I attended a small get together at Beaded Treasures and bought four beautiful necklaces to give…read morerelatives for Christmas. I took my son with me and let him help me pick out the perfect gifts that all have a phenomenal story behind them. The VOA ladies were so sweet to him and helpful to us both. The necklaces are perfectly unique and will be so fun to gift to our family members!!

From the owner: The Beaded Treasures Project is a nonprofit organization based in Louisville, Kentucky. Our…read moremission is to empower refugee and disadvantaged women to overcome barriers to success and promote economic self-sufficiency, using a micro-credit approach to entrepreneurship. We offer a wide variety of unique handcrafted jewelry and accessories such as pure silk scarves, cushions, quilts and more. We strongly believe that when women and girls succeed, so does society. Your purchase helps a woman on her journey towards self-sufficiency. Purchase with Purpose!

I absolutely love this nonprofit organization. I have worked for them for over two years and get to…read moredo the things I love with the people I love! Every event, camp, and employee training are made to be fun and educational. I have learned so much working for this organization. However, the old building located next to the do wop shop has only street parking and very congested small back parking area, which on more than one occasion has almost caused an accident. The new building built down the street however is much bigger, and provides a little more parking space. Love what this organization stands for and all the great work it does for the special needs community.

From the owner: DWW offers the following: Staffed residences and apartments, supported employment, behavior…read moreservices, home support, respite care, community living supports, case management, youth summer camp and community involvement.

It's past time to update our review for Heuser Hearing Institute. About a year ago we noticed a…read morevast difference in our visits to HeuserHearing Institute. It took a while to figure out what had changed so we patiently kept appointments while trying to identify our dissatisfaction with this business. First, the communication and ability of the front office staff deserves a one star. The staff has a snarky customer communication on even the easiest aspect of their job, namely sign in and scheduling appointments upon completion of the current visit. Additionally with no notice on one visit we were presented a bill that they wanted paid at the time. This was a first for us so my husband inquired what the bill was for. Neither front office person could tell us what the invoice was for. They did agree to let us mail a payment since we had no advance notice there would be a charge. As for the visit with the audiologist we began realizing the visits were used more for teaching future audiologists. When we first got started with Heuser Hearing we didn't realize they were a teaching Institute. The price doesn't reflect a savings because this.

They keep billing me even though I have paid everything as I go. Used to be a good company but not…read moreanymore.

Big selection of equipment and very accommodating. Great place to get a work out in on the road.read more

I love this gym. It's helped me lose weight and get back in shape! The staff is so friendly. And…read morethe workout classes are so helpful. I've never felt so strong until I joined the Ymca. It is more pricey than other gyms, but it's worth the money/investment!

The Salvation Army might be my favorite nonprofit after the YMCA. The importance of the work that…read morethey do could never possibly be articulated. I had the opportunity to volunteer here on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. They have opportunities where they need people to serve breakfast to the homeless. This opportunity is open every single day, as far as I can tell. And they will feed something like 150 people. They feed the people that are living at this facility in housing, followed by women, children (yes, children), people that require assistance, and then able bodied men lastly. There's always a need for help. When I arrived, there were two people there. One lady had arrived at 530am to cook all the food by herself for 150+ people, and one other guy showed up later to help serve. If I had not shown up, it would've just been those two. I cannot imagine. Anyhow - we just about ran out of food before the line stopped. If you don't have the time to serve, consider donating money. Like I say, the need is great, and The Salvation Army is looking to meet that need.

Attended a graduation ceremony here today for Barrett Middle School. It is a very nice venue and…read moreone can visualize what it might have been like when it was the old Male HS. Pretty cool place

What a great visit! My son and I visited today and enjoyed visiting with the adult cats at Lucky…read moreCat Cafe. Each of them ranged from 2-8 years old. The space offers three rooms plus a restroom, lobby and covered porch. The rooms have several cat beds and stands, plus several toys and window sills offering a sunbeam. There's also seating for visitors as well. In total we visited with 8 cats today. Their stories were shared on a cork board, giving notes about their compatibility with dogs, cats and kids. The space has adopted over 700 cats since its opening. One room highlights pics of each that went home. Fun space and friendly people, from the staff and owner to volunteer. Some sweet snacks and refreshments are available for purchase and a small gift shop area. Their website takes online bookings and provides information about their hours, etc. Parking available on the street, within neighborhood. We will be back and I hope others consider coming to this location and supporting the nonprofit.

Paid for a visit (and donation). No cats available to visit with. Only five cats and four were…read moresleeping (not supposed to disturb/pickup). The fifth cat was being held by someone. I left after one minute. It would have been better if I was told in advance so I could visit another day, but I was not told about there being only a few cats in the lounge (and that they were all sleeping except one and it was not available). Employee did not offer a refund.

Louisville Grows is one of those nonprofits that just seems to be everywhere, to the point where…read moreyou can't imagine the city without them. For my own benefit, their annual Seeds and Starts sale is a highlight of Spring, my first choice for grabbing veggie seedlings. Local backyard gardeners should make sure they are on the Louisville Grows mailing list for that reason alone. Go to one of these events and the cheerful volunteers will make your heart swell. And I can boast one other connection. My neighborhood association in Shelby Park set a goal in 2015 to plant 500 trees in five years. Louisville Grows played a pivotal role in helping us sail right past that objective.

Nonprofit focusing on food literacy and environmental education. They have some community gardens,…read moredo tree plantings, urban farming, etc. A lot of their farms/orchards/gardens seem to be focused in Portland/west end. But they said they're doing some tree plantings in schnitzelburg and Phoenix hill soon.

My company used Leadership Louisville for a speaker series during our women's leadership meeting…read more Engaging with the team to describe our needs and ideas for thought leadership was easy to schedule and I enjoyed the discussion. Their team highlighted an existing program at Leadership Louisville and narrowed it down to our available time on the agenda. Cynthia Knapek was our speaker. She arrived at our meeting site and came prepared with the right balance of energy, storytelling, and data. She was the kick off speaker for our 2-day event and it set the right tone. Programs at Leadership Louisville will vary in length, commitment, and pricing. Besides Cynthia, other speakers offer their services. Check out their website for more details and reach out to schedule an initial meeting.

A couple of months after my Focus Louisville experience with Leadership Louisville, and I find…read moremyself still thinking about and referring back to it. I was impressed not only with the amount of information presented over the 2.5-day program but also the community that Leadership Louisville creates as well as how it seeks and succeeds at being a catalyst for positive change in Louisville. Louisville is so lucky have a nonprofit like Leadership Louisville. But let me back up: Leadership Louisville focuses on leadership development, civic engagement and professional development. And it does this through a handful fo key programs, as well as speaker and training events. I participated in Focus Louisville, which is Leadership Louisville's entry program. It offers "a more complete view and understanding of Louisville, along with a better sense of how to put leadership into action." And through this experience we heard from a plethora of community leaders on issues facing Louisville, including from leaders in the arts, education, economic development, local government, police, education, nonprofits and more. My favorite parts included the walking tour of downtown and the West End by former Councilman Tom Owen (a Louisville treasure), a field trip to a local elementary school and hearing directly from the Louisville Metro Council president and police chief. I thought I knew Louisville, but hearing from so many community leaders, who are clearly passionate about this city and open about its strengths and shortcomings, definitely opened my eyes. And the entire experience left me wanting to be a part of the solutions and work to make Louisville event better -- which I suppose was the whole point. I also think about the fact that my Leadership Louisville experience was only 2.5 days long; I expect that if I took part in one of their longer programs, which go for months to upward of a year, I would be even more motivated. Leadership Louisville's programs do cost a pretty penny. Focus Louisville cost $600, for example. But I was able to get some scholarship funds for part of this. Not sure if this is the case with all of the programs through this nonprofit, but it was fast and easy to apply for a scholarship. Leadership Louisville's recently renovated HQ downtown is also beautiful. It has several great meeting areas that foster communication. I'm looking forward to becoming a Leadership Louisville member and using this facility more, either for co-working or attending events. So like I said, Louisville is lucky to have Leadership Louisville. I'm looking forward to taking part in even more opportunities in the future.

This is a super special place…read more Is there a problem in your community, and you don't know what to do about it? You might want to talk to your council rep. Or you might try dialing Metro 311. Or you might want to pick a bone with your neighborhood association. But if you still don't know where to look, or you're not sure how to be effective, you might consider these local government jedi masters. Center for Neighborhoods is a nonprofit that provides outreach and assistance to citizens and neighborhood associations in the city of Louisville. First and foremost, I have to tout their twice-a-year Neighborhood Institute program. It's a neighborhood leadership-education class that teaches Community Engagement 101, basic skills in learning to get things done in your neighborhood. It's totally free, funded out of their endowment and other grants, and it's soul-lifting. If you want to figure out a way to slow the speeding traffic on your block, or if you just want to rub elbows with a lot of other community-minded people, it's a wonderful experience. They do a lot of other stuff which you can learn about on their website, but the engagement class is really at the core of their mission. They don't want to promote their own agenda for impacting neighborhoods in the city. They want to empower the people in our communities to find their voices and have those voices heard. In an era when democracy feels more dysfunctional than ever, it's heartwarming to find those places in our communities that prioritize and promote the voices of the average citizen.

Center for Neighborhoods is an amazing non-profit organization that has a great team of people…read moreworking on neighborhood engagement, education and training, planning and design, and data and mapping. CFN works on building healthy, sustainable, safe and attractive neighborhoods through engaged, informed and committed neighbors. I have personally had an amazing experience working with different individuals through CFN on community projects. I have attended their Neighborhood Summit, assisted in planning and execution of their Better Block event, completed their Green Institute, and I am currently enrolled in their Neighborhood Institute. Through these programs I have gained so much knowledge about improving our city and the environment, as well as invaluable resources through education, networking, in-the-field experience, and projects. CFN has actively participated in neighborhood-based development & improvement projects for over forty (40) years. They are an extremely valuable resource to our community, and I count myself very lucky to have found myself involved with them. If you want to work to make your community a better place, CFN is a great organization to collaborate with! I highly suggest that you become involved!

After lunch on Frankfort Avenue we headed to the Printing House for the 2 pm tour. Reservations…read morewere not required. It was only my 2 friends and I on the tour which took about an hour. The tour is fasinating and informative. The Printing House takes up an entire block, which houses, sound studios for recording audio books, printing presses for the printing of text books and a huge museum. There is parking at the side of the building and the tour is free, donations accepted.

This is one of those local gems that gets lost in the shuffle but absolutely shouldn't. The work…read morethat American Printing House for the Blind does for the visually impaired is really astonishing. They produce a laundry list of braille books - everything from classics to new releases to textbooks - in addition to other tactile educational products like globes. They also have a robust books on tape program which utilizes local and celebrity voice talent. The day we were there, we got to hear a bit of a local voice artist who's voice sounded strongly familiar. Turns out he's also the voice of the moving sidewalk at the Muhammad Ali Airport. The free tour is absolutely worth your time to learn about the great printing work that they do there, and how they accomplish it. But don't miss the second floor museum. They have a number of really neat items - including Helen Keller's desk and Stevie Wonder's childhood piano - in addition to hands on exhibits like braille writers with which you can type your own name. A great way to spend a couple of hours with a really important organization.