Heading to breakfast
Annual Walkathon update
Nan Nasser
As we move into our twentieth year of supporting kids, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) will host its twentieth Walkathon on Saturday, October 29. Vital Moves will have warm up exercises at 7:30 a.m. and walkers, led by the Grand Marshals Pat and Ron Andrea, will head out at 8:00 a.m. for the standard walk around Ridgeview or a shorter jaunt up towards the firehouse. This begins and ends at SaddleBrooke HOA1’s parking lots at the end of SaddleBrooke Boulevard.
If you have participated in each event you might have walked 57 miles to help SBCO support youngsters in neighboring communities!
Registration for the Walkathon will begin on September 12 at the SBCO General Meeting where our program will be the ever popular and fun Golden Goose Fashion Show. The cost of registering for the Walkathon is $30 per person and includes the tee shirt sporting our new logo. Your tee shirt is your ticket to the breakfast immediately following your return to the SaddleBrooke Clubhouse.
SBCO has received excellent financial support from Long Realty, First Plaza Storage, Fishkind Bakewell and Maltzman, Cruise One, Oracle Ford, Radiology Limited and Building Excellence LLC. Along with these sponsors, many individuals and small businesses will also be listed on the back of the tee shirt. Bottled water will be provided by Navigation Retirement Group. Raffle prizes include gift cards to both HOA dining rooms, Gadabout Salon Spas, Ace Hardware, Coyote Golf Cars and American Express gift cards. The tickets are available at the time of registration – $1 each or six tickets for $5. Register early to assure your appropriate shirt size!
Mary Anderson, loyal Monday morning receptionist, staffs the phone at SBCO Office.
Volunteer office help needed
Pat Andrea
If you are looking for a local opportunity to volunteer, with flexible hours and a chance to meet new people, this may be the right choice for you.
Starting in September, the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) office at the SaddleBrooke Minit Mart Plaza (located in Suite L next to the dentist) will be open 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. five days per week. We want to be more visible and accessible to the community and make it more convenient for residents to join SBCO and sign up for events such as the Walkathon. By the way, it is now free to join, so please come in and say hello, fill out a membership form and join this incredible organization.
With the increased hours, SBCO is in need of more office help. Our receptionists work three hour shifts of their own choosing. There are presently a number of regular shifts open. Receptionists can choose a regular shift or be on call to fill in as needed.
This job does not require any computer skills or clerical experience. It does require a smiling face, the ability to answer the phone, receive donations and deliveries at the doors, accept membership forms and help people sign up for SBCO community events.
If you are interested in becoming a receptionist for SBCO or have any questions, please contact Pat Andrea at [email protected] or 520-904-4832.
Mimi Sander and Jim Glotfelty with student Victor Ramirez
SBCO Angels
Mimi Sander
“You are Angels,” said an appreciative recipient of the most recent Teen Closet shopping expedition in July. Teen Closet is an extension of Kids’ Closet to assist ninth through twelfth graders in a comfortable adjustment to high school. This session 45 students qualified from either Ironwood Ridge or Canyon Del Oro high schools to shop at Target or Ross Dress for Less for back-to-school clothing and school supplies. Each student enjoyed being with their own volunteer who assisted them in their selections. Smiles were all around on these happy, rewarding trips made possible by the generosity of Teen Closet. This is a wonderful way to volunteer in the community.
If you would like to learn more about this rewarding program or are interested in volunteering, please contact Mimi Sander at 825-4557.
Some of the food items available to the kids
Summer food program
Nan Nasser
For a second year SaddleBrooke Community Outreach hosted a food program for youngsters in the Mammoth area who would be eligible for a national free food program, not offered in the summer when school is closed. Working closely with Bashas’ Supermarket in Catalina, Chairperson Paula Morgan and her close committee of Terri Kunz, Bob Kunz and Frank Morgan selected a variety of nourishing, non-perishable items suitable for breakfasts and lunches.
Many SBCO volunteers helped transport the food to Kids’ Closet in Mammoth and sort it into bags for the kids to take home. Area residents Nancy and Nellie were on hand to greet the families, interpret as needed and even make a few necessary phone calls.
On the final day of the program 57 bags of food were distributed and bonus items (additional packages of food) were available on a first-come first-served basis. Everyone who attended expressed interest in returning next summer. (This reporter was also pleased to see a youngster select Ramen Noodles over cookies as a bonus item!)
In total, 149 bags of food were given to children on three separate Saturdays over a six week period. Each bag was intended to supply food for two weeks and when kids returned with their empty bags they were exchanged for another fully packed sack. Smiles and thank yous were abundant.