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An estimated 10,000 walkers and runners came out to the Snagajob Pavilion in Innsbrook on April 20th to get blasted with a rainbow of colors and raise money for Special Olympics Virginia; $31,000 for Special Olympics Virginia was raised, according to the Innsbrook Foundation.
The Color Bombs started flying at 9 am with waves of runners getting plastered with paint every few minutes after.
"Color Me RAD is a great community event that embodies the core values of Special Olympics – Respect, Inclusion and Unity," said Roy Zeidman, executive director, Special Olympics Virginia. "We bring together the entire community to have fun while engaged in physical fitness. There is no time because where you finish does not matter – participation is important.
 "The funds raised from this event will ensure that our program can continue to grow – more athletes participating at the Summer Games and our ability to organize more events, like our Little Feet Meets, held at Freeman High School. Last week, this event provided opportunities for more than 600 pre-school and elementary children with intellectual disabilities their first experience with Special Olympics, while the students at Freeman HS gained valuable life skills organizing the entire event and working with the young athletes," Zeidman said; "an experience that opens their minds to the fact that everyone has capabilities and value.
"We are thrilled that more than 140 volunteers signed up to help us with the event. They did the heavy lifting and make all of our events possible," he said. "One volunteer told me. ‘This is the best volunteer job I ever had. For three hours, I got to throw pink color on 10,000 people and they cheered me for doing it!'
"The funds raised were incredible," Zeidman added. "This one day event covers the cost of 200 athletes' attendance at the Summer Games. I hope that everyone will begin planning to participate in the 2014.
Innsbrook Celebrated Earth Day all week: April 15th - 19th, bringing in some traditions from the past, while adding new ones to the mix. Two Goodwill trucks were on hand at Highwoods Plaza (4470 Cox Road) on April 18th and collected electronics and paper for recycling. Also, on Friday, the Innsbrook Foundation gathered a team of volunteers to clean the lakes of Innsbrook. Grabbers, donated by Henrico County, filled the hands of Innsbrook workers as they traversed the perimeters of Lake Rooty, Waterfront Lake, and The Lake at Innsbrook to keep the park in its oft admired pristine condition.
New events this year included guest speaker, Trip Pollard, and Grow RVA bringing RVA Street Foodies to the North Shore Commons for a food truck food court. Pollard kicked off Innsbrook Saves the Earth Week as he spoke about his role in Richmond as a senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. A UVA undergrad and law school graduate, Pollard became one the S.E.L.C.'s first law clerks in 1992. Now, Trip oversees the healthy growth of communities in the six states that encompass the Southeast. Pollard is based in Richmond at his office on Main Street and spends much of his time working to improve the issue of urban sprawl and mass transportation options in Richmond. An unfortunate statistic learned at the talk was Richmond drivers drive more miles per day than any other city in the state of Virginia; including Northern Virginia. Thirty miles per day is the average for Richmond drivers.
An attempt to help reduce those miles was inviting RVA Street Foodies to create a food truck food court for the workers of Innsbrook. On Tuesday during Earth Week, seven food trucks parked in the North Shore Commons lawn. Lunch was brought to Innsbrook, helping to decrease the high number of miles driven by Richmonders and, thereby, the air pollution caused by it (at least for this day). With the comfortable weather, many Innsbrook workers walked to get lunch and ate outside.
Proceeds from the event went to FeedRVA, a new charity providing those who are in need of assistance with feeding their families the opportunity to shop at farmers' markets and purchase local fresh and organic food. FeedRVA was created by the events and markets company, GrowRVA, which gathered the food trucks and managed the event at Innsbrook. The company is responsible for creating and running many markets around Richmond, including, South of the James, Hardywood Farmer's Market/ Food Trucks, and First Fridays.
The Innsbrook Foundation is proud to have conducted another Innsbrook Saves the Earth Week, but has grand goals for the future. "We are excited about the feedback we have gotten from the community about this event," said Yvonne Nelson, Innsbrook Foundation Executive Director. "Many people have ideas they have shared and we will add them to the high aspirations we have for creating future "green" events in Innsbrook. The foundation team feels strongly that we can really make a difference during our annual Innsbrook Saves the Earth week and other times during the year."
If you are interested in volunteering with Innsbrook After Hours or any Innsbrook event, please email mturner@innsbrook.com or visit www.innsbrook.com.
12-year-old Matthew McMillen spoke at April Wellness Forum on having autism
April's Innsbrook Wellness Forum celebrated Autism Awareness Month and featured 12-year-old guest speaker, Matthew McMillen, who spoke on what it is like to have autism. For his complete transcript, go to www.innsbrooktoday.com/Matthew.
"What a GREAT time," said Melanie Eades of the Innsbrook Wellness Committee; The forum was "Inspirational, educational, and was a very fulfilling hour," she said.
Turn to Calendar in the center spread for details on this month's Innsbrook Wellness Forum. The forums are free and open to the public. A light lunch is served and a RSVP is required.
‘It's All About Hospitality,'
Innsbrook's New Innsbrook After Hours Concert Producer tells Breakfast Club members, guests.
"It's All About Hospitality," said Larry Creeger, Innsbrook's new Innsbrook After Hours' Concert Series Producer, at last month's Innsbrook Executives' Breakfast Club meeting. He also announced that Sheryl Crow and Darius Rucker had just been booked. The Beach Boys are coming in September, he said, and "there's also a surprise in the works" after that concert, Creeger added.
Showing on a large screen the new layout for the concert series at Innsbrook's Snagajob Pavilion, Creeger said everything was created for guests' comfort and hospitality, He said Innsbrook's vision for its 28th Anniversary concert series and moving forward is to bring back the relaxed, after work live concert series to cater to Innsbrook employees, neighbors and families. "It's not going to be bigger," Creeger said, "just better."
New this year: GRASS. Last year's gravel has been replaced with wall to wall lush sod. Family friendly for blankets or chairs on "The  Greens," this year's series will also feature an expanded Gold Circle and Preferred Seating area with seat-numbered tickets. GATES OPEN AT 5 PM (except for 2 multi-band concerts when gates open at 4:30 pm). The earlier gate time means Innsbrook workers can come by right after work, relax in one of the hospitality table and chair seatings or tall table stand areas, get a beverage and a bite to eat from one of the many food vendors (including The Grapevine and Chik-Fil-A), and listen to a local musician until the headliner takes the stage at 6:30 pm. All concerts will end by 9:30 pm.
For more details, including a new "up front" Sky Box, and expanded VIP Experience for company entertaining, celebrations, and get-to-togethers at this year's concert series, turn to the Cover Story and www.innsbrookafterhours.com for updates.
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