Believe it or not – it’s time to sign up for the annual Monument 10k again to take place on March 29, 2014. Simply head over to the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k website to register. You can join an existing team, create your own, or even manage an existing crew.
The VCU Massey Cancer Center (HDL, Inc. Massey Challenge) and Kids Run RVA are this year’s event charities. VCU Massey Cancer Center is the official charitable fundraising partner of the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by MARTIN’S. Consider making a donation to either of these organizations when you register (optional).
Register by December 31, 2013 and you can save up to $15 on registration for the 10k (before 12/31/13 fees are just $30; fees after March 1 are $45).
You may want to consider joining Team CJ (CJSTUF.org) benefiting CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation this year. We’ve seen lots of great work from this non-profit organization as they raise funds to help parents and children dealing with the expenses and hardships faced when childhood cancer strikes. They have a goal of 500 members for Team CJ – simply click on Team CJ and use the password ‘butterfly’ when you sign up.
You can also participate in the 10k Healthy School Challenge presented by the Virginia College Savings Plan too.
Join the 10k Healthy School Challenge and show how active your school is by rallying students to take part in the 10k on March 29, 2014. The middle and high schools with the highest percentage of students participating win cash! Click here for more information.
There are lots of other great teams and organizations represented so choose one and get started now. You can also join one of the area locations for 10k training through the YMCA. They offer special rates for low-income individuals who would like to take part too. You do not have to be a member of the YMCA to participate in their training programs for the Monument 10k. Registration for training closes on January 31, 2014 (reduced rates available through January 17th).
The Children’s Museum of Richmond and Commonwealth Parenting welcome author Nancy Carlsson-Paige in an exclusive speaking engagement on Friday, October 18th, 2013 as they celebrate their merger and debut a new speaker’s series entitled “Lunch and Learn,” which will present leading experts in the field of child and parent education.
Drawing from her professional work with families, as well as her own personal experiences raising her two sons, one of whom is acclaimed actor Matt Damon, Dr. Carlsson-Paige’s groundbreaking book, Taking Back Childhood: A Proven Road Map for Raising Confident, Creative, Compassionate Kids, helps parents better understand and navigate the social currents shaping the lives of children today.
She has received many awards for her leadership and advocacy in early childhood and peace education and is an advocate for education policies and practices that promote social justice and the well being of all children.
Join us:
Kate Hall
The 4th Annual Women’s Conference is Saturday, October 26, 2013 at the Richmond Marriott Downtown and it’s a day filled with great speakers and lots of valuable information. If you’re an entrepreneur, mompreneur, or just interested in what’s going on in the world of business, health, and social media, you’re going to love this conference! The event is free to all participants.
Hosted by Senator Mark R. Warner, VCU Medical Center, Virginia State University and Virginia’s Community Colleges.
And there’s one more BIG reason you may want to attend. Our own Kate Hall is a panelist on the topic of social media! Who better to talk about optimizing social media for your business than the Richmondmom.com founder?
Putting Social Media to Work for You
Facebook is great for staying in touch with friends and sharing pictures. You get all your news from Twitter. But do you know how to unlock the full potential of social media and put it to work for you? This session will share best practices for maximizing social media – an important platform for networking and showcasing your professional profile. The content you post every day is building your personal brand – make it count! A strong personal brand online is an important factor for potential employers and clients. Join our panelists to learn the best way to use different social media platforms to your advantage.Moderated by Addie Bryant, Office of Senator Mark R. Warner
Latryce Noel, Public Relations & Marketing Specialist, Virginia State University
Judi Crenshaw, Communications & Marketing Manager, Virginia Council on Economic Education
Kate W. Hall, Founder/Writer Richmondmom.com
Kendall Morris, Founding Partner, Create Digital
You will also enjoy hearing from Mary Foley, Emcee, Author and Radio Host, along with other great speakers. Click here for the full agenda.
Fun and engaging topics include information on:
It’s an inspiring day for women that you don’t want to miss. Click here for details and take advantage of this free conference to get your creative juices flowing and create the life you’ve always wanted!
]]>The Science Museum of Virginia has brought another incredible exhibit to Richmond! Identity: An Exhibition of You opens October 18, 2013 at the Museum. It’s an interactive exhibit that helps you discover the connection between “thoughts and relationships to our genes, brains, and all things scientific!” The exhibit runs from October 18, 2013 – January 5, 2014.
Science Museum of Virginia
October 18-January 5, 2014
Photo Source: www.smv.org
Kids and adults will love this innovative event. Examine your fingertip and learn more about the genetic patterns and ridges, and what they both mean. Try to match up families with a mix-and-match activity and discover what ‘looks’ have to do with relationships – if anything! Discover and learn more than you ever thought possible about genetics, psychology, and biological identity.
Photo Source: www.smv.org
This is not just an exhibit – it’s a fun, entertaining, engaging, and teaching exhibit all rolled into one. It’s designed to capture the imagination and attention of children and adults. And it’s right here in our own backyard!
Visit the Science Museum of Virginia to learn more. Mark your calendars for the opening of Identity: An Exhibition of You.
The Science Museum of Virginia is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com
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You may have seen our recent contest for Dream Dinners and a free Pizza Family Night. Or you may have entered our contest. Congratulations to Barbara Blankenship who won this delicious prize!
And now, everyone should head out to Dream Dinners and check them out. You’ll love their easy to prepare meals – and you’ll find that it can even be fun! Here’s what our contestants had to say about Dream Dinners. Let us know what you love about Dream Dinners by leaving a comment below.
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You will love Dream Dinners! Click here to learn more about them. You can prepare your own meals in their kitchen and leave the mess to them – or they will prepare the meals and you simply pick them up. It’s that easy.
Dream Dinners is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com
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(Sarah Cole gets her pumpkin fix, while I get my apple fix!)
Family fun was never better than it is at Carter Orchard in Charlottesville, VA. The scenic drive is worth the trip up I64 (or take a more leisurely route up 250W or 33W). Once you arrive, you’ll be transported to another world atop the mountains! Food, hayrides, music, wine tasting, apples, country store, apple pie, apple butter, apple cider, and more apples! (No kids – this is not about your Apple iPod, Apple iTouch, Apple iPhone…….)
Hayrides
Lunch from our Mountain Grill
Wine Tastings
Fresh-Pressed Cider~Apple Butter~Pumpkins
Famous Apple Cider Donuts
A few tips will make your trip more enjoyable:
Make a day of it and enjoy all they have to offer. It’s almost guaranteed you’ll have a peaceful drive back home as the kids doze in the back seat.
The short trek to Carter Mountain Orchard is an annual tradition for many Richmonders – check it out and you’ll see why. (Did I mention Apple Donuts????)
This review is my own opinion – Carter Mountain Orchard did not pay me to eat one single Apple Donut.
Virginia Repertory Theatre and Prevent Child Abuse Virginia Celebrate
30 Years of Hugs and Kisses
Virginia’s Principal Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program
Richmond, VA – Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the 30th anniversary celebration of the nationally acclaimed child sexual abuse prevention program Hugs and Kisses. The free anniversary performance will take place Wednesday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre, 114 West Broad Street. This award- winning landmark musical play sensitively tells the story of a little girl who has been sexually abused. During the course of the play, the girl and her friends learn valuable life lessons that enable her to talk to a trusted adult who can bring help. Juan Conde from Channel 8 News will EMCEE the event. A question and answer session and reception will follow immediately after the program.
Hugs and Kisses is a unique partnership between Prevent Child Abuse Virginia (PCAV), the Virginia Department of Social Services and Virginia Rep. Now in its 30th year of touring, Hugs and Kisses introduces the concepts of good touch, bad touch and secret touch to elementary school students in a sensitive and an age appropriate manner through an enjoyable musical play. Both Johanna Schuchert, Executive Director of PCAV, and Ann Childress, CPS Prevention Supervisor from Social Services, agree that collaboration has been the key to keeping this program going since 1983. “All three organizations and other valuable partners have worked together at the state level. Schools, local social services and other community groups such as women’s clubs have supported the effort locally. We are all appreciative of the difference this program has made for children in Virginia.”
The project began with a 1981 conversation between Bruce Miller, then Artistic Director of Theatre IV, and Ann Childress from the Virginia Department of Social Services. Childress persuaded Miller that an educational program about child sexual abuse was needed for school age children. After 18 months of research, Miller along with playwright Terry Bliss and composer, Richard Giersch, had created the child abuse prevention play. Miller remembers that in the early years, Hugs and Kisses was not an easy sell. “In 1983, no school in Virginia would even accept a free performance so we provided seven showcase performances across the state. During that time period, a major case of child abuse broke at a childcare facility in California and child sexual abuse was featured on the cover of Time and Newsweek. Within days, the show was fully booked and has been ever since.”
Hugs and Kisses has been shown in every school district in Virginia and has been seen by approximately 1.5 million children. An independent evaluation is conducted annually. The evaluation consistently supports that children learn the prevention message across all elementary school grade levels. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many children have sought and received the help they need to end existing sexual victimization as a result of Hugs and Kisses and related dialogue.
Funding from the Virginia Department of Social Services, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and foundations and corporations allows Virginia Rep to take Hugs and Kisses to over 150 schools annually for a subsidized price of $150 – $350. In many cases, the play is performed at no cost to the school.
Hugs and Kisses has been recognized nationally as an important prevention tool. The United States Department of Health and Human Services awarded Bruce Miller the Commissioner’s Award to honor his “outstanding contribution to the field of child abuse and neglect.” The program itself has received the Governor’s Award for service to the Commonwealth and the Award for Excellence in Prevention from the Virginia Council in Coordinating Prevention. In addition, Hugs and Kisses was performed before the U. S. Senate Sub-Committee on the Sexual Victimization of Children and was the keynote address at the national conference of the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.
For more information about the event or the Hugs and Kisses contact Ronnie Brown at [email protected] or 783-1688 ext 1130.
Virginia Repertory Theatre, located in Richmond, VA, combines the talents and strengths of two nonprofit companies that shared facilities, resources, and management teams for over a decade. Now the heritages of Barksdale Theatre (founded in 1953) and Theatre IV (founded in 1975) live on in their new form, as Central Virginia’s leading professional theater company. Virginia Rep presents national caliber productions of the great dramas, comedies, and musicals as well as classics, contemporary works, and world premieres, always seeking to demonstrate the unique power of theater to engage, enthrall, educate, and inspire. Productions are staged at four distinct venues: the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre and Theatre Gym at the downtown Virginia Rep Center, Virginia Rep’s Children’s Theatre of Virginia located at Willow Lawn, and at Hanover Tavern, home to Virginia Rep’s Barksdale Season.
Phyzique Fitness and Wellness is holding a 5K Family Fitness Challenge.
Saturday September 28th, 2013
8:00am-10:30 am
Rain date: September 29th, 2013 from 8:00am-10:30 am
If you are pregnant, a mom-to-be, or a mom, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to learn more about healthy nutrition for babies and moms. It’s a special event to help women make more informed decisions about nutrition for healthier babies during pregnancy and healthier children as they grow, learn, and develop. Seating is limited so register soon – it’s FREE!
Monday, September 23rd / 6:00 to 7:30PM
Lauren McCorey
Lauren is a Richmond native who recently gave birth to her first son in December. She has worked closely with local farms, midwives, pediatricians, dietitians, the Weston A. Price Richmond Chapter, as well as Nourishing Traditions to help her navigate the complicated decisions that face women today from pregnancy to first foods to overall more proactive, healthier lifestyle choices. Her passion is helping others develop their own improved ways of living and wants to share with moms some information to help them make more informed decisions. Lauren recently graduated with her Master’s degree in Sport Leadership from VCU, works as a swim coach for NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, and is a birth/postpartum doula.
No other culture is as thoughtless about preparation for pregnancy and babies as our own. This class hopes to help inform pregnant women, moms and moms-to-be on special nutrient-dense foods, their timing and preparation during pregnancy, lactation and child growth.
FREE!
40
There is limited seating/availability for all classes and events and you must register ahead of time.
Register online for the class now.
Call the customer service desk at 804-359-7525.
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