SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Happenings

Home Tour Tickets Available March 2

Nancy McCluskey-Moore

Anxious to know how others have remodeled their SaddleBrooke homes to improve traffic flow, expand storage options, create a space for guests, or simply modernize their surroundings? The SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) home tour was made for you! The tour will focus on remodeled homes, allowing you to see extensive changes as well as budget-friendly transformations other residents have made.

This fundraising event helps SBCO support a variety of food, clothing, and educational programs for children in nearby communities. This year, tour attendees can choose between a morning (9 a.m. to noon) or afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) tour on Saturday, April 4th. During those three hours, you’ll be able to visit seven homes. In addition to viewing good interior design, you’ll see smart bathroom and kitchen makeovers, new casitas, revised floor plans, and renovated outdoor living spaces.

Tickets for the home tour go on sale at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 2th in the SBCO office, Suite L in the SaddleBrooke Commercial Center. This year, with two tour times, 600 tickets will be sold. When tickets are purchased, buyers will need to indicate which showing (morning or afternoon) they will attend. Tickets cost $20 per person and are sold only to SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. You can purchase tickets Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. until sold out. Call your friends and make plans to attend this event!

If you would like to serve as a docent in one of the tour homes, please contact Lisa Urban at [email protected] or Heidi Wagner at [email protected]. Docents receive free admission to the tour.

Help Stop Hunger on March 21

Nancy McCluskey-Moore

The 22nd annual SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Food Drive will be held on Saturday, March 21st. On that day, volunteers will gather donations of food and money to support the Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB) based in Mammoth. TCFB serves needy families living in Mammoth, San Manuel, and Oracle. In the Tri-Community area, 20% of households live below the poverty level and 10% are below 50% of the poverty level.

The donations made by SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents help to provide monthly emergency food boxes to 338 households (1,092 people). All monetary contributions go directly to grocery purchases and related expenses. TCFB is an all-volunteer organization and is an IRS 501(c)(3) and AZ non-profit charitable organization.

Bagged food donations should be left on your curb by 8 a.m. on March 21st. They will be collected by volunteer unit captains and taken to the MountainView Clubhouse for sorting and transport to TCFB.

To make a monetary donation, you can write a check or make a donation online using a credit card. Make your check payable to “SBCO Food Drive” and write your unit number on the memo line. You can either attach the check to your food bag or mail/deliver it to SBCO, 63675 E. SaddleBrooke Blvd., Ste. L, Tucson, AZ 85739. Donations can be made online at community-outreach.org. You do not need to have a PayPal account to make an online donation to SBCO.

Donations to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, a 501(c)(3) charity, are tax deductible and may also contribute to the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Please consult with your tax advisor. The SBCO tax ID number is 86-0843458, and the AZ tax code is 20214.

If you would like to volunteer to assist with the drive, please contact Bob Wample at 559-696-3769 or send an email to [email protected] or Betty Ryan at [email protected].

2019 Adopt-a-Family and Adopt-a-Child Programs Brightened the Holidays

Linda Russell and Maggie De Block

The SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Adopt-a-Child and Adopt-a-Family programs had another successful year of helping local families and children. In addition to generous donors, the program owes a huge debt to the volunteer shoppers and wrappers who contributed their time and energy to buy the gifts and get them all wrapped, packaged, and labeled for delivery on time. We also want to thank the unit and group coordinators who are the heart and soul of the operation. Without their dedication, these programs could never work. They kept everyone on schedule so that nothing fell behind.

In 2019, Adopt-a-Family provided assistance to 111 families. SaddleBrooke Ranch adopted 34 families from Oracle and the rest of SaddleBrooke adopted 77 families from San Manuel. This represents a significant increase over 2018 when we adopted a total of 62 families. The Adopt-a-Child Program provided gifts for 234 Apache children on the San Carlos Reservation. Donations to Adopt-a-Child exceeded the funds needed for those children, so the unused funds were used to buy Christmas stockings filled with small gifts and a $20 grocery store gift card for 257 children whose families have been affected by the extended closure of the ASARCO mine in Kearny.

As a reminder for the coming year, SBCO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to SBCO, a qualifying charitable organization, are also eligible for the Arizona Tax Credit for contributions to Charities that Provide Assistance to the Working Poor. You can find more information in AZ Pub 710. If you have questions, please contact your tax advisor.

We wish you all a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year!

SBCO Scholarship Endowments Offer Win-Win Opportunity

Ron Andrea

Ruth and Dale Leman are one of several couples who have decided to contribute to the Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Fund.

According to Dale, “I hit the magic age of 70.5 and my financial institution informed me early in 2019 of the amount required for my mandated IRA distribution. It was clear to us that the distribution would increase our tax obligation, but we avoided deciding what action to take until I read the article about the Scholarship Endowment Fund last December in the SaddleBrooke papers.

“We’ve always been impressed that SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, as an all-volunteer program, has done so much for local children. Three features about this program, however, stood out to us. First, we liked that the money donated goes into an endowment that lasts forever, with the earnings growing each year. We especially liked the idea of leaving a legacy that will continue to help local students long after we’re gone. Secondly, the fact that the program carefully selects deserving students who really need and can benefit from the help reassured us that the money we donate will be well spent. Finally, there was the tax benefit. Because the funds were donated directly from our financial institution, we avoided the tax on the distribution. As a result, the net cost to us turned out to be far less than the amount we donated.

“For us, this was a’“win-win’ proposition. We get a tax break, we feel good about contributing to a great cause, and generations of students will benefit from our support. I would advise potential donors, however, that they don’t need to wait until December like we did, because IRA distributions can be taken anytime throughout the year.”

Donations to the program can also be made by listing the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Program as a beneficiary in your estate plan; by making donations of property, cars, stocks, or securities; or by simply writing a personal check. The minimum donation is $5,000. Always consult your financial advisor about potential tax benefits.

For more information, call Ron Andrea at 520-904-4831, email him at [email protected], or visit the SBCO website at communityoutreach.org.

A gift of education is both priceless and timeless.