To have an item listed, mail to the Gazette-Packet, 1604 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314; fax to 703-917-0991 or e-mail to gazette@connectionnewspapers.com. Deadline is Friday at noon for the following week’s paper. Photos and artwork encouraged. If you have any questions, call Marguerite Rogers at 703-917-6407.
Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) of Northern Virginia has been awarded a grant for $8,000 by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Family and Children’s Trust Fund. The grant will be used to support SCAN’s administration of the Alexandria Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program.
The CASA Program will recruit, train, and supervise diverse community volunteers to advocate for more than 110 child victims of abuse and neglect in Alexandria and Arlington in 2005.
Since 1986, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Family and Children's Trust Fund (FACT) has worked to prevent and treat family violence in Virginia, including awarding grants to organizations like SCAN and its CASA Program.
For more information about SCAN and the CASA Program call 703-836-1820 or visit www.scanva.org
AARP Tax-Aide is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax preparation service available to taxpayers with middle- and low-income, with special attention to those age 60 and older. AARP Tax-Aide is administered by the AARP Foundation in cooperation with the IRS. All tax preparation volunteers receive training in tax law and must pass an IRS certification examination.
Nine tax preparation sites located throughout Northern Virginia will be operational this tax season. Most sites will begin tax preparation on Feb. 1. For more information, call 1-888-AARP NOW or visit the Web site at http://www.aarp.org/taxaide. In Alexandria, these services will be available at Sherwood Regional Library, 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday 5-8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
A few local rescue pups participated in The Animal Puppy Bowl to be televised on Animal Planet. The day's activities were set against a football field backdrop and included the usual puppy wrestling, tug of war and lots of running around with no specific goal in sight. Referees assessed puppy penalties for personal fouls and other violations.
The Animal Planet Puppy Bowl will premiere Sunday, Feb. 6, 3-6 p.m. with encore presentations at 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. on Animal Planet.
The Animal Planet Puppy Bowl is a production of Discovery Production Group. Local Dog trainer Miriam Fields-Babineau assisted with the production. Miriam Fields-Babineau has run Training Unlimited Animal Training and Animal Actors since 1980.
Rescue pups participating in the event were from non-profit groups serving the Northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. metropolitan area including Hot Water Rescue of Alexandria. For more information or to adopt a dog, visit http://www.hotwaterrescue.com.
The 45 Safeway stores throughout Northern Virginia will be accepting donations for the tsunami relief effort. Customers can tell the cashier to add the donation amount to their grocery bill. The funds will be forwarded to the Red Cross and UNICEF. In addition to the in store fund-raising, the Safeway Foundation will make a cash contribution to relief agencies and will match the contributions of Safeway employees.