For decades SafeHomes Inc. has endeavored to turn victims of domestic violence into survivors. However, the nonprofit organization is making even more noise with “Fake It to Make It,” a lip sync challenge fundraiser to support efforts to end domestic violence through advocacy, awareness and education.

Inspired by “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and LL Cool J, the event will give contestants the opportunity to battle for bragging rights as the inaugural lip sync champion. More importantly, however, each contestant is trying to raise $10,000 to support SafeHomes’ mission, which includes construction of a new 14,500-square-foot, 36-bed shelter and increasing outreach programs and services.

Supporters can make a donation or buy a ticket to the lip sync challenge on behalf of the contestants. They include Ryan Mahoney; Eddie Writer, featuring Dave Brendza, Dave Jaugstetter, Ben Young, David King and Patrick Mulvehill; Abu Khan; Ray Lewis; David McDaniel, Heather Seigler and Haskell Toporek; and Jorge Lopez, with a surprise special guest.

Judges, hosts and masters of ceremony will include Ashley Campbell-White, Barclay Bishop and Jay Jeffries of WAGT 26; Elizabeth Lamb of Doctors Hospital; Francois Leger of FPL Food and Karen Gordon of Garden City Jazz.

“This helps people know who we are and what we do,” says Jennifer Frantom, SafeHomes’ development director. “We want to engage the community and get people involved.”

SafeHomes has about $700,000 left to raise in its $3.2 million capital campaign, she says, and the shelter should open in the spring.

If You Go:                                                                                                                             

What: Fake It to Make It

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 22

Where: Imperial Theatre

How Much: $12 – $32

More Info: safehomesdv.org or (706) 736-2499

The stage will rock with country favorites when “Live From Nashville” comes to the Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center Friday, January 8. Singers and dancers, along with a band of Nashville musicians, will cover songs by country music icons such as Patsy Cline and Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. The production is designed to celebrate a century of stars and songs from Music City.

Another music legend, Glenn Miller, will be honored on Friday, January 22 when the Glenn Miller Orchestra takes the stage. The popular bandleader played to sellout crowds before his plane disappeared in a 1944 flight across the English Channel. The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956, and it has been touring the globe consistently ever since. The band will perform classic Miller tunes such as “In the Mood,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “A String of Pearls,” “Moonlight Serenade” and “Tuxedo Junction.”

The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, which cost $43 for each concert, are available by visiting augustaamusements.com or by calling (706) 726-0366.

You gotta hand it to Dr. Stephen Hsu. He got a leg up on cold and flu season. Last summer Hsu, a Georgia Regents University professor in the College of Dental Medicine, created a hand sanitizer and skin lotion using a compound derived from green tea. The compound offers protection from a range of viruses.

And even though cold and flu season is here, Hsu says his ProtecTeaV EGCG Hand Sanitizer and EGCG Skin Lotion, which are available in pharmacies and online, can do more than fight the common cold. He also clears up five common myths about hand sanitizer.

Myth #1: Hand sanitizers only prevent colds.

According to Hsu, studies in research journals show that the compound used in his hand sanitizer protects human cells from infection of HIV, herpes, norovirus, hepatitis B and C viruses, human papilloma virus and even Ebola.

“The significance of this technology is the potential to save thousands, if not tens of thousands, of lives from a variety of infections,” says Hsu, a recipient of the 2015 Georgia Bio Innovation Award.

Myth #2: Hand sanitizers replace hand washing.

“Soap and water are still the best way to clean the skin. When they’re not available, hand sanitizers are a great option,” Hsu says. “Sanitizers work best when your hands aren’t overly dirty or greasy, so if it’s possible, you always want to wash or wipe down your hands first to remove visible grime.” 

Myth #3: All hand sanitizers are created equally.

Most sanitizers kill bacteria and some viruses with alcohol, which evaporates in about 20 seconds. “This is fine for immediate cleansing if applied correctly, but it is temporary,” says Hsu. “The key is to provide a long-lasting barrier against viruses.” Hsu, who founded a start-up biotechnology and drug development company called Camellix LLC , says the combination of alcohol and the green tea compound in his sanitizer provides two-hour protection.

Myth #4: Sanitizers kill all bacteria and viruses.

Most bacteria can be killed by alcohol-based sanitizers, but the concentration of alcohol must be about 90 percent to effectively kill viruses. However, a concentration that high is also dangerously flammable, says Hsu, and the rabies and polio viruses are resistant to alcohol.

Myth #5: There is no wrong way to use hand sanitizer.

“The sanitizer can’t do its job if it isn’t applied properly,” Hsu says. To use hand sanitizer most effectively, he says, put a nickel-sized dollop of the product in the palm of one hand and rub hands together until the surface of the hands and fingers are coated. Continue rubbing them together until dry. For the best results, he recommends washing and drying your hands before using the sanitizer, then following with an application of lotion.

The newest color trend for 2016 just might surprise you.

White outs are definitely in this year – especially for the home. Just ask the experts that bring us the latest news on all things color. Sherwin-Williams has named Alabaster its 2016 Color of the Year, Glidden has chosen Cappuccino White and Benjamin Moore says it’s all about Simply White.

Yes, white.

Because white is a blending of all colors, according to colormatters.com, it is – in fact – a color. So there.

“Alabaster represent a straightforward and necessary shift to mindfulness. It provides an oasis of calmness, spirituality and ‘less is more’ visual relief,” says Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing. “Alabaster is neither stark nor overly warm, but rather an understated and alluring white.”

Sherwin-Williams offers a number of ways to showcase Alabaster in the home. Use it to set the tone for healing, rest or meditation in a bedroom or nursery. Make a statement with it as a chic, stand-alone hue in an entryway or home office. Pair it with light blushes or grays to bridge transitional and traditional styles. Create a yin and yang harmony with contrasting dark colors in a spa-like bathroom.

White exemplifies style, the Benjamin Moore experts say, so it works for colonial, contemporary and every architectural type in between.

“The color white is transcendent, powerful and polarizing – it is either taken for granted or obsessed over,” says Ellen O’Neill, Benjamin Moore creative director. “White is not just a design trend, it is a design essential. The popularity of white, the necessity of white, the mystique of white is quantifiable in our industry. Of the top ten best-selling Benjamin Moore colors, variants of white occupy five spots. It was inevitable that we would ultimately recognize white as our Color of the Year.”