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Benefit is Sunday at Bessay Salon
By Jewell Cardwell
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Sep 08, 2008
I'm sounding the gong one more time for the free ride on the Polar Express.
Deadline is approaching for parents or guardians to submit brief letters to me, telling me why their seriously or chronically ill child should win a seat on the Polar Express, the much-loved holiday train ride through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The tickets cost $30 each.
However, Akron Police Sgt. Tom Dye and a posse of his good-hearted friends are securing a whole train car for one night only.
The date has yet to be announced.
Please send your letters by Oct. 1 to me: Jewell Cardwell, c/o Polar Express, Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309-0640. No e-mails, please.
'Dogs & Suds' benefit
Local law enforcement and the Victim Assistance Program will join forces from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, for a Dog & Suds fundraiser at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, 2610 Ley Drive, Akron.
Proceeds benefit Victim Assistance, which receives all of its funding from grants and private donations to provide services and support to victims of crime.
The $10 tickets can be purchased at Victim Assistance headquarters, 150 Furnace St., or mail a check — payable to Victim Assistance — to P.O. Box 444, Akron, OH 44309. Indicate ''Dog & Suds'' on the memo line. For information, please call 330-376-0040.
Service awards
Friends of Hower House announced the stellar recipients of its community service award for 2008:
• Jean-Anne Belfonti — Nominated by the Coach House Theater Board of the Akron Woman's City Club for 11 years of behind-the-curtain volunteerism: managing supplies, ushers, cleaning and more. She's a 37-year member of the Akron General Medical Center Woman's Board and served College Club of Akron.
• C. Gordon Ewers — Nominated by the Akron Art Museum for decades of service as the museum's treasurer, working on everything from building projects to human resource issues. He has also served the Akron Zoo, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, the Lehner Family Foundation, Hale Farm and Village and the Western Reserve Historical Society.
• Heather Jalbert — Nominated by WITAN, where she is president. She is a trustee of the Ronald McDonald House; has served three years as chairwoman of the Holiday Tree Festival sponsored by Akron Children's Hospital; and hosts charity golf outings for local organizations and nonprofits.
• Bob and Wanda Vigar — Nominated by Hospice of Visiting Nurse Service. They've volunteered at the hospice in various jobs and have provided food on behalf of their church to the hospice
family kitchen. Also served 21 years as members and volunteers for Coventry AARP. Both deliver meals for Meals on Wheels and more.
• Virginia Wojno-Forney — Nominated by Cascade Locks Park Association, an organization she founded. She also has served Rotary Club of Akron, WITAN, Akron Woman's City Club's gallery board, the Akron Urban Design Commission and more.
Each recipient will receive a ceramic artwork by Zeber-Martell, local artists working in clay, at a luncheon at noon Saturday at Hower House. Tickets at $28 are available by calling 330-972-6909.
Fundraiser at hair salon
Akron's Bessay Salon is joining Mizani's Hairdressers Unlocking Hope Campaign — a national effort to help Katrina victims in New Orleans.
The campaign, in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity, dedicated 10 homes in 2007 in the St. Tammany Parish.
Bessay's benefit — a special relaxer with a free haircut for $75 — will be 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday. The salon is at 1718 Merriman Road, Akron. Please call Kenneth G. Slack at 330-836-6999 for information.
Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.
I'm sounding the gong one more time for the free ride on the Polar Express.
Get the full article here.

