Saturday, November 29, 2008

WeeBoogie's 'Jolly Holiday' Event in Mooresville Soon

Charlotte, NC- Playgroups USA WeeBoogie's 'Jolly Holiday' Event in
Mooresville!

On December 6th from 2 – 5 pm, parents and their children will be
dancing for charity at ClubFX in Mooresville, North Carolina. At
WeeBoogie, an energetic Disc Jockey will be spinning music under the
mirror ball with thousands of bubbles floating in the air! The ClubFx
dance area is a safe place for families to dance to disco music!

Activities include:
- Dancing to top hits kids love and bubbles
- Performances by the students of Championz Cheer & Dance
- A musical play area created by Kindermusik
- Bounce house supervised by StrollerFit
- Parent mini-massages by Fleur-de-Lis
- Photos by Studio G Photography
- Hula contest supervised by Moore Chiropractic
- Activity and educational learning area by Discovery Toys
- Cupcakes by MJ's Sugar Shack
- Fruit by Edible Arrangements
- Food for snacking
- Raffle, prizes, and more...

WeeBoogie, the music and dance event division of Playgroups USA,
delivers a fun way for families to jump start the holiday season.
WeeBoogie is more than just a great way for parents/caregivers to
enjoy a fun music experience with their children - it's a way to give
back.

Event Information:

Where: ClubFX, 243 Overhill Suite C (exit 36, Hwy150 and Talbert),
Mooresville, NC 28117
When: Saturday, December 6th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Tickets: $10 advance; $12 at the door

Families are asked to bring juice boxes and/or snack treats to help
provide assistance for A Child's Place. This wonderful organization
works to erase the impact of homelessness on children and their
education through CMS.

If you get your tickets early, you can get 25% off through Wednesday,
December 3rd at www.weeboogie.com. Use coupon code: boogie08.
Get your tickets now!

Playgroups USA and WeeBoogie Contact Information:

Charlotte Griffith, Event Coordinator, WeeBoogie, charlotte@weeboogie.com
, (704) 860-7671
Jodi Van Lom, Co-founder & President, Playgroups USA, jodi@playgroupsusa.com
, (503) 550-3714
WeeBoogie: (http://www.weeboogie.com/home.html)
A Child's Place: (http://www.achildsplace.org/)

# # #

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte Selling Luminary Kits as Fundraiser

Charlotte, NC—November 19, 2008—The Ronald McDonald House (RMH) of
Charlotte is looking for volunteers to sell luminaries and organize
their neighborhoods for the "Light the Night with Love" event.

Neighborhood captains are requested to help spread the word and sell
luminary kits for the event which is scheduled for dusk on Saturday,
Dec. 20, 2008 (rain/wind date is Dec. 21). All proceeds will go to
the RMH of Charlotte. To become a neighborhood captain or order
luminary kits, please call 704-335-1191 or visit www.rmhofcharlotte.org.

Each kit costs $10 and contains 8 luminary bags, 8 candles and enough
sand to weigh them down. Neighborhood captains would be asked to tell
neighbors and friends about the "Light the Night with Love" event by
collecting order forms and funds. All "Neighborhood Order Forms" are
due by 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1.

"We are really relying on our neighborhood captains to make this a
magical night," said Mona Johnson-Gibson, Executive Director of RMH of
Charlotte. "We want to turn Charlotte and the surrounding areas into
a sparkling wonderland. This fund raiser will help our cause and
spread the news that something wonderful will be built on East
Morehead Street."

Johnson-Gibson added luminary kits also make a great gift and can also
be used at other times of the year for special occasions.

The RMH of Charlotte is scheduled to open sometime in 2010 and will
primarily serve children being treated at Levine Children's Hospital
and Presbyterian Healthcare's Hemby Children's Hospital. Located on
the 1600 block of East Morehead Street on land donated by Carolinas
Medical Center, the House will feature approximately 35,000 square
feet of living space complete with 20 to 30 bedrooms (one family per
bedroom/suite), providing more than 10,000 nights of stay each year
for needy families. It is also scheduled to have a family kitchen,
great room, learning center, playground and sitting porch.
Construction will hopefully begin in 2009.

About the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) of Charlotte
The RMH of Charlotte is an independent 501 (c) (3) charity managed by
a local board of directors which will oversee construction and
operation of the home. The cost of building and operating the RMH of
Charlotte will come primarily from individual and corporate
donations. The RMH of Charlotte will be funded, constructed and
operated by the Charlotte community. The mission of the RMH of
Charlotte is to provide the families of children being treated in area
medical facilities with a safe, affordable and caring "home away from
home." For more information on RMH of Charlotte, visit www.rmhofcharlotte.org
.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Hope Church Partners For Thanksgiving

Hope Church (Charlotte) will be partnering with the Harris Teeter
Grocery Chain on Thanksgiving week to distribute grocery gift cards to
families in need in the Charlotte community. This two month old
congregation sees this as a practical way to fulfill its founding
vision to bring Hope to the Charlotte community. The stories of Hope
will be shared the following weekend in the Sunday morning gathering
at 10am at the Starlight Theater in North Charlotte. www.hopecharlotte.com
407.718.9648

Monday, November 17, 2008

Leon Levine Foundation Gives a Gift of $500,000 to RMH of Charlotte

Charlotte, NC—November 17, 2008—Leon Levine, along with his wife,
Sandra, have established an enviable legacy of philanthropic support
benefiting the people of the Carolinas. That legacy continues with
their support of the future Ronald McDonald House (RMH) of Charlotte.

The Leon Levine Foundation will generously donate $500,000 to the RMH
of Charlotte to help with its capital campaign. The announcement was
made by Mona Johnson-Gibson, Executive Director of RMH of Charlotte.
The Foundation will fund the House for the next 5 years with
installments of $100,000 every June.

"We are grateful with the support and generosity the Foundation has
bestowed upon the RMH of Charlotte," Johnson-Gibson said. "The
Levines are an excellent example of outstanding citizenship and
personal integrity, and they have demonstrated an extraordinary
interest in service to the people of the Carolinas."

In return, the RMH of Charlotte will name the House's living room the
Levine Living Room.

"We are very excited to partner with such a strong organization with a
successful commitment to a mission so close to the vision of our
founder," said Tom Lawrence, the Foundation's Vice President. "The
Board of Directors decision to support the RMH was unanimous because
the House will provide a comfortable and supportive home away from
home for families with sick children who are being treated at Levine
Children's Hospital."

Levine Children's Hospital is named in honor of the Levines, who
funded a $10 million gift to jumpstart the Hospital's fund-raising
drive prior to it opening last year. Their foundation also committed
a $5 million challenge grant to start a permanent endowment for Levine
Children's Hospital.

The RMH of Charlotte is scheduled to open sometime in 2010 and will
primarily serve children being treated at Levine Children's Hospital
and Presbyterian Healthcare's Hemby Children's Hospital. Located on
the 1600 block of East Morehead Street on land donated by Carolinas
Medical Center, the House will feature approximately 35,000 square
feet of living space complete with 20 to 30 bedrooms (one family per
bedroom/suite), providing more than 10,000 nights of stay each year
for needy families. It is also scheduled to have a family kitchen,
great room, learning center, playground and sitting porch.
Construction will hopefully begin in 2009.

Leon Levine is the founder and chairman emeritus of Family Dollar
Stores Inc., a Matthews-based discount retail chain with more than
5,000 stores in 43 states. At the age of 22, Levine opened his first
store in 1959 on Central Avenue in Charlotte. He built Family Dollar
into a Fortune 500 company before retiring in 2003.

About the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) of Charlotte
The RMH of Charlotte is an independent 501 (c) (3) charity managed by
a local board of directors which will oversee construction and
operation of the home. The cost of building and operating the RMH of
Charlotte will come primarily from individual and corporate
donations. The RMH of Charlotte will be funded, constructed and
operated by the Charlotte community. The mission of the RMH of
Charlotte is to provide the families of children being treated in area
medical facilities with a safe, affordable and caring "home away from
home." For more information on RMH of Charlotte, visit www.rmhofcharlotte.org
.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

'Augustalee' Is Historic New Name For the Former Village At Lake Norman

CORNELIUS, N.C. –'Augustalee,' a name with deep roots in the history
of the property and the family that lived and farmed there, has been
chosen as the new name for the former Village At Lake Norman project
site, the $500-million-plus, master planned, mixed use development in
Cornelius, N.C.

"We had intended all along to develop a refined, distinctive name for
the project, with the hope of honoring the vibrant history of the
Cooke family, who owned most of the 104-acre site and farmed it for
over 100 years, since before the town of Cornelius existed," said Josh
Rector, Senior Vice President of Cornelius Bromont, LLC, the
developers and now owners of the land. "But we wanted to wait until we
had the rezoning approved and the basic feel of the project planned
before undertaking the branding process. As you can imagine, when
working on a plan of this detail and refinement, we had to prioritize
tasks, and now the name is being addressed with the level of care we
have been dedicating to in every other element of the project."

"The name Augustalee was created after a lengthy process of
researching the rich history of the property, which has been
wonderfully preserved in words and pictures by the current generation
which owned the land," Rector explained. "Our goal was to develop a
name that would be complementary to the Town of Cornelius, fitting
with the culture of the region, appropriate for retail, office,
residential and hospitality, and exemplary of the quality of the
project we are creating. After considering a number of options, the
name Augustalee emerged as the one with the greatest strength and
potential.

"Augustalee is made of the first and middle names of Augusta Lee
Chester Cooke, the grandmother of the generation of Cookes from whom
we purchased the property," Rector said. "She was a very warm, caring
Southern lady. She lived on the farm and took care of her large
family. We chose the name because it conveys the warm, gracious,
Southern hospitality which this project will exude. It has a very
lyrical sound when you say it out loud. We strongly believe that
everyone will enjoy the continued hospitality and character of
Augustalee."

The site is located between I-77 and U.S. 21 on the south side of
Cornelius. A new exit 27, widening of both highways and many other
roadway and transportation improvements are planned by Cornelius
Bromont, who expect to open the first retail stores on the site in
fall 2012. In addition the project will feature luxury residences
above the quality retail, two top-tier national brand hotels on the
main street, extensive Class A office space in multiple buildings,
parks and walking trails, and many other amenities.

"We at Cornelius Bromont have been very busy since we were last in the
news with the completion of our zoning case," Rector noted. "Since
then we have accomplished several major tasks in spite of the downturn
in the economy and the financial stress in the marketplace:

· We have been successful in closing our own financing, allowing
us to purchase the property and commence design of the first phase of
the project

· We have completed schematic design of the project and are in a
pricing exercise currently

· Our Design Team has created dramatic and realistic 3-
dimensional renderings of the Augustalee development from different
angles, which greatly help with understanding how the project will
look when completed

· We have been in negotiations with several major tenants;
leading name-brand hotels; and potential office users

· We have leased space and moved into our new offices on South
Boulevard in Charlotte

· We have continued meeting with transportation authorities at
regional, state and federal levels and have had nothing but positive
feedback from them – our planned improvements will clearly benefit
everyone involved

· All this has provided us more than enough to keep us working
long hours and burning the midnight oil. We could not be more pleased
with all of the excellent work that has been accomplished to date on
the project and the continued progress going forward. We want everyone
in the community to understand how hard our entire team is working to
make this project a reality, and how a project of this complexity
inevitably requires a time-consuming planning and approval process
before construction begins."

Cornelius Bromont, LLC, is a partnership of Bromont Group of
Scottsdale, AZ, and Carlsen Douglas Development of Cornelius. More
information on the project is available at www.corneliusbromont.com
and at www.augustalee.com.

Media Contact: Buck Lawrimore, 704-332-4344, http://www.lciweb.com

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Fourth Annual Help the Homeless Walk in Charlotte Scheduled for Saturday Morning, November 22

Charlotte, N.C. – The non-profit A Way Home, Mecklenburg Council on
Homelessness, will host the 2008 Help the Homeless Walk scheduled for
Saturday morning, November 22 to raise awareness for the homelessness
crisis in Mecklenburg County. The event is in concert with the 21st
annual Help the Homeless event in Washington, D.C., a part of the
national effort to raise awareness of the homeless.

Registration for the three-mile walk begins at 8:30 a.m. at 500-A
Spratt Street in front of Crisis Assistance Ministry or participants
can register in advance at www.awayhome.org. The walk will begin at
10 a.m. Other activities and entertainment, as well as a soup kitchen
lunch, will be available to everyone from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
Spratt Street.

According to Chris Wolf, the executive director of A Way Home, the
purpose of this walk is to heighten awareness of the homeless
population in our region, particularly as we go into the winter months
during these tough economic times.

In its fourth year in Charlotte, the Help the Homeless Walk also
includes The Homeless Services Network that supports our community's
homeless population through outreach services, assessment, emergency
shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and
supportive services intended to help people overcome personal issues
that contribute to their homeless. This network is a coalition of
agencies and organizations delivering services to persons who are
homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and those who have a stake in
the prevention and reduction of homelessness.

"A donation of $10 is recommended for adults and teens to participate
in the walk, said Wolf. "And there is no charge for children under 12
years of age. We also ask that everyone leaves their pets at home,"
he added.

Teams of walkers from different organizations, companies, agencies'
clients and the faith-based community will be participating in the
event. Last year the walk added the "Project Homeless Connect" to help
homeless individuals connect to those services available to them. This
year the program has been expanded by the organization Sisters Act
Incorporated who have recruited individuals to provide dental
assistance, health screenings, haircuts and grooming, as well as
clothing and shoes to assist those who need these immediate services
at the event.

Sponsors to date for the event include: Fannie Mae, Apartment Realty
Advisors, LFS Carolinas, Mercer, Paul E. Finnen & Associates,
SocialServe.com, Crisis Assistance Ministry, Mecklenburg County Parks
and Recreation and Mecklenburg County.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities and participating
in the 2008 Help the Homeless Walk, please contact A Way Home at
704-347-3646 or visit their web site at www.awayhome.org.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Hope Stout's story to be major film; shooting begins in Charlotte region in December

For Immediate Release
November 6, 2008

"Hope's Wish" keeps giving - The most any of us can wish for is to
leave this world a better place for our having been in it. Soon the
world will know how 12-year-old Hope Stout left this world a better
place when she died of cancer in 2003. Her inspirational story is the
subject of a feature-length film to be shot in the Charlotte region
during December and January.
The cameras will start rolling at Bank of America Stadium during the
Panther's home game Dec. 8. Hundreds of local crew members will be
hired, including some who will film Charlotte streetscapes for the
movie's holiday segments. Filming will be on hiatus over the holidays,
then the more dramatic segments will be shot in mid-January when
production resumes. Pre-production, which has begun, editing and
finishing all will be done in Charlotte. Joanne Hock, co-founder of
Charlotte-based Emulsion Arts, has written the original script. The
cast, including some well-known stars, will be announced in a few weeks.

When Rick Eldridge, president and CEO of The Film Foundry, a Charlotte-
based film production company, and head of Independent Producers
Alliance (IPA), moved back to Charlotte 13 years ago, he was
determined to help build the regional industry and support local film
community any way he could.

"Although I can't shoot every film here, I try to as much as
possible," Eldridge said. His current release "Running the Sahara,"
which he co-produced with Matt Damon, was filmed in Africa. "However,
this is very much a Charlotte story. The people of Charlotte who
rallied around Hope and her wish are the same people who have rallied
around the film. And the movie will let the world know how thousands
of people were touched by Hope's wish that Charlotte's Make-A-Wish
Foundation grant the wishes of all 155 of the other terminally ill
children on its list."

Beth Petty, director of the Charlotte Regional Film Commission, said
that Charlotte has all the locations and talent needed for this
project. Petty leveraged those assets to recruit movies, such as "The
Patriot," "Talladega Nights" and "Leatherheads," among others.

"We are very appreciative of Rick Eldridge, Bert Hesse, Joanne Hock
and all the other film industry professionals who have chosen to call
Charlotte home," Petty said.

Executive producer Bert Hesse of Charlotte-based film production
company Synthetic Fur, has been working closely with Hope's parents,
Stuart and Shelby Stout, for the past three years to bring Hope's
story to the big screen. He and Eldridge are committed to using the
film as a vehicle to expand Hope's dream of fulfilling other
children's wishes through the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the family's
non-profit, the March Forth with Hope Foundation.

The producers also are working closely with Carolinas Medical Center
to shoot on the floor on which Hope died. Since that floor is being
renovated, filming would not disrupt patient care. The Charlotte
production companies are partnering with Dean River, a production
company based in Los Angeles with which Eldridge worked on "The
Ultimate Gift," to produce the film.

20th Century Fox is handling the theatrical and DVD releases.
PorchLight Entertainment will be the international distributor. The
producers say they plan to release Hope's Wish in time for the 2009
holidays.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

OnlineNewsTimes.com Launched By Charlotte Firm To Aggregate Top National News

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Online NewsTimes has been launched by Charlotte marketing and public relations firm Lawrimore Communications Inc. as a free service to help people stay informed of up-to-the-minute national and world news headlines.

"Online News Times (http://www.onlinenewstimes.com) aggregates top story headlines and summaries from Google, Yahoo, CNN, ABC, Fox News, E! and many other sources so that busy people can get their 'news fix' in a matter of seconds," said Lawrimore Communications president Buck Lawrimore.

"We are producing Online News Times as a companion to our Charlotte Area News website, which focuses on news from print and broadcast media in the greater Charlotte area, as well as local weather, sports and related features."

OnlineNewsTimes.com generates news content by using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from leading online news sources. In addition original news releases sent to the site by companies and public relations firms are reviewed by experienced editors and selectively published on the site as well.

Lawrimore Communications Inc. is a full-service marketing, public relations and communications agency founded in 1979. More information on the company is available at http://www.lciweb.com .