I love my job as managing editor of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. But some days I love it more than others.

Monday was one such day, in part because I got to meet Misty Heil, a 24-year-old Cheyenne resident who is holding a rummage sale this Saturday. Many people hold yard sales in Cheyenne every weekend during the summer, you say, so why is Misty so special?

Because Misty is donating all proceeds from this special sale to both local and international charitable organizations. Rummage for Refugees will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1621 Warren Ave., behind the Carl’s Jr. restaurant.

Proceeds will be distributed as follows: 10 percent to the Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne, 10 percent to the local office of Habitat for Humanity, 20 percent to Africare, 20 percent to the International Rescue Committee’s Child Survival Children’s Program in Sierra Leone and 20 percent to the International Rescue Committee’s Darfur program.

Items are still being accepted. To donate to the sale, call Misty at 307-286-3683 to schedule a pick-up time.

What made Misty decide to hold Rummage for Refugees? When I asked her, she said, “I’ve just always thought I should help out those less fortunate than I am and do what I could.”

A philosophy to live by and one that fits incredibly well with “Everyone gives, Everyone gains.” Good luck with the rummage sale, Misty!

University of Wyoming football coach Joe Glenn will be the guest speaker at the annual Wyoming Children’s Society gala dinner.

The 97th anniversary dinner, which will be held Saturday, Aug. 9 at Little America, also will include a silent and live auction.

Since 1911, the Wyoming Children’s Society has been committed to improving the lives of children, working to find permanent adoptive homes for all children in need. This event celebrates adoption and raises the necessary funds to support adoption programs.

Tickets are $50 per person.

For more information, call 632-7619 or click on “To give your money” at right.

A project I’ve written about several times in this space is coming to an end.

Last summer, many people in the Cheyenne area got excited when the ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” completed a project east of town for a local family.

One group of people, which became a new nonprofit organization called Community Care Concepts, decided they wanted to do something similar for another family in need in the community. Rather than rely on a large corporation like ABC to come in and pay for the work, however, they took the grassroots approach and got the community involved in everything from fundraising to the actual construction work.

The final work will take place next Thursday and Friday, July 31 and Aug. 1, as volunteers clean up the Cranmore family home work site in advance of a “welcome home” ceremony and project celebration on Saturday, Aug. 2.

For those who haven’t been following the project so far, Todd Cranmore was diagnosed with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis seven years ago and has not been able to work since. Community Care Concepts has worked over the last several months to make repairs to the family’s house, as well as add handicapped accessibility for Todd.

The public is invited to the welcome home event, which begins at 9 a.m. Aug. 2. To help out with next week’s cleanup, click on “To give your time” at right.

Kudos to the Community Care Concepts group and all of the community volunteers for their work, which has truly made a difference for this local family!

The Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce and Cheyenne Frontier Days have once again teamed up for the annual “Pardners in Prosperity” luncheon this Friday in front of the Old West Museum on Carey Avenue.

Proceeds from the luncheon and auction will go to the CFD Scholarship Fund, which gives scholarships to children of adult CFD volunteers.

The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first day of the 112th annual “Daddy of ‘em All.”

For more information, click on “To give your money” at right.

The Eighth annual Parade of Ponds, a tour of ponds, waterfalls and pondless waterfalls in the Cheyenne area, is coming up this Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The self-guided tour features 10 water features in eight different locations. One hundred percent of the ticket price goes to the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. Tickets are $5 per person or $10 per family.

Gregg Sawyer, president of Sawyer Waterscaping, the event’s sponsor, said, “We chose the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens to benefit from the Parade because we support their mission to improve and protect the environment and natural beauty of Cheyenne. It supports our professional goals, which are to create an environment conducive to supporting nature and its beauty.”

Water gardens on the tour may cover most of the property with large ponds or be as small as 5 feet by 5 feet.

Sawyer Waterscaping is a family business owned by Ron, Dan and Gregg Sawyer. All three are local junior high and high school teachers who operate the waterscaping business in the spring and summer.

For more information or to buy tickets, call 634-2848 or visit www.sawyerwaterscaping.com.

Organizers with Community Care Concepts hope that this weekend’s garage sale to support the Cranmore home project will be the final fundraiser that will push the total needed over the top.

If you have items you can donate to the sale, call Linda Whitcomb at 630-8503. The sale is from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 12 at the project site, 3529 Fillmore Ave. Raffle tickets also will be sold during the event.

Todd Cranmore was diagnosed with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis seven years ago and has not been able to work since. Their house is being repaired and remodeled by Community Care Concepts, a local nonprofit organization, including adding handicapped accessibility for Todd.

The project is less than a month from being completed, and organizers hope this garage sale will pay for the last of the materials needed to finish it.

For more information or to donate time or money to the project, call Whitcomb at 630-8503.

Cheyenne Interfaith Hospitality Network is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help homeless families with children get back on their feet. The group is near and dear to my heart (full disclosure here) because it is hosted at my church, Grace United Methodist, and I have been an overnight host and occasional daytime driver for the past few years.

As the organization’s executive director, Elizabeth McVicker, says, seven days a week, 365 days a year is when the families need help. The best part of this ministry is it gets homeless families out of their cars — especially in the winter, when the weather is horrible — and into a local host church that otherwise would sit empty overnight anyway.

In addition to temporary housing and meals in churches in our community, Cheyenne Interfaith Hospitality Network also provides assistance with employment searches and help accessing social services in the community and case management.

For more information, go to http://www.cheyenneinterfaith.org. The group’s Web site gives a marvelous overview of the program and how you can help.

Work has begun on the day-care center coming to the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless’ Richards Center.

St. Peters Church is putting in the playground, and Pioneer Construction will begin working on the basic plan and alternate #1.

But money is still needed to complete alternates #2-#4. The amount still needed to finalize the plans is $120,000.

Anyone wishing to donate to this project should mark their check “building fund,” and the money will be added to the project funds.

For more information or to see the plans, look at the site or anything else related to this project, contact Virginia Sellner at 634-8499.