$30,000 to benefit programs for kids
The Parks and Recreation Department has received $30,000 from a Walmart Foundation grant to support out-of-school programs.
The foundation gave $2.3 million to the National Recreation and Park Association, which in turn awarded the city a portion of the funds.
The city will use the money to upgrade kitchen equipment and supplies at community centers, where some children spend the summer participating in the Summer Playground Program. The city also will receive meals for the youth and nutritional literacy materials through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s summer feeding programs.
“Great things can happen when our children have healthy choices and are supported by focused leadership,” parks department Director Truman Tolefree said.
Interactive display devised to tell story
An interactive art exhibit featuring installations of figurative ceramic sculptures by Conway artist Barbara Satterfield will be on display starting Tuesday.
The city is the last stop for the exhibition in its 2015 public tour. It will be available for viewing from Tuesday until June 27 at the Cox Creative Center at 120 River Market Ave.
There will be a reception hosted for the exhibit, called “And then, I: Monuments to Pivotal Moments,” on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with refreshments, interactive activities and improvisational performances based on the art work. Satterfield will be present.
“‘And then, I … is a phrase similar to ‘Once upon a time …,’” Satterfield said. “It signals a story, and each installation of sculptures represents a moment in a story among women. While the individual sculptures aren’t portraits of actual people, their poses, gazes and gestures are portraits of a turning point or pivotal moment in the group — something has happened or been revealed that changes what the members of the group next think, do or say.”
Texans to spruce up 5 downtown homes
A Texas church group will visit this week as volunteers reviving homes in the Pettaway Neighborhood.
A senior high missionary group with the Aledo, Texas, United Methodist Church will arrive Monday with plans to repair and restore five downtown homes.
The city and neighborhood leaders will greet them at 10 a.m. at the first home at 1904 Bragg St.
Group members started working in the neighborhood in 2011. They will stay for a week. The neighborhood association is planning a cookout Thursday in gratitude for the work.
Aliens offered help with U.S. program
Two nonprofits are partnering to offer a low-cost workshop for illegal aliens Saturday to help with paperwork to apply for the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Arkansas United Community Coalition and Catholic Charities will have volunteers set up at Hall High School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to assist with applications. Aliens previously granted deferred action through the program who want to reapply, as well as first-time applicants, are invited.
The coalition is requiring anyone wishing to attend the workshop to pay a $15 membership fee to get assistance from a volunteer who will help determine whether the person is eligible under federal guidelines. If anyone then desires legal assistance from Catholic Charities, he must provide an $85 money order.
Attendees also should provide documentation to support their applications. Information about what is needed can be found at arkansas coalition.org or by calling the group at (479) 763-2822 or emailing central organizer@arkansascoalition.org.
Currently based in Northwest Arkansas, the coalition has plans to open resource centers in Little Rock, Fort Smith, McGehee, De Queen and Jonesboro later this year, in addition to the one already in Springdale.
The fee to apply for the deferred action program is $465.
Metro on 06/14/2015