3 weeks for 6 months. We will have a CT on April 28 to see if she still has cancer on her lungs also. If she does she will have 2 weeks of radiation at Children’s Hospital as well as the Chemo. Visit her web site for more updates on her condition: www.caringbridge.org/visit

/allycourtney
FUND RAISING EVENTS INCLUDE:
HAIR CUT AND CHAIR MASSAGE DONATIONS ONLY
$2.00 TANS
LUNCH AND BAKED GOODS SALE
RAFFLE ITEMS
ALL PROCEEDS TO GO TO THE COURTNEY FAMILY TO PAY EXPENSES
Thank-you for your support and prayers

The Jones Center in Springdale is hosting a Summer Youth Academy for youngsters ages 9-12.  This education experience will include cooking, drama, science, sports, arts and more during eight weeks of interactive learning and growing.  The ACADEMY kicks off on Tuesday, June 9th.  A flexible schedule lets you pick what week or weeks work best for your family.  The ACADEMY’s high quality instructors and presenters will ensure your child’s success in this unique learning environment.  Cost is $45.00 per week, per child, but scholarships are available.   Space is limited so call now 756-8090 or jonesnet.org for more information.

Tricycle Theatre for Youth (The Trike) is launching its Summer Trike Academy programs, which will run from June 8^th – August 14^th.  The skill-based drama camps are for ages 4 – 18 and will be held at both The Trike space in Downtown Bentonville and the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

Half-day camps include Pirate Adventures on the High Seas, Nate the Great-Super Sleuth and Upside Down Fairytales. The Trike’s Conservatory offers students in grades 3^rd-12^th a variety of half and full-day performance camps including High School Musical 2.  Many of the camps are based on The Trike’s upcoming production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, June 12-21.  This high energy adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ famous book will be performed at The Trike, 120 S. Main St. and is recommended for ages 6 and up.

“Our approach to the theatre experiences is unique to the region,” said Kassie Misiewicz, executive artistic director and co-founder of The Trike, “and we offer an expertise culled from our work at professional theatres across the country, including the Seattle Children’s Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis and First Stage Children’s Theatre in Milwaukee.”

The Trike, which offers programming taught by trained theatre professionals and teaching artists throughout the year, integrates Arkansas Department of Education literacy and reading standards with cutting edge drama training curriculum. In addition to its core teaching staff, The Trike recently hired three new professional actors from England and Cincinnati to teach during the Summer Trike Academy.  Misiewicz holds her MFA in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State and has been working professionally for fifteen years as a director, teacher and administrator.

Registration for camps and performance tickets are available on-line at www.triketheatre.org or by calling 866-331-3681.

For the eleventh year in a row, Malco Theatres is happy to let KIDS HELP KIDS through our 2009 Kids Summer Film Fest. Over the past ten years, the festival has raised thousands of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi!

Every Tuesday and Wednesday from June 2nd thru July 29th, select Malco Theatres will play favorite kids movies at a discounted price.

Attendees will be able to choose from favorite kids movies such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Nim’s Island, Kung Fu Panda, Space Chimps, Horton Hears a Who and more for just $2.00 per ticket!

Participating Malco Theatres:
Razorback Cinema (Fayetteville), Sunset Cinema (Springdale), Rogers Towne Cinema

Shows start promptly at 10am and full schedules are available at each location.   Downloadable schedules will be available in mid-May at www.malco.com <http://www.malco.com> .

Malco Theatres is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and is fourth-generation family-owned and operated. Malco operates over 300 screens at 32 locations in 5 states across the mid-south.

The Access Ministries

of

Central United Methodist Church of Fayetteville

PRESENTS:

Kids Night Out

    For Kids with disabilities

Join us the last Friday of every month for a night of games, crafts, movies, and snacks!

When:          The last Friday of each month

What time:           6:30 pm-8:00 pm

Where:         Central United Methodist Church

                    6 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville

Space is limited, so register today!

Please call Lisa Westman, Access Ministries Coordinator

at (479) 871-9755 to sign up for the next Kids Night Out!

Kids Night Out is a FREE EVENT open to kids ages 2-12 with developmental and/or physical disabilities.  Siblings welcome!   Church membership or attendance is not required.

UPCOMING DATES for Kids Night Out:      March 27^th, April 24^th, May 29^th, June 26^th , July 31st

A 1:3 ratio of team members to children is maintained at all times. At least one team member trained in C.P.R. will be present at all events.  Our team leaders are professionals who have experience working with persons with disabilities. 

Greetings from

the Arkansas VBAC Coalition, 

ICAN of NW Arkansas, and 

BirthNetwork NWA !

Two weeks ago families from all over NW Arkansas gathered at Northwest Medical Center to protest the hospital’s blanket ban on VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean). A week before that, we protested at Washington Regional.  After our actions, we are hearing that the hospitals are feeling the pressure, and we’ve been getting excellent news coverage .

Let’s try again for a Picnic and a Protest!
We want to continue the momentum for a THIRD week of action!  If you are a childbearing woman or if you have a wife, a mother, a sister, or a daughter, you may be faced with the difficult situation of a mandatory repeat cesarean section.

Please join us on 
Friday, May 8th, 2009

from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Protest Northwest Medical Center — Willow Creek’s 

VBAC Ban

at the Johnson City Park

Johnson, AR

March for Babies is the March of Dimes premier fundraising event that benefits all babies. 

Started in 1970, it is the original walking event, raising money to fund important research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and give hope to the families of babies born too soon or sick. 

We are holding our Northwest Arkansas March for Babies on Saturday, May 16^th at HarBer Meadows in Springdale . 

Registration begins at 9:00 am, and the walk begins at 10:00 am. 

It is a 2 mile walk and there will be breakfast, lunch, live music, and plenty of fun and entertainment for the kids. 

There is no fee to walk and it should be a wonderful day for the whole family. 

For more information call (479) 751-5475 or e-mail Hannah Jennings at hjennings@marchofdimes.com.