Wish Weekend at Brookwood Village
Brookwood Village and Make-A-Wish® Alabama are partnering June 20–21 for Wish Weekend. During the weekend, all transaction fees from Brookwood Village gift card purchases will be donated to Make-A-Wish® Alabama.
Each shopper who buys a gift card will receive a gift package based on the amount of cards bought. A customer who purchases any amount of gift cards totaling $25–$49.99 will receive a free Brookwood Village tote bag. If a customer buys $50–$99.99 total in gift card purchases, he or she will receive the tote bag and a Brookwood Village sports bottle. Shoppers who buy $100 or more in gift cards will receive everything above, plus a $10 Brookwood Village gift card. The $10 gift card may be donated to Make-A-Wish® Alabama to allow more wishes to be fulfilled.
Clean Up Avondale Park
Looking for a chance to help tidy up one of Birmingham’s favorite parks? Avondale residents, organized by Friends of Avondale Park and People Against A Littered State (PALS), got together June 13 for the “Second Saturday Clean Up” at the park. But if you missed it, the event is ongoing and open to anyone with Clean Up Avondale Park events taking place monthly. Volunteers are encouraged to bring gardening tools and gloves. The cleanup is part of PALS’ “Don’t drop it on Alabama” campaign, where people in the state organize to care for the places they love. For more information about the monthly event, visit the Friends of Avondale Park Facebook page.
The Magic City Acceptance Center expands its LGBTQ support
The Magic City Acceptance Center (MCAC) plans to expand their reach through tele-counseling and home-host programs, Magic City Acceptance Homes for Birmingham-area lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth, with the financial support of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
The home-host program, which began with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church volunteers, will be an alternative form of shelter for LGBTQ youths. According to MCAH, five to 10 home-hosts will offer safety, support and acceptance along with case management and counseling.
LGBTQ tele-counseling is the first of its kind in the state and will help prevent the depression, homelessness, substance abuse and isolation members of the LGBTQ community face across the Birmingham-area. For more information, click here.
International Motorsports Hall of Fame presents “A Nite At The Museum”
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame will host “A Nite At The Museum” on Saturday, August 1 on with the 1960s beach band Swingin’ Medallions as live entertainment.
The doors will open at 5 p.m. for museum tours, and Anniston restaurant Classic on Noble, will provide dinner at 6 p.m. New Generation Motorsports Marketing’s auction for racing memorabilia will begin at 7 p.m. One item for auction will be a replica of seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Richard Petty’s IMHOF ring presented to him at the Hall’s 1989 induction ceremony. Tickets are $75 each or $500 for a table of eight. The event will be held in the FOX Sports 1 Dome by the Talladega Superspeedway.
All sales, donations and sponsorship will benefit the IMHOF by helping refurbish the museum and create new exhibits. For more information or tickets, email: Kim Rupp at kimrupp@motorsportshalloffamefoundation.com or call (256) 761-4755.
Dogs get the flu, too
The American Veterinary Medical Association wants to educate pet owners about a problem they may not be aware of: canine influenza. The disease is spreading in Alabama and throughout the United States, and is highly contagious for other dogs. While only dogs can get canine flu, humans can pass it along to their pets, or others.
According to the AVMA, the virus spreads through the air, contaminated objects (such as kennels, food and water bowls, collars and leashes) and people coming in contact first with infected then with uninfected dogs. The virus can live for up to 48 hours on surfaces, 24 hours on clothes, and 12 hours on hands. A cough that lasts for two to three weeks is a common sign of a mild flu, but some dogs can develop pneumonia, high fever (104°F-106°F) and fast breathing. Other signs include a discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, fatigue or loss of appetite. Veterinarians can treat dog flu with a USDA approved vaccine, and the virus can be identified through nasal and throat swabs during the first four days of sickness. For more information about canine influenza, visit: avma.org.
7,000 Birmingham residents are “putting their heart first”
Heart disease and stroke are the first and fifth killers of Americans, according to the America Heart Association. Research has proven walking to be one of the most effective exercises for cardiovascular health. The Birmingham Heart Walk Saturday, June 27 will gather more than 7,000 Birmingham-area residents in the Uptown Entertainment District of downtown Birmingham to increase awareness and raise funds to support heart health.
The event begins at 7:30 a.m., with the three-mile walk starting at 8:30 a.m. It is open to everyone and is pet-friendly. Walking will not be the only activity. Before and during the walk residents can learn CPR, receive health screenings and eat healthy snacks, while kids can get their faces painted, learn vegetable planting and engage in balloon art.
“For every hour of brisk walking, life expectancy may increase for some adults by two hours,” said Bob Shufflebarger of Atherotech Diagnostics and chair of the event. “We want people to know that it is never too late to start down a healthier path.” For information on participating in the Birmingham Heart Walk, visit birminghamheartwalk.org.
Black Chamber hosts 2015 Entrepreneurs and Innovators Conference
The Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce will present an event designed to connect the states successful entrepreneurs, field experts, and influential leaders. The 2015 Entrepreneurs and Innovators Conference, June 25-26 at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center, will host panels, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities. Participants will receive 15-minute complimentary consultations with an expert of their choosing in: taxes, legal, accounting, branding, Facebook marketing, financial planning, small business loans, grant research and website development. Speakers expected include Governor Robert Bentley, Brandon Kruse, founder of the Huntsville West Creative Incubator, Dr. Samuel N. Addy, director of the University of Alabama Center of Business and Economic Research, consultant and social media marketer Jacqueline Whitehead and many more. General admission is $45. Small business and government agency admission is $400 and $500. Large business admission is $750. Conference lodging at the Cahaba Grand for attendees is $109 a night. For more information about the event, visit: ALBlackCC.org or call (256) 564-7574.
Raising a Family in Birmingham
WalletHub says Birmingham is the second worst city in America for raising a family, just a tad better than Jackson, Miss. The personal finance site said Birmingham’s low estimation arose from a variety of factors, including income, crime rate, unemployment, housing affordability and the rates of poverty and divorce. The 150 most inhabited cities in the U.S. were ranked in the study, which was timed to coincide with a busy season for relocations, WalletHub said in a preamble to the report.
“While obviously not perfect — given the intrinsic value of each city, personal preferences and the limitations of publicly available data — our findings will hopefully give prospective movers a sense of which areas offer the greatest opportunity to achieve wallet wellness and, of course, live a long and happy life,” according to the report.
The best place to raise your family, by the way, according to WalletHub, is Overland Park, Kansas.
The Magic City’s numbers with 1equalling best and 75 equivalent to average are:
86th – Housing Affordability
110th – Unemployment Rate
134th – Median Family Income Adjusted for Cost of Living
136th – Violent Crime Rate
138th – % of Families Receiving Food Stamps
141st – Family Poverty Rate
142nd – % of Families with Kids
143rd – % of Two-Parent Families
148th – Divorce Rate
To see the entire study, click here.