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The Angel Fund, which provides one-time financial assistance to local residents and business members who are in an extraordinary, urgent or unusual circumstance, will host its first fundraiser from 6-to-9 p.m. Thursday at Jag’s in West Chester.

Jag’s chef Michelle Brown has prepared a “Dinner by the Bite” menu to compliment the Angel Fund’s live and silent auctions.

The cost to attend is $65 a ticket. To RSVP, call 513-874-5459.

The Angel Fund is a Board Designated Fund held at the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty. The fund provides one-time emergency assistance to people who live or work in West Chester/Liberty whose need cannot be addressed by any other charitable, governmental, religious or social services agency or organization.

A person in need cannot come directly to the Community Foundation of WCL and request for aid from the Angel Fund. Instead, an “Angel” must request help for a neighbor, friend, associate or family member whom they suspect is having difficulties making ends meet.

For additional information regarding the Angel Fund, visit the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty’s website at www.wclfoundation.com.

Posted in: Events, News |

Tags: Tags: Angel Fund, Angel Fund West Chester, charity, Community Foundation WCL, Community Foundation West Chester/Liberty, Jag's, Jag's Steak & Seafood, Jag's Steak & Seafood West Chester, Jag's West Chester, WCL Community Foundation

The Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty will celebrate its growth and accomplishments throughout the past year with its annual dinner on Thursday, April 19 at the Savannah Center in West Chester.

For the first time, the annual dinner will feature a Fund Fair, which will provide an opportunity for the community to chat with the many fund holders doing charitable work in the community.

The 3 little Halos fund is one of many funds within the Community Foundation. It was created in memory of Aubrey, Alex and Braden Butler, who passed away in November of 2007 as a result of a fire in their West Chester home. The fund is used to assist local organizations to ensure a safe environment for children. Photo provided.

Below are a few of the funds within the Community Foundation:

• The Angel Fund – providing one-time financial assistance to families in need.
• 3 little Halos Fund – educating our youngest on safety in all aspects of life.
• Give HOPE: Pancreatic Cancer Research and Awareness Fund – raising dollars for local pancreatic cancer research.
• Community Kids Fund – a giving circle for 4th, 5th and 6th graders who focus on awarding grants to benefit youth.
• Youth in Philanthropy – a group of high school students who award grants to benefit youth.
• Companions on a Journey Fund – support for those grieving from the loss of a loved one.

The Fund Fair begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner at 7:15 p.m.

The event will also feature keynote speaker Melanie Sabelhaus, who is the first woman deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Association.

Culminating the evening will be the presentation of two Lakota Educator of Excellence Awards to deserving educators, who were nominated by the community and chosen by their peers in the Lakota School System.

Tickets to the event are $50 per person, which also includes dinner. To RSVP by April 16, contact the foundation at 513-874-5450.

The Savannah Center is located 5533 Chappell Crossing Blvd.

For more information about the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty, visit www.wclfoundation.com.

Posted in: Events, News |

Tags: Tags: 3 little Halos, charity, Community Foundation annual dinner, Community Foundation WCL, Community Foundation West Chester/Liberty, Lakota Educator of Excellence Awards, Melanie Sabelhaus, WCL Community Foundation

The 19th annual Frozen Open will be held at Beckett Ridge Golf Club in West Chester March 24. The proceeds from the event benefit the Heroes’ Fund at the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty. Throughout the years, approximately 1,250 golfers have participated in the event.

The Heroes’ Fund assists local military families in financial crisis. The Fund is available to qualified persons residing in Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties or to non-profits serving this group of residents.

Golfers will need to check in at 10 a.m. the day of the event. Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The shotgun start begins at 11:30 a.m.

Scramble foursomes in the tournament will vie for the coveted “Chunk ‘O Ice” trophies.

Dinner and an awards presentation will take place after the tournament. Prizes will be given for long drive, closest-to-the pin and holes-in-one.

The event will also feature live and silent auctions. Auctions will include a variety of golfing foursomes to local courses, merchandise, restaurant gift certificates, sports memorabilia, theatre tickets, cigars, wine and more.

Last year, the cost to register for the event was $110 for a single golfer or $440 for a foursome.

For more information or to reserve a spot, call 513-755-2211 or visit www.frozenopen.com.

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Tags: Tags: Beckett Ridge, Beckett Ridge Golf Club, charity, Community Foundation WCL, Community Foundation West Chester/Liberty, Frozen Open, Frozen Open fundraiser, Frozen Open golf, Frozen Open West Chester, WCL Community Foundation

Get your pet’s photo taken with Santa this weekend at the West Chester Petsmart store.

A $9.95 donation will give owners a free photo session and framed photo made on-site of their pet with Santa. Proceeds benefit Pampered Pets Animal Rescue, a nonprofit organization that rescues and finds new homes for endangered and unwanted dogs, cats and rabbits.

Photo session hours are 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. today and Sunday.

“We are receiving more requests for intake due to people losing their jobs and homes,” said Tracy Heinrichs, the rescue’s president. “Our average monthly vet bill is around $860 and that’s with a discount. Fundraisers like this are crucial in enabling us to rescue animals in need.”

The West Chester Petsmart is at 7574 Voice of America Centre Drive. For more information, call the store at 513-779-3159.

Posted in: Events |

Tags: Tags: charity, fundraiser, Pampered Pets Animal Rescue, pet photos with santa, pets, PetSmart, rescue, West Chester

IKEA in West Chester will be offering its customers an all-you-can-eat holiday smorgasbord Friday. The buffet or Julbord will be offered in two sessions from 5 to 7 p.m. and from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Julbord is the standard Christmas dinner in Scandinavian countries.

During the annual IKEA holiday event, guests can enjoy an endless meal of traditional Swedish food offerings such as Swedish holiday ham, smoked salmon and Swedish style meatballs.

• IKEA’s annual soft toys for education campaign Nov. 1-Dec. 24

The Swedes in Greater Cincinnati adult and children’s choir will also provide entertainment, starting at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the buffet can be purchased in the IKEA restaurant. The cost is $9.99 for adults and $2.49 for children 12 and under.

The Julbord menu includes the following items, assorted herring, gravad lax with mustard sauce, smoked salmon with horseradish sauce, whole poached salmon, hard-boiled eggs with shrimp, Swedish cucumber salad, red beet salad, Swedish potato salad, Christmas ham, asssorted cheeses, meatballs and lingonberries, red cabbage, boiled potatoes with dill, crispbread, thin bread, dinner rolls, Swedish rice pudding with almonds, assorted desserts, glögg, coffee, tea and fountain beverages.

Seating is limited for both sessions. For more details, call 513-779-7100.

Posted in: Uncategorized |

Tags: Tags: charity, IKEA, IKEA soft toys, IKEA soft toys for education campaign, IKEA toys, IKEA West Chester, Liberty Township Christmas, Toys for Tots, West Chester Christmas

Alicia’s Lungs, a charity raising funds for Lakota graduate Alicia Lang, who has cystic fibrosis and needs to have a double-lung transplant, will be having a aluminum can drive from 8 a.m. to noon this Saturday at Lakota West High School.

The charity group is asking community members to collect and drop off their aluminum cans in the front southwest corner of the high school’s parking lot. The drop-off area is near the corner of Union Centre Blvd. and West Chester Road.

>>>LATEST BLOG FROM ALICIA LANG<<<

Lang is currently listed for a double-lung transplant at Loyola in Chicago and at the Cleveland Clinic. The transplant will be scheduled when a lung becomes available.

The family is anticipating around $350,000 in bills that will not be covered by their insurance, which covers 80 percent of the cost.

For more about Alicia’s story, visit the Facebook page or WestChesterBuzz.com’s story entitled “Lakota West grad hoping for new lungs.”

People who want to donate, but cannot make to the event, can make their personal pledge to the charity by going to donate page of AliciasLungs.com.

(Photo of Alicia Lang with family at a fundraiser at Lakota West High School)

Posted in: Events, News, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Alicia Lang, Alicia's Lungs, can drive, charity, Cystic Fibrosis, fundraiser, Lakota West

For every soft toy, children’s book or kid’s meal IKEA customers purchase between Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, the IKEA Foundation will donate one Euro (approximately $1.35 U.S.) to UNICEF and Save the Children to help children receive a quality education.

Since it started in 2003, IKEA’s annual soft toys for education campaign, has raised a total of $48 million and has helped more than eight million children in forty countries.

IKEA Soft Toys range in price from $.49-to-$19.99 and are available at IKEA’s store in West Chester. This year, the range includes circus animals, vegetables and books, in addition to its regular extensive range of plush soft toys.

“IKEA strongly supports the rights of every child and understands that education is key to their growth and development,” said Mike Ward, IKEA US President.

“And this year, we are pleased to donate IKEA soft toys to Toys for Tots to help increase their holiday gift.”

According to a press release from IKEA, each IKEA US store will contribute hundreds of IKEA soft toys and children’s books to the Toys for Tots program in local IKEA store markets or Toys for Tots locations.

Posted in: Business, Events, News |

Tags: Tags: charity, IKEA, IKEA soft toys, IKEA soft toys for education campaign, IKEA toys, Toys for Tots

The third annual Union Centre Restaurant Crawl benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will take place this Saturday, Oct. 29. The crawl will begin at 2 p.m. at the UNO Chicago Grill and will move to other participating restaurants that include El Rancho Grande, Asiatique, The Wise Owl Wine Bar, Stone Creek Dining Company, Jag’s Steak and Seafood and the Dingle House.

Those interested can pre-register for the crawl by giving a $30 donation in advance. Registration at the door can be done for a $35 donation.

Parking will be available at the old Max and Erma’s building next to UNO, which is located at 9246 Schulze Drive in West Chester. After checking in at UNO, crawl participants will be walking (dress appropriately) to all of the other nearby restaurants.

Crawl participants will receive a complimentary t-shirt and happy hour specials at each restaurant. There will also be raffles and games during the crawl.

With it being Halloween weekend, there will also be a costume contest. The winner will be announced at the last location (Dingle House) and will be awarded a gift certificate from each restaurant.

Tickets can be purchased at unioncentrecrawl.eventbrite.com.

For more information please email Lindsay Wiseman at lmdwiseman@gmail.com.

(photo taken during the first annual Union Centre Restaurant Crawl – click to enlarge)

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events |

Tags: Tags: Asiatique, Asiatique Bistro and Lounge, business, business news, charity, Cystic Fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, dingle house, Dingle House Irish Pub, El Rancho Grande, Jag's, Jag's Steak & Seafood, Stone Creek, Stone Creek Dining Company, The Wise Owl, Union Centre Merchant Association, Union Centre Merchants Association, Union Centre Restaurant Crawl, UNO, Uno Chicago Grill, Uno's Chicago Grill, West Chester restaurants, Wise Owl, Wise Owl Wine Bar

Leading to up the annual Lakota East vs. Lakota West football game, students and community members are being encouraged to donate items to Reach Out Lakota. During the past couple of weeks, students and community members have been ordering items to be delivered to the game.

Throughout next week, students from Lakota’s East side schools and from Lakota’s West side schools will continue to compete in the charity food drive from Oct. 24 and Oct. 28.

“This is the third year we’ve done this, but usually it’s just been a competition between the high schools,” said school board member Lynda O’Connor. “This is the first year we’ve expanded it to the whole district.”

Schools will also have various activities and dress-up days to increase school spirit leading up to the football game, which will be played at Lakota East Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Food can be brought in by students or community members to any Lakota school building or dropped into collection pods provided by Planes Moving and Storage, which will be placed at the main entrance to the Lakota East football field on gameday – one for East siders, the other for West siders.

A trophy is being made that the winning side’s high school will keep for the year, O’Connor said.

“Then we’ll duke it out again in a friendly rivalry,” O’Connor added.

Items needed include: cereal; pancake mix and syrup; dry or canned pasta and sauce; macaroni and cheese; peanut butter and jelly; canned vegetables or fruit; pork and beans; canned tuna, meat and soup; rice; condiments; vegetable oil; sugar; flour; bar soap; disposable razors; shaving cream; shampoo and conditioner; deodorant; and cleaning supplies.

Reach Out Lakota’s mission is to assist individuals and families in the Lakota School District by putting help and hope into their hands during times of need through their food and clothing pantries.

Posted in: Events, Fall sports, School events, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: charity, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Lakota West vs. Lakota East, Reach Out Lakota, Reach Out Lakota food drive

Leading to up the annual Lakota East vs. Lakota West football game, students and community members are being encouraged to donate items to Reach Out Lakota.

Community members can order items through Oct. 21 from the list provided by Reach Out Lakota.

Among the items available for purchase are packages of Juicy Juice, Gatorade, Quaker chewy granola bars, Pepperidge Farm giant goldfish grahams, Motts fruit snacks, Snyders pretzels, Kars sweet and salty snack mix, laundry detergent and kitchen cleanser.

Pricing for packages of the requested items range from $6.49 to $16.59.

Order forms are available online and can be returned to either Lakota East High School or Lakota West High School offices.

The charity drive is being sponsored by the Lakota Board of Education.

All of the items ordered by Oct. 21 will be delivered and presented at the football game Oct. 28. This year’s rivalry game will take place at Lakota East High School at 7:30 p.m.

Posted in: Events, Fall sports, School events, Sports |

Tags: Tags: charity, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Reach Out Lakota