Local artist featured at Burroughs Home

Local artist Ellen Sheppard will display her paintings at the Burroughs Home June 5-19. All paintings, which are impressionistic art in the acrylic medium, will be available for sale. All proceeds from this showing will benefit the Uncommon Friends Foundation.

An artist reception will be held at the Burroughs Home, 2505 First Street, Fort Myers, between 6 and 9 p.m. on Friday, June 5. The opening of the exhibit is part of the June Art Walk in the River District. Shuttle buses will stop at the Burroughs Home so that participants can view Ms. Sheppard's work.

The paintings will be available for public viewing and sale daily June 5-19 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., or evenings by appointment, by calling 337-9505.

Ms. Sheppard, a Lee County resident since 1951, enjoys sharing her art by donating work to charitable fund-raising events for organizations such as Arts for ACT, The Children's Hospital, American Cancer Society, The Cancer Center, the American Red Cross, and the Uncommon Friends Foundation. All proceeds go to the sponsoring organization.

The Uncommon Friends Foundation, established in 1993, is a character education foundation whose mission is to instill ethics, moral values and a sense of purpose in tomorrow's leaders. The foundation is dedicated to enriching society by promoting the positive values author James D. Newton discovered in five unique men and their wives — Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Dr. Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh — intellectual giants who helped shape the 20th century.

Additional information about the Sheppard exhibit and the Uncommon Friends Foundation may be obtained by calling 337-9505 or visiting www. uncommonfriends.org.