Fathers will get their turn at the upcoming Live and Learn Parent Conference and Resource Fair.

If a child were left alone in his home, or worse yet, physically beaten or called names and put down, who wouldn’t want to come to his aid?

Losing someone is not easy, especially when it’s a child who dies.

In this country most of us couldn’t imagine living in makeshift housing for a day, much less 10 years, and without running water or electricity.

So the economy stinks, and some of us are a little scared.

Ah, dancing. Poetry. Do the two go together?

If you are feeling anxious to do something to celebrate the new president but can’t get to the inauguration, there’s another way you can take note of the history-making occasion.

Maybe once upon a time you were a writer and had big dreams about how you would write the great American novel or at least something decent that would be published and you’d have some loyal readers ... but the dream has faded like the unrecognizable old stuffed doll you hand-sewed when you were 10.

Some of us might hesitate to take up a new hobby right around this busy holiday season. But there’s no reason not to plunge ahead.

While you are having fun and doing the warm and fuzzy family stuff this holiday season, there might be a more serious mission as well.

Whether you are a “geek” who works from your home or in a large IT office, there is a group in town for you to satisfy both your social and networking needs.

We think at this time of year about children who might otherwise not receive presents, attention or a little cheer for the holidays. But they are not only ones forgotten.

If you are like me, you start looking for a new activity to carry you through those dark cold months of winter. There’s a cool performance today at Gravity Lounge that might just be the ticket to a new experience.

I’ve always considered Hospice a very worthy organization — tending to folks in their final hours so that they are comforted, accompanied and cared for. So I’m always happy to write about them.

When the economy gets rocky, we all suffer. This also is the case for nonprofits. But I’ve heard a saying about when you have little, give away more and you will be wealthier.

Several years ago, during a big storm, lightning struck my house. Luckily, I was away at the time because it would have scared me half to death, but it caught fire in the roof. Again luckily, the rain was so heavy it kept it from burning quickly. Also lucky for me, my very kind neighbors called the fire department.

A special memento now decorates the walls of the Caring for Creatures shelter in Fluvanna County. A mosaic with 205 tiles, each designed as a memorial to beloved animal or person, was started in 2005.

We all know to some extent that we need other people, but not having a connection with others is actually a real problem which can negatively impact your health. The problem is called social isolation, and research shows the incidences are increasing.

It must be exciting to fork out $100 and then come away with a big-time motorcycle signed by a very famous rock band.

Most of us know that there is a problem with health care — particularly the cost and availability of adequate coverage. However, the facts are elusive, and some of us feel helpless about what to do about the situation.

The largest all-women’s race in Virginia raised $230,000 last year for the University of Virginia Cancer Center Breast Care Program. This year organizers have increased the goal to $300,000.

When Margie Shreve heard they needed help planning the Survivor Saturday for the Charlottesville Women’s Four Miler Training Program, she stepped up, knowing she had found her niche.

Go to lunch and help raise money in the fight against breast cancer.

It’s the perfect setting - mountains as a backdrop, expansive green fields, a spacious building with a wide, wraparound porch. It only started four years ago, but the Pink Ribbon Polo Cup has become an anticipated event in June.

Ride your bike along the scenic countryside and help out scores of people in the Blue Ridge who suffer from multiple sclerosis, a crippling disease of the central nervous system.

Barbara Wright and her husband, William, started a Civil War Round Table in Charlottesville because they had been in one in Los Angeles, and when they moved here from California, they were surprised to find out there was no such Civil War discussion group in the area.

The Shelter for Help in Emergency has been a staple in the Charlottesville area for the past 18 years, though you may not know where it is located — a protection for the abused who seek its shelter.

Here’s a fun way to enjoy Mother’s Day weekend, get outside for some fresh air, and help a good cause — all at once.
Women Build of Habitat for Humanity of Charlottesville is holding its second Women Build Hike for Habitat.
You can choose from among eight hikes — from easy and moderate to the more strenuous. The hikes take place at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

It’s an enticing concept — Thanksgiving in Spring — complete with the traditional dinner of turkey and the fixings, plus a couple other dishes (such as smoked meats) added in for good measure.
The event belongs to On Our Own of Charlottesville, a non-profit peer-run organization that helps mental health consumers (as they prefer to define themselves). The Thanksgiving dinner is the organization’s main fund-raiser and will be 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church.

If you are one of those who doesn’t know it, Charlottesville is a place for the arts.
And those in the know are trying to show it by securing some recognition for outstanding artists and supporters.
The Governor’s Awards for the Arts 2008 program is looking for a few good candidates and some real interest from the community in an awards program that is a bit stingy with its awards. The Governor’s Arts Awards have only gone out three times before in the past couple of decades.