The Belmont Arts and Cultural Center announces their popular fundraising, signature event, Hot Glass, Cold Brew which will take place on Friday, February 10 from 5 to 9 pm. Beautiful hand blown glass cups in reds and pinks will be offered. There'll be live glass blowing demonstrations and auction by members of Belmont's Glass Guild. There is more to love with a number of one-of-a-kind hand-thrown clay mugs and demonstrations by Belmont's Pottery Guild and glass bead making demonstrations by Meredith Hartsfield. Enjoy the Belmont's unique ambiance and talents and partake of some complimentary pizza and beer, alcoholic or non-alcoholic from Pensacola Bay Brewery and Hopjacks. A suggested donation of $25 for non-members and $20 for members gets patrons a hand-blown glass cup or clay mug.

Special guest artist Kianga Ford will be on hand promoting her distinctive Walk Home project which she will be presenting at the University of West Florida on Thursday, February 9  as part of the UWF Genius Loci lecture series. Music will beprovided by the Belmont Youth Band, with vocal renderings from Vivian Lamont; founder of the Belmont Youth Band.

Arriving early ensures many cups or mugs from which to choose. There will also be some unusual glass roses for sale, a wonderfully extraordinary Valentine's gift for that someone special! For more information, contact 429-1222 or visit www.belmontartscenter.com.

Impact 100 Pensacola Bay Area, Inc. is entering the thick of our membership season.  We would love to see you at our upcoming membership events; please consider bringing friends who are interested in getting more information on how IMPACT 100 funds impactful non-profit projects that make Santa Rosa and Escambia counties well-rounded, effective communities.

We hope you share our interest in learning more about our community and in supporting the initiatives that will have a lasting impact in the lives of others. We are excited to share the story of IMPACT 100 and hope that you will consider joining the 645 women who, in 2011, made an impact on our community. Please choose one or more of the information events below and join us to learn how our grants have transformed our community! To learn more about Impact 100, please visit our site www.impact100pensacola.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR FEBRUARY

IMPACT Event, Thursday, Feb. 9,  4:30 - 6:30
Hilton Garden Inn, Pensacola Airport, 1144 Airport Blvd., Pensacola
Hosted by Dave Cleveland, Highpointe Hotel Corporation

IMPACT Valentine Event, Monday,  Feb. 13, 4:30 - 6:30
Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St., Pensacola
Hosted by IMPACT 100 Board of Directors

IMPACT Event, Wednesday, Feb. 22,  4:30 - 6:30
Jacksons Steakhouse, 400 S. Palafox St., Pensacola

The United Way of  Escambia County is offering the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. This tax season, VITA will provide free tax preparation help for citizens in our community with low to moderate incomes.
VITA sites are available at the following locations:

Pensacola State College (Pensacola Campus)
1000 College Boulevard, Building 96
Mon/Wed/Fri: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tue/Thu: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sat: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

St. Sylvester Catholic Church
7552 Navarre Pkwy., Navarre Mon/Fri: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wed: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway, University Common Building22, Room 265
Mon/Wed/Fri: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Southeast Vocational Services
2001 North E Street Mon-Fri: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Pensacola State College, Century Campus (now open)
440 E. Hecker Rd, Century  Tue/Wed: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Families Count (opens 2/2)
5139 Elmira Street, Milton  Tue/Fri: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In 2011, VITA volunteers donated $127,500 in processing assistance that resulted in $1.85million in refunds returned to area citizens. Volunteers are still needed and are encouraged to sign up today for online training that can be conducted at their convenience. VITA volunteers receive IRS training and certification and are asked to commit a minimum of two hours per week through April 15.VITA is generously funded through grants awarded to United Way of Escambia County from Walmart, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. For questions about the VITA program, please call (850) 434-3157 or email volunteer@unitedwayescambia.org.