CINCINNATI —Give Back Cincinnati’s 9^th Annual Paint the Town will be coming to two neighborhoods, Avondale and Evanston, on Saturday, June 12, 2010. 

Community partners for the event this year will be Avondale & Evanston’s Community Councils; providing a valued connection and assistance between residents and the Paint the Town organization. 

Patricia Milton from Avondale’s Community Council said “Avondale is elated to be selected for Paint the Town 2010. Fresh coats of paint for a number of our homeowners will be a blessing and have a positive impact on the ongoing work to beautify our community and improve the lives of our residents. We are diligently working to make Avondale an attractive, welcoming and great place to live, work, worship and play!  We are looking forward to working with Give Back Cincinnati and plan to take up our paint brushes and help get the job done.”

Anzora Adkins, President of the Evanston Community Council, is excited about the partnership as well and believes it will allow “Evanston (to be) on the move again! We are so excited and thankful for Give Back Cincinnati to paint homes in our community."

Paint the Town is a community service event organized by Give Back Cincinnati in which volunteers work within a targeted neighborhood to paint owner-occupied homes for those physically or financially unable to do the work themselves. Paint the Town is a single day event that organizes more than 1,000 volunteers led by experienced team leaders to completely repaint a home’s exterior. Neighborhoods are chosen through a competitive process according to current needs.  Paint the Town’s ultimate goal is to not only improve the appearance and value of each of the homes, but to impact the overall community. 

If you’re a homeowner in Evanston or Avondale and you need your house painted, you can apply to have Paint the Town paint your house!

You can fill out the application online by clicking the Application tab above (or, just click here).

If you’d rather fill out a paper application, community groups in both neighborhoods are helping distribute applications:

Avondale residents, you also can pick up paper applications at the Avondale Pride Center at 3520 Burnet Ave.

If you live in Evanston, look for paper applications at the Evanston Community Center, 3204 Woodburn Avenue, or call the Evanston Community Council at (513) 281-2775 to find out where you can get an application.

If you fill out a paper application, please return it to the address given on the application by Feb. 1, 2010. After we look at all the applications, we’ll contact you to set up a time when a couple of Paint the Town committee members can visit you at your home. Once final selections are made, all applicants will be notified.

Painting takes place Saturday, June 12, 2010.

Avondale residents, please contact Carla Butler at the Avondale Pride Center at (513) 281-4414 or click here to send an e-mail.

Evanston residents, please contact Linda Webber at (513) 281-2775 or click here to send an e-mail.

Agenda
7:54 to 8:30 a.m. Team sign-ins and breakfast
8:30 a.m. Announcements
8:45-9 a.m. Dismissal to buses
4 p.m. Painting concludes
3:45 p.m. Afterparty

Team sign-in
7:45 to 8:30 a.m. in the gym at Elder High School (located in the field house in front of the school building, marked with a pink marker on the linked map). Driving directions and where to park are at the end of this message.

If you pre-registered for a corporate team, go to the table with a sign for your team. You’ll sign in, get your t-shirt, water bottle, and the number of the bus that’ll take you to the house.

If you selected Give Back Cincinnati when you pre-registered, go to the “Give Back” team tables, where you’ll sign up for a house to paint. Next, you’ll go to the table for the corporate team that sponsored this house. There, you’ll get your T-shirt, water bottle and number of the bus that’ll take you to the house.

If you’re not sure, look for registration volunteers in the white Paint the Town shirts, who can help direct you to the right place. If you are with a friend who has not pre-registered online, have that person stop first at the Walk-in table.

If you have not provided an emergency contact name and phone number, you will be asked to do so when you sign in. Announcements will take place outside in the Pit (the football field), followed by dismissal to buses.

Breakfast is Nutri-Grain bars, coffee from Coffee Emporium, milk and orange juice from UDF, and bananas from Gentile Bros.

Buses
Buses will be staged in the front and west side of the school (indicated with bus symbols on the map linked below). Look for the bus marked with your team’s name and bus number. Volunteers may not drive themselves to Paint the Town houses.

What to wear/bring
Wear old clothes and closed-toe shoes (no flip-flops). Apply sunscreen and bug spray. You may want to bring a hat. Put your driver’s license and $5 to $10 in your pocket for the after-party, but leave the rest of your valuables in the trunk of your car.

Lunch
Lunch is at your painting site. It will be Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches; pretzels, chips and apples from Vonderhaar’s Catering; and desserts from Potbelly. If you have special dietary needs, we recommend bringing a bagged lunch.

Afterparty
In Elder’s Pit immediately following Paint the Town. Music by Tupelo Honey; Christian Moerlein beer, Dewey’s Pizza and Gold Star chili. You’ll get three beer/food tickets. Before you use your ticket, check to see if the number’s been drawn to win a prize from one of our sponsors.

In the event of severe weather, call 513-651-GIVE for an update.

Driving Directions and Where to Park
Please print and take with you this linked map showing parking areas, the team sign-in location, and where buses will be:

View Paint the Town Kick-Off Location in a larger map

Parking is tight, so please carpool if possible. Areas designated for volunteer parking are marked with a P on the linked map. They include

• Elder’s back lot off of Glenway Ave.
• Seton High School lot off Beech Ave.
• Seton High School’s parking garage (entrance at Vincent and Regina Aves.)
• On- street along Regina, Vincent, Academy and Gildey Aves.

Directions from the east side on 71
Follow 71S to Ft. Washington Way. Take the exit toward US 50W (left exit); this is the 6th St. viaduct. Follow the signs to Warsaw Ave., taking the sharp right turn at the end of the viaduct. Follow Warsaw until it runs into Glenway Ave. (BP will be on your right.) Veer left onto Glenway.

To park in Elder’s back lot, stay on Glenway for about a block and turn left into the back lot.
To park in Seton’s lot, turn left at the next light onto Beech Ave and then right into Seton.
To park in Seton’s garage, turn left onto Beech and right onto Vincent.

From Kentucky on 75/71
Follow the signs to US 50W. (This is one exit past the Fifth St. exit.) This dumps you onto the 6th St. viaduct. Follow the signs to Warsaw Ave., taking the sharp right turn at the end of the viaduct. Follow Warsaw until it runs into Glenway Ave. (BP will be on your right.) Veer left onto Glenway Ave.

To park in Elder’s back lot, stay on Glenway for about a block and turn left into the back lot.
To park in Seton’s lot, turn left at the next light onto Beech Ave and then right into Seton.
To park in Seton’s garage, turn left onto Beech and right onto Vincent.

From the northern suburbs on 75
Follow 75S to exit 2B, Harrison Ave. Follow the ramp off the exit; this puts you in the right lane, and you’re under an overpass. Stay in the right lane until it splits from the left and you go out from under the overpass. At this point, McDonald’s is straight ahead. Continue to follow the road you’re on, all the way around McDonald’s. (You'll be veering left.) In about a mile, turn left on Quebec (at the first UDF). Follow Quebec until it hits Glenway Ave. (this is a five-way stoplight.) Turn right on Glenway.

To park in Elder’s back lot, stay on Glenway for about a block and turn left into the back lot.
To park in Seton’s lot, turn left at the next light onto Beech Ave and then right into Seton.
To park in Seton’s garage, turn left onto Beech and right onto Vincent.

From the west via 74
Follow 74E to 75S, then follow directions from northern suburbs on 75.

If you find you no longer are able to volunteer, please e-mail pttvolunteer@givebackcincinnati.org.

Trust us, you'll want to sunscreen these body parts before heading out for Paint the Town on Saturday:

• When you're standing facing the side of a house, and especially if you're up on a ladder, the backs of your knees could see more sun than they have in years.
  
  
• Same goes for the backs of your arms and neck. 
  
  
• Don't forget your ears.
  
  
• And finally, the part in your hair—and quite possibly the entire top of your head—will thank you for spreading on some sunscreen and/or wearing a baseball cap.

We can’t blame you for being keenly interested in what’s for lunch on the day of Paint the Town.

So here you are: Tasty Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches; crunchy pretzels, chips and apples from Vonderhaars Catering; and delicious desserts from Potbelly (we love adjectives!).

A big thank-you to these lunch sponsors, and to the folks who’ll make sure your lunch gets to your painting site.

For those who are vegetarian or have special dietary needs, we’re recommending you pack your lunch to ensure you’ll have a happy lunch break.

Yes, you’ve heard correctly: Our kick-off location for Paint the Town on June 13 is the land of the Purple Panther—Elder High School. Thanks to Elder for being so incredibly welcoming and accommodating!

A few of us hadn’t been to Elder before, and the same probably goes for some of you. There also are a few areas at Elder and nearby Seton High school, as well as on surrounding streets, designated for volunteer parking. We recommend carpooling with friends!

So here’s a handy map you can print and take with you the day of. Parking areas are marked with a big P, volunteer sign-in is marked with a pink doohickey, and the after-party is marked with a martini glass.

A volunteer named Emily kindly send these driving directions (we'll also include them in the volunteer details e-mailed before the event). On the morning of Paint the Town, be on the lookout for people holding giant “Paint the Town Parking” signs.

From the east side on 71:
Follow 71S to Ft. Washington Way. Take the exit toward US 50W (left exit); this is the 6th St. viaduct. Follow the signs to Warsaw Ave., taking the sharp right turn at the end of the viaduct. Follow Warsaw until it runs into Glenway Ave. (BP will be on your right.) Veer left onto Glenway.

To park in Seton’s lot, turn left at the next light onto Beech Ave and then right into Seton. To park in Elder’s back lot or garage, stay on Glenway for about a block and turn left into the back lot.

From Kentucky on 75/71:
Follow the signs to US 50W. (This is one exit past the Fifth St. exit.) This dumps you onto the 6th St. viaduct. Follow the signs to Warsaw Ave., taking the sharp right turn at the end of the viaduct. Follow Warsaw until it runs into Glenway Ave. (BP will be on your right.) Veer left onto Glenway Ave.

To park in Seton’s lot, turn left at the next light onto Beech Ave and then right into Seton. To park in Elder’s back lot or garage, stay on Glenway for about a block and turn left into the back lot.

From the northern suburbs on 75:
Follow 75S to exit 2B, Harrison Ave. Follow the ramp off the exit; this puts you in the right lane, and you’re under an overpass. Stay in the right lane until it splits from the left and you go out from under the overpass. At this point, McDonald’s is straight ahead. Continue to follow the road you’re on, all the way around McDonald’s. (You'll be veering left.) In about a mile, turn left on Quebec (at the first UDF). Follow Quebec until it hits Glenway Ave. (this is a five-way stoplight.) Turn right on Glenway.

To park in Seton’s lot, turn left at the next light onto Beech Ave and then right into Seton. To park in Elder’s back lot or garage, stay on Glenway for about a block and turn left into the back lot.

From the west via 74:
Follow 74E to 75S, then follow directions from northern suburbs on 75.

When you climb off the bus the afternoon of Paint the Town--tired, hot, sweaty, dirty, but very satisfied—we’ll have a cold  beverage waiting for you at the Paint the Town After-party. It’s a chance to relax, grab a drink and a bite to eat, and compare paint splatters with your fellow volunteers.

Music will be provided by local folk band and Cincinnati Entertainment Award winning Tupelo Honey. (Here they are on You Tube.)

You’ll get a ticket good for a free beer—but first, check to see if the number was drawn to win one of variety of prizes from our sponsors.

Beer is from Christian Moerlein, and Dewey’s and Gold Star are bringing the pizza and the chili.

Tuck $5 or so into your pocket that morning (the prices will be in the volunteer details e-mailed before the event), since you probably won’t want to postpone that beverage with a detour to your car. 

Here at Paint the Town, we have fashion standards. They’re low, but they’re there. These guidelines will help you achieve maximum comfort and safety, and minimum clothing damage, on the day of Paint the Town: 

• Start your outfit with a healthy slathering of sunscreen.

• Throw on some  old, dirty, ratty clothes. After you sign in the morning of Paint the Town, you’ll be able to layer on a t-shirt in your team’s color.  

• Lace up a pair close-toed shoes. That means sneakers--the dirtier, the better--not your cute flip-flops or studly mandals. You’ll thank us when you drop a scraper on your foot, walk through paint or scale a ladder.

• Top off your ensemble with a baseball cap or other casual hat to ward off paint from your hair and sun from your face.

• Tuck your ID and a little cash for the afterparty into your pocket.
  
  
• Add a pair of sunglasses.
  

We’ll provide the painting accessories the day of. Here’s an example of appropriate Paint the Town attire:

Many paint jobs involve some scraping, power-washing and priming. Paint the Town holds a couple of prep days for houses that need such pre-paint day attention.

You can volunteer for a prep day to lend an extra hand (or, if you aren't available on June 13, to still get in on that cool Paint the Town action).

Click here to sign up for the May 16 prep day.

Click here to sign up for the June 6 prep day.

Both prep day events take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch is provided) and meet in the morning at Elder High School in Price Hill. Registered volunteers will receive all the necessary details by e-mail a few days before the event.

Thanks for being part of Paint the Town!

Saturday was inventory day for Paint the Town. We counted stuff so we know what’s needed for the big day. Small paint brushes, big paint brushes, wire brush scrapers, flat scrapers, roller handles, roller covers, 18-gallon totes, Krud Kutter, first-aid kits. Thank goodness we didn’t have to count the buckets.

Paint the Town is the proud owner of 143 wire brush scrapers, in case you’re curious.