The Board of Directors for the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce recently named the THEA Foundation in North Little Rock as Business of the Year for 2011. The Business of the Year Award is presented annually to a North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce business that has demonstrated leadership and a commitment to the community. The North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce will honor the THEA Foundation at the Chamber’s monthly membership luncheon and Chairman’s Awards Ceremony on Friday, December 2nd and also at the 27th Annual Chamber Banquet in early 2012. 
 
The THEA Foundation was founded in 2001 by Linda and Paul David Leopoulos in honor of their late daughter, Thea Kay Leopoulos.  Thea was a very talented young artist, actor, and dancer who thrived socially and academically because of her involvement in the arts.  The THEA Foundation was created soon after Thea’s untimely death as a way to provide other young people the opportunity to find confidence and motivation through creativity and self-expression.

THEA’s founders and Board of Directors have adopted the mission of carrying Thea’s legacy forward by advocating the significance of the correlation between creativity and effective learning. THEA has developed several programs that further the foundation’s advocacy by inspiring confidence and motivation in Arkansas youth through the arts. Such programs include but are not limited to:

.  THEA Scholarships – Since 2002, THEA has distributed $1.5 million in scholarships to 169 students gifted in the arts.  Scholarship categories include Visual Art, Performing Arts, Creative Writing, Filmmaking, and Slam Poetry.  THEA Scholarship competitions are uniquely inclusive in that THEA does not require students to provide their GPAs or test scores, or that they major in the arts.

.  Thea’s Art Closet -  In five years, THEA has donated nearly one million dollars in high-quality art supplies to over 380 schools in Arkansas.  A response to the growing trend of art educators’ shortage of supplies in the classroom, the Art Closet program exists to give all Arkansas students the chance to experience unhindered creativity.

.  Art Across Arkansas (AAA) -  Co-sponsored by THEA and the William J. Clinton Foundation, AAA was developed to spark creativity in Arkansas students by placing fine art in the schools.  One hundred and seventy-six schools across the state have received AAA displays over the past five years.  Every participating school receives a new display each school year.
 
.  Actors’ and Dancers’ Workshops – Offered in partnership with the Arkansas Dance Network and the Dance Coalition, THEA’s workshops have touched the lives of hundreds of young actors and dancers over the past nine years.  The workshops offer day-long sessions of instruction from experts such as Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson, Elizabeth Williams, and Bill Hastings.

The crowning achievement of THEA’s tenth year of operation is the reinstatement of the A+ Schools in Arkansas.  Not to be confused as a program, the Arkansas A+ Schools is literally the foundation’s advocacy in action.  The Arkansas A+ Schools is a professional development training resource that prepares principals and educators to present their curriculum in a more collaborative and hands-on way. The implementation of this special curriculum delivery makes learning accessible for all students regardless of their background or place in life.

Since its inception, THEA has received the honor of many awards.  Such awards include the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award in 2002; the Arkansas Art Educators’ Distinguished Service Award in 2004; the Hearts for Art Big Heart Award in 2006; the Arkansas Arts Council Governor’s Award for Arts Community Development in 2008; Arkansas Art Educators’ recognition for Continuing Support of the Statewide Student Art Competition and Exhibit in 2009; the North Little Rock School District’s Outstanding Service Award in 2010; and, most recently, the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award in 2011.
 
The THEA Foundation is located at 401 Main Street, Suite 100, North Little Rock, AR 72114. For more information, visit www.theafoundation.org/ or call (501) 379-9512.

The finalists for the 2011 Business of the Year Award also included the following Chamber member businesses:
• Arkansas Supply Inc.
• Bell & Company PA
• Best Western JFK Inn & Suites
• Coulson Oil Company
• EGP, PLLC
• L’OREAL
• Pulaski County Habitat for Humanity
• St. Vincent Medical Center – North
• THEA Foundation
• TIMEX
• Wyndham Riverfront

For more information please click here.

We are looking for some wonderful volunteer leaders for this year’s 14th Annual Wine and Food Festival. We will be starting with three main committees: Silent Auction/Cork Pull, Restaurant Recruitment/Relations, Publicity and Decor/Theme! By becoming a volunteer leader, not only you will be making great friends, as John Gay said in his Fables, Part II (which is where the subject line of this email comes from!), but you will also be making this event the best it has ever been and raise funds for park programming. There will be a range of commitment levels, though each leadership position will require a good number of hours through the summer and up to the event in September.

Please contact Leslie Fay Vaeth at lvaeth@wildwoodpark.org or call (501) 821-7275 ext. 259.

DID YOU KNOW? . . . . .
• In only 4 years, ARMOM has provided over $2.7 million worth of dental services to patients who might have otherwise had no hope of receiving care!
• The Arkansas Mission of Mercy event moves around the state to serve more Arkansans:
2007 & 2008 – Little Rock (Central Region)
2009 – Springdale (Northwest Region)
2010 – Monticello (Southeast Region)
2012 – Eastern Arkansas Region

• Over 6,200 patients have received dental services in the first 4 ARMOM events.
• Total patient services provided at ARMOM events to date are:
11,606 Extractions
6,694 Fillings
• ARMOM Volunteers for the past 4 years have averaged the following, per year:
137 Dentists
48 Hygienists
156 Dental Assistants
15 Pharmacists
32 Nurses
370 Support Staff (Lay Volunteers)

• Lay volunteers serve in positions such as patient escorts, equipment loaders/unloaders, volunteer check-in workers, patient check-in and check-out workers, patient water and snack servers, and volunteer break room servers.
• Without the help of our selfless volunteers and sponsors, many individuals living on low incomes and/or without dental insurance would not be able to receive these greatly needed dental services.
• New for the 2011 Event: We will be offering limited dental hygiene services to improve the health of patients not needing teeth pulled or capped. This means we expect more patients and will need more volunteers, especially dental hygienists!
• Lay Volunteer Questions should be directed to:
Dr. Mark Murphy, Volunteer Director, drmmurphydds@sbcglobal.net
Office: 501.223.9080; Cell: 501.413.9035; Home: 501.219.1610
• Questions regarding medical and dental volunteers should be directed to:
Dr. Terry Fiddler, 2011 ARMOM Chair, fiddler@tcworks.net, ph 501.327.7778 – or – Dr. Steve Kilpatrick, 2011 ARMOM Clinical Director, skilpat@swbell.net, ph 479.452.7454

For more information or to register as a volunteer, visit the Arkansas State Dental Association web site at arkansasdentistry.org and follow the ARMOM 2011 links. Come join us helping others in need – it’s an experience you’ll never forget!

For more information please visit http://www.therep.org/learn/media/news/article.aspx?id=30.

To volunteer please email cisom@arkarts.com or call 501-396-0376.

http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/Preparedness/WinterStorms.pdf

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Feb. 8, 2011) – Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. has named Little Rock-based ACCESS Group Inc., a center offering therapy and education to children with developmental delays and disabilities, as the firm’s 2011 Take Time To Give primary charity. The law firm is donating $25,000 to ACCESS for its new therapy gym, while providing pro bono legal services and volunteer hours from the attorneys and staff throughout the year.

Mitchell Williams’ Take Time To Give program is the firm’s community service initiative that provides monetary and volunteer support to civic and charitable organizations throughout Arkansas and the region. The program has supported more than 200 organizations since its formal launch in 2004. Last year, Mitchell Williams launched a new website, TakeTimeToGive.com, to help raise awareness of Arkansas’ many charitable organizations.

ACCESS Group Inc. offers evaluation services, full-time education, therapy, training and activities for infants, children and youths with developmental delays and learning disabilities. The mission of ACCESS is to expand individual potential through innovative instruction. The school, therapy clinic and resource center serves children diagnosed with apraxia, autism, ADHD, dyslexia, feeding disorders, hearing and language impairments, reading disorders, sensory integration disorders and more.

Mitchell Williams’ donation of $25,000 is the first donation to ACCESS’ new therapy gym, announced publicly for the first time today. The $500,000 gym will feature an in-ground ball pit; in-ground trampoline; suspension equipment, including swings, a zipline and a climbing wall; a fine motor/ADL (activities of daily living) area; and gross-motor equipment (therapy balls, bikes, a balance beam and scooter boards).

“We are delighted to be supporting ACCESS Group this year through our Take Time To Give program,” said Harry Hamlin, Mitchell Williams’ managing director. “ACCESS fills a real need in our state, providing exceptional therapy and education to children with everything from learning disabilities to autism and apraxia. They are one of very few comprehensive centers helping Arkansas families with the appropriate therapy and education they need for their children to succeed in life.”

The new 6,700-square-foot therapy gym, designed by Little Rock-based architecture firm Roark, Perkins, Perry and Yelvington, will be housed in ACCESS’ former auditorium, which once housed a church sanctuary, and will open in August 2011. The move will allow ACCESS to open two new classrooms in the space where two smaller therapy gyms were, treating more clients from the community. The new classrooms include a class for 3-year-olds in need of intensive language-learning programming and a young adult day treatment program.

 “It’s wonderful to be at a point in our history where we can make this dream a reality,” said Cheri Stevenson, M.S., CCC-SLP, ACCESS director of therapy. “The renovated space will allow us to treat more outpatient therapy clients and is a great selling point to attract high-quality therapists.”

“I am delighted with the proposed addition of the therapy gym,” said Catherine Morton, ACCESS Group, Inc. board member and parent. “The kids will have so much fun in this exciting space; they will hardly realize they’re working!”

Along with the primary charity program, Mitchell Williams will continue its support of nonprofit missions throughout the state through the Take Time To Give website and its social media outlets – Facebook.com/TakeTimeToGive and Twitter.com/TakeTimeToGive. Nonprofits who are looking for monetary support are encouraged to submit an online application at TakeTimeToGive.com/requests. Organizations who would like to submit events and information to post on the website can send information to Andrea Smalec at asmalec@mwlaw.com.

“We look forward to working with the amazing leadership and staff at ACCESS Group over the next year,” Hamlin said. “Our attorneys and staff are excited to volunteer with the children and help celebrate the opening of their new gym.”

We are so appreciative to the Mitchell Williams firm for helping us kick-start our gym fundraising effort and bring awareness to our mission,” said Tammy Simmons, M.S., CCC-SLP, ACCESS executive director. “Through this renovation, we will be able to free up space needed for other revenue sources that allow us to expand and maintain the exceptional programming for which we are known. Providing more services to our community has been a long-time goal; the new therapy gym is the first major step to making that goal a reality.”

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About Mitchell Williams
Providing strategic counsel on a variety of sophisticated legal matters since 1954, Mitchell Williams combines decades of diverse professional experience with extensive relationships to offer clients across the United States the most comprehensive services possible. Today, the firm employs 77 attorneys from four offices in Arkansas, Texas and New York. For more information, visit www.MitchellWilliamsLaw.com.

About ACCESS Group Inc.
ACCESS Group Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit offering evaluation services, full-time education, therapy, training and activities for infants, children and youths with developmental delays and learning disabilities. Founded in 1994 by two speech-language pathologists and a special educator, the center comprises three main branches: ACCESS Evaluation and Resource Center (offering developmental, psychological and cognitive evaluations; specialized tutoring; and technology training for students, parents and professionals), ACCESS Therapy (an outpatient pediatric speech, physical and occupational therapy clinic), and ACCESS Schools (an infant stimulation program, preschool and academy serving children and youths ages six weeks old to 21). To learn more about ACCESS or contribute to the nonprofit’s many programs, visit www.AccessGroupInc.org.