Author: The BridgeLine

It’s that time again!
Building Bridges Charlottesville Presents:
Comedy Night! Come Laugh with Us!
90 minutes of entertainment!

Date: Saturday April 18th, 2015

Time: Doors open at 7pm

Where: Cville Coffee
1301 Harris Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903

$12 Cover charge, $10 goes directly to Building Bridges.

Cville coffee offers an à la carte menu including dinner items, quality beers and wine, as well as other refreshments.

Please RSVP with Amber Rexrode at:
amber@buildingbridgescharlottesville.org
or 434-987-8906

Last night we had a wonderful Guest Chef dinner! Our long time friend and supporter Sue Liberman came and prepared a fabulous meal for us along with tasty desserts! It is so fun to gather around a table with great food and wonderful company. THANK YOU SUE!!!

“Food brings people together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and body; it’s truly love.” -Giada De Laurentiis

Our Guest Chef for a Dinner program began on November 6th, 2011. Our first Guest Chefs were our friend Brett’s mom and her husband, Sylvia and Max Reinhardt. They were just amazing, VERY creative and fun. The meal was DELICIOUS. We were treated to a trout souffle, broccoli with shiitake soy ginger sauce, beets, potatoes anna and home-made bread (with sun dried tomatoes, herbs and olives)!

Sylvia also presented us with a figurine that she made, (pictured above) of a chef about to trip over a cat! We have since had every one or our Guest Chefs take a photo with it! What a fabulous way to kick off our program!

Since we have started the Guest Chef for a Dinner program we have had so many wonderful people come and cook for us. Some of our great friends and supporters, along with Daniela’s parents, all the way from Germany!

In September of 2013, we were treated to a dinner prepared by Jack Hanny, who was a White House Chef and cooked for 6 different Presidents! We were so lucky to have him in our home with a delicious meal and telling exciting stories of his life.

The past 3 years of our Guest Chef program have been absolutely wonderful. We have had so many good times around the dining table. From the delicious food to the great conversations, we appreciate everyone who has come in and spent time with us.

If you or someone you know might be interested in participating in our Guest Chef program, contact us for more information! We’d love to have you! Email Amber Rexrode at amber@buildingbridgescharlottesville.org to hear more and to book a date!

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”
― Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year! Thank you to all of our generous friends and donors who supported us in 2014! At Casino Night, the June Party and our Comedy Night, we had so much fun seeing friends, families and supporters along with making new ones! This year we are excited to start renovating a kitchen in one of our homes to comply with ADA guidelines along with installing a HVAC system! Follow us here and on our Facebook Site for frequent updates on these projects and upcoming events!

 The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation announced the recipients of the most recent grant cycle. Building Bridges Charlottesville is honored to be a recipient in this cycle. These funds will go towards renovating a kitchen in one of our homes to comply with ADA guidelines.

 The Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF) supports charitable programs locally in the Charlottesville area, nationally and internationally. Program interests include, but are not limited to: disadvantaged youth, needs of the disabled, protection of the environment, and the arts and humanities.

Dave Matthews Band and its members have made an impact with their music and by improving the lives of thousands of people. In the most recent grant cycle, fifty-four organizations received $354,300 in grant awards. The fund has made over 800 grants totaling more than $15 million since its inception.

“Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.” ~Washington Irving

The Bridgers took a trip over the river and through the woods to Waynesboro last weekend and picked out the MOST BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree!
Thank you so much to Garman Christmas Tree Farm for generously donating the tree to us. We appreciate it! When the Bridgers returned home with their freshly cut tree, they had a decorating party and trimmed it so nicely. Great job everyone! It looks wonderful.

This holiday season, give the gift so precious that the value cannot be measured… Become a volunteer at Building Bridges Charlottesville!

Be a Friend! Make somebody smile – Spend time with a new friend! Provide assistance and friendship to members within our program by reading, playing board games, having a coffee with them and more!

Become a Guest Chef!
If you love to cook come join us! We promise an evening full of fun and friendship. Our Guest Chef for a Dinner Program is a volunteer opportunity that all residents of Building Bridges love. Come to one of our homes and show off your cooking skills. We have had guest chefs come from as near as Charlottesville and as far as Germany! A Guest Chef enriches our evening with great fun and excellent food.
We’d love to have you!

Interested in volunteering?
Contact Amber Rexrode at amber@buildingbridgescharlottesville.org for more information!
Happy Holidays!

Pull out your tackiest winter wardrobe and get ready to rock a holiday season favorite at our Tactfully Tacky Sweater Holiday Party!

When: Saturday, December 13th
Time: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Where: 901 Belmont Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22902
RSVP: amber@buildingbridgescharlottesville.org

We will have plenty of food, and you are also welcome to bring a side dish.
We look forward seeing you there in your tacky holiday wear!

One Tacky! One Ruffled! One Loud and Gaudy!
Come Sequined! Come Glittered! Come Fringed and Shoddy!

Please join us at our Annual Holiday Party – ‘Tis the Season to be Tacky!
Pull out your tackiest winter wardrobe and get ready to rock a holiday season favorite at our Tactfully Tacky Sweater Holiday Party!

There will be a door prize for the “most festive” outfit!
When: Saturday, December 13th
Time: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Where: 901 Belmont Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22902
RSVP: amber@buildingbridgescharlottesville.org

We will have plenty of food, and you are also welcome to bring a side dish.
We look forward seeing you there in your tacky holiday wear!

At The Paramount Theater’s Third Annual Alternative Gift Fair, nonprofits will be set up around the theater to share information about their projects and mission with community members. Community members, or “shoppers”, in return can decide which nonprofit that would like to support with contributions that can be made in honor of friends and family, in lieu of a traditional holiday gift.

How the Alternative Gift Fair works: Shoppers at The Paramount’s Alternative Gift Fair will enter the Fair at no charge. Upon entering, shoppers will be given a “shopping list” with all of the nonprofits who are represented at the fair. They can stroll among the “booths” and talk to area nonprofits who will have information to share about their mission and current projects. As shoppers browse, they can match what charities they might support with the interests of the people on their gift list. Once complete, shoppers can check-out and pay for all gifts at once, eliminating any pressure to give to particular causes or groups at the individual booths. In fact, The Paramount’s anonymous checkout eliminates multiple transactions. Charities will not know who their donors are until they receive a check from The Paramount with all of their donations and a donor list after the event. A donor may also choose to remain completely anonymous.Shoppers may pay by cash, check, or credit card, and one hundred percent of all donations go to the designated charities. Once a gift is given, the shopper will be provided with a card to share with their gift recipient. The Fair will feature refreshments for the shoppers and nonprofits. As a gift to the nonprofit community, The Paramount absorbs all overhead costs, with the help of its generous community sponsors Virginia National Bank and Wendy and Jack Brown.