In April, Gayl Van Natter rejoined the SBCO Board of Directors as executive vice president.
New Executive VP Proves You Can Go Home Again
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Gayl Van Natter became SaddleBrooke Community Outreach’s executive vice president in April of 2024. However, this is not her first time serving on the SBCO Board of Directors. In fact, her service with SBCO began shortly after she moved to SaddleBrooke from Seattle in 2012.
Gayl originally built her house in SaddleBrooke in 2000, but she was still busy working and rented the property until she was ready to relocate. In the first part of her career, Gayl, who considers Colorado her real “home state,” worked in title and escrow for Transamerica Financial Corporation. Prior to retiring, she had climbed the corporate ladder to vice president in that organization. Then, not one to really “retire,” she began working for a builder part time. But after four years, she had become vice president of sales and marketing, involved in conducting market research, determining what community amenities customers wanted, and working with architects to plan projects.
Eventually, Gayl retired for the second time, and in July of 2012 she and her husband Tony relocated to SaddleBrooke. She mentioned to the person who had managed her house while it was rented that she was “looking for something to do.” The property manager told her about two nonprofits who need volunteers: SBCO and the Golden Goose Thrift Shop. Gayl contacted both organizations about administrative volunteer work and quickly became the recording secretary for SBCO and also a board member for the Golden Goose. For a year, she served on both boards, but eventually it was deemed best that she be on only one board to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. She stayed on the Golden Goose board, eventually serving in various roles, including president.
Perhaps Gayl’s most challenging—and rewarding—experience as a volunteer was serving as the Golden Goose board president during the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeping the shop afloat and ensuring that SBCO and Impact of Southern Arizona could receive their much-needed financial support was difficult. But the board, shop staff, and volunteers succeeded in finding their way through that very difficult time, and all three organizations continue to thrive.
Gayl’s involvement with SBCO also has included serving as a volunteer for the Walk for Kids, Food Drive, Adopt-a-Family, Home Tour, and Teen Closet. In addition, Gayl has volunteered with Oro Valley Hospital. In all of her volunteer work, she enjoys “making people happy, being of value, solving problems, and being of benefit to others.” She states, “I can’t play many sports now, but volunteering has kept me active, healthier, and more engaged with other people’s lives.”
To those considering becoming an SBCO volunteer, Gayl would say, “There is absolutely no downside. You will feel fulfilled, engaged, and more involved in your community.”
If you would like to become an SBCO volunteer, please visit our website community-outreach.org and click on “Become a Member” on the home page.
Students listened to their teacher read the book With Lots of Love before receiving a copy to take home.
SBCO Grant Supports Reading at Bejarano Elementary in Miami
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The teachers and administrators of Dr. Charles A. Bejarano Elementary School in Miami, Ariz., are dedicated to implementing innovative programs to help their Pre-K through second grade students become fluent readers. For the 2023-24 school year, the school received a $3,000 grant from SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) to support family literacy nights that were part of the school’s “Reading Through the Seasons” program. These events were designed to motivate 250 students to read fiction and nonfiction books and encourage their families to be actively involved in their child’s education. The grant funds were used to purchase new books for the students, food and supplies needed for activities completed at the literacy events, and materials used to advertise the events.
As part of the overall program, the students participated in many reading activities for each season. In the fall, they were able to read by “spotlight” with their families outside or inside the school. In the winter, books were distributed to all the children who attended the winter concert, and they could participate in a family project to disguise a snowman or gingerbread man. In the spring, the students rotated through science lesson-based activities. At the end of a season’s literacy event, each student was given a new book to add to their home library, giving all of the students access to books at home. This is very important for a town with a population of 1,353 with 26.4% living in poverty.
As part of the program’s evaluation process (in addition to the excitement evidenced by the students as they participated in activities with their family members) sign-in sheets were used to track the number of students and their families in attendance at each event. Families were also asked to rate their experience at each event and indicate which activity they found most enjoyable.
Help Future Scholars with a Legacy Donation
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Since 2001, SBCO has been granting two- and four-year college scholarships to deserving students in the “Copper Corridor,” an area that stretches more than 100 miles from Catalina north to Globe, Ariz. In 2019 SBCO established a scholarship endowment fund to ensure that college scholarships would continue to be granted even if SBCO as an organization ceased to exist and to provide funding for more scholarships without taking money from other SBCO programs. A minimum $5,000 level was set for Endowment Fund donations to keep smaller donations directed toward SBCO’s general fund.
Not all of us are comfortable making a large financial donation during our lifetime. While we are living, we may need to carefully manage our financial resources. Inflation, a prolonged illness, or simply living to a ripe old age can make us cautious about giving away money today. But once we pass, such concerns no longer exist. As the old saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”
A legacy donation, or planned giving, allows you to ensure your estate is distributed in a way that reflects your values and allows you to help future generations. Legacy donations are designated in your will or trust. You indicate the parties who receive the proceeds of your estate. One or even several individuals or organizations can be designated as your heirs.
All contributions to the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund must be made payable to the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona (CFSA) and designated for the “SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund” (CFSA’s Tax ID is 94-2681765). This ensures donations are legally separated from SBCO general funds, properly processed, and the donor receives acknowledgment. To make a legacy donation, have your attorney include CFSA as the manager of the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in your trust or estate plan:
The SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund
Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
5049 E. Broadway, Suite 201
Tucson, AZ 85711
For more information about legacy donations or other ways of contributing to the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund, please visit the SBCO website community-outreach.org, send an email to [email protected], or call the SBCO office at 520-825-3302.