The Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Non-profit Round Table conducted their regular meeting at the Vinegar Hill Café on Wednesday.
“We truly appreciate the support of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce and enjoy hosting the monthly Nonprofit Round Table meeting. The Vinegar Hill Café and the Jefferson School City Center are a perfect home for this monthly meeting seeing as that we are a consortium of non-profit organizations all under one roof,” said Café manager Joel Schechtman. The Café provides complimentary coffee, tea and goodies for the group.
In the spirit of continuing to support local nonprofit organizations as well as those at the Jefferson School City Center, Vinegar Hill Café is beginning a Saturday morning pancake program. The Vinegar Hill Café will provide a pancake buffet, with toppings, syrup, and beverages in partnership with any Charlottesville nonprofit who requests their help. The participating nonprofit will need to spread the word, hand out tickets, and rally their supporters to come out and support the organization on the nonprofit’s designated Saturday. The $8 ticket will be paid for at the Café on the day of the fundraiser so organizations do not need to collect any money in advance. The nonprofit organization will receive $2 of each ticket redeemed.
The breakfast buffet at the Jefferson School City Center will require a couple of volunteers from the partnering nonprofit organization to help with the details. Reservations for nonprofits will be accepted on any available Saturday and serving times are from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. Nonprofit organizations wishing to make arrangements for the Saturday pancake program should call Taikia Walker at 434-245-5811 or email taikiawalker@gmail.com.
New Director of Common Ground Healing Arts
Bryan Phillips, former Assistant Director of the University of Virginia’s Contemplative Sciences Center, joins Common Ground as a Director. Phillips and current Director Kate Zuckerman will work as partners to advance the mission and assure the longevity of Common Ground.
Says Zuckerman: “I am thrilled to be welcoming someone of Bryan’s caliber to our team. He brings a variety of talents that are directly applicable to moving Common Ground forward. He also resonates deeply with our mission. This is a rare and valuable combination.”
“On a personal note,” said Zuckerman, “I am very grateful to have the space to create more work-life balance for my family and spend more time with my 8 month old son, Galen.”
Common Ground’s larger vision is to bring people together across socio-economic lines around the shared goal of improved health and wellness, and to help people experience an interconnected community where everyone has the right to feel well and whole.
Since Common Ground opened at the Jefferson School City Center in January, it has had over 4,000 visits by community members seeking affordable access to holistic health services such as yoga, acupuncture, meditation, and massage therapy. Its massage therapists, acupuncturists, and yoga and meditation teachers are among the most experienced in the Charlottesville area.
Tutors sought for Literacy Volunteer program
Adult students who are seeking help with their reading, writing, and English speaking skills are having to wait several months before being matched with a tutor at Literacy Volunteers. “There are always more people requesting help than we can serve,” said Executive Director Ellen Osborne. “We’ve added extra tutor training events since we’ve been at the Jefferson School City Center to attract more tutors, but the need for our services is huge.”
Literacy Volunteers now offers six trainings per year to attract new tutors. The next one is scheduled for September 14 from 9:30 am to 4 pm and will be held at the Jefferson School. “Our program director conducts an excellent training seminar where she takes the new tutors through the basics about what they need to know about adult students. Adult students have a lot of things competing for their time and attention, but most of them are still willing to work hard. New tutors are introduced to curriculum and teaching techniques that are especially relevant to our population of students.”
As more tutors join the Literacy Volunteers program, students on the waiting list are matched with them for one-to-one instruction. In the meantime, students who are accepted into the program can work on English-language programs on the computer or join one of the informal conversation groups held throughout the week.
To register for the tutor training on September 14, call 434-977-3838. Literacy Volunteers requests a one-year commitment to the program.
Jefferson School City Center is a voice of the nine nonprofits located at Charlottesville’s intergenerational community center, the restored Jefferson School. We are a legacy preserved . . . a soul reborn . . . in the heart of Cville!
