Sunflower hats
Donation of knitted hats to Kids’ Closet
Nan Nasser
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) recently received over 400 knitted hats destined for the SBCO Kids’ Closet clothing program. Children in our 100 mile service area who are eligible to come to Kids’ Closet may receive a fall and a spring wardrobe. The fall wardrobe includes a knitted hat to keep the kids warm while waiting for school buses. The hats are often created by local knitters and very much appreciated by the children.
A group of women, part of needlework club in the community of Sunflower in Marana, got out their needles and hooks and went to work. Their leader, Dawn, delivered over 400 hats to the SBCO office in the SaddleBrooke commercial center. Dawn was the creator of 320 of the hats, Carol stitched up 100 and several other participants donated their finished products to this project.
The fall wardrobe consists of three pair of long pants, three shirts, six pair of underwear and socks, a windbreaker, sneakers, hygiene items, reading books and a hat! The youngsters are selected by their school administrators to participate in the program based on need. They are generally bussed to the Closet according to an established schedule. Each child is paired with an SBCO volunteer to select all the items for the wardrobe. All items are new; the donation of hats helps keep the cost of an average fall wardrobe at $75 per child.
Find out more about us on our website: www.community-outreach.org.
Golf ball sales help kids
Emilie Siarkiewicz
Need golf balls? Have we got a deal for you!
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) is selling a dozen golf balls for only $5! They are recycled balls retrieved from bunkers, water hazards, back yards and places where most humans dare not go. They have been cleaned and sorted by guys who know a good ball from a bad one and they are ready and waiting to play another round.
The balls are available at Strandz Salon & Spa in the commercial center, 63701 E. SaddleBrooke Boulevard, and from Jim Handrigan, 62247 E. Rangewood Drive (contact at 825-8142) and John Michels, 62200 E. Valley Crest Court (contact at 825-1409). If you have golf balls you want to get rid of you may drop them off at these locations.
Sale of the golf balls helps fund SBCO’s Kids’ Closet, education programs and food programs. To find out more about these programs visit community-outreach.org.
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Adopt a Family volunteers Joe Murdock, Ellen Perkins, Dave Wisniewski and Sam Carmen load the truck for the trip to San Carlos.
Adopt-a-Family 2016
Ken and Ellen Perkins
At our summer home in Vermont the leaves are beginning to turn and there is a nip in the air. That tells us that it is time to return to SaddleBrooke and make plans for the annual SBCO Adopt a Family for the holidays project. We watch the heartbreaking news stories about families in the Middle East who are suffering great hardship to find a safe place to raise their children. They are truly in need of help and their plight just seems to get worse with each passing day. But we can’t forget that there are many children in need right in our area. While for most of us the economy is much improved, there are still many people in need and many of them are children. Once again we would like to spread some joy to these children during the holidays. During the past 11 years that we have been organizing this program, the residents of SaddleBrooke have been very generous in helping us to make wishes come true for disadvantaged children and we believe that will be the case again this year.
We work closely with the three elementary schools in Oracle, San Manuel and Mammoth to ensure that the families are residents of the town and are needy. The suggested donation is $60 to $70 per child with roughly half of that spent for a special gift or toy and the other half spent on durable play clothes. If you wish to adopt a family to shop for, we can assign you a family and provide a wish list for them that will fit your budget. In an effort to make the donations go further, we exclude adult children and grandparents (unless they are the legal guardians). “It is all about the kids.”
Last year the SBCO Adopt a Family project provided gifts for 98 families in the Tri-Community area. We also run a parallel effort with children on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation that we call “SBCO Adopt a Child.” Last year SBCO Adopt a Child project provided gifts for 249 Apache children on the San Carlos Reservation. If your unit wasn’t involved last year, but would like to participate this year, please call for additional information. It’s fun and very rewarding!
We would like to invite any and all of you to join us in this worthy cause. We very much need donations and help with shopping, wrapping and delivery. We think you will find shopping with a friend for the things that the children have requested can be both fun and rewarding. Please join us in this journey which is guaranteed to fill you with the holiday spirit!
We are out of town for the summer but please let us know if you can help. You can reach us by email, [email protected], or by cell phone, 520-300-0808.
Make a difference! Make a donation!
Shawne Cryderman
As the year comes to a close we ask you to consider making a difference in a child’s life. SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) provides clothing, educational opportunities and support of the Tri-Community Food Bank to help improve children’s lives in communities near us who experience extreme poverty.
Our Programs:
Kids’ Closet provides new clothing for children from Head Start through eighth grade in order to help them attend school each day.
Teen Closet offers eligible students a shopping trip to local retail stores to purchase appropriate classroom attire.
Education programs provide tutoring, underwrite enrichment programs and offer scholarships to community colleges, universities and technical schools.
Financial support and donations from our annual Food Drive are given to Tri-Community Food Bank, making food available to the families in the communities of Mammoth, San Manuel and Oracle.
Holiday Food Baskets, Adopt a Family and Adopt a Child provide support to local families.
SBCO is 100% volunteer, with no paid staff. Our service area extends from Catalina to Superior and across to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. That is 100 miles, in three counties, working with 17 schools in eight districts. For the 2016-17 school year, SBCO has added the Miami School District.
Contributions can be mailed to SBCO, 63675 E. SaddleBrooke Boulevard, Suite L, Tucson, Arizona 85739 or hand delivered Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You can also use PayPal on our website: www.community-outreach.org.
Help us make a difference in their lives by making a donation to SBCO. We are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, eligible for an Arizona Tax Credit because of our programs for the working poor. That means you can also use this contribution as a tax deduction on your federal return. We do suggest you consult your accountant for further information.
Smile as you shop
Emilie Siarkiewicz
Did you know that your purchases on Amazon.com can benefit needy children in our neighboring communities?
Amazon has a program called AmazonSmile whereby they will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know: same products, same prices and same service.
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) is a 501(c) (3) organization that qualifies to receive AmazonSmile donations. All you have to do is sign up by going to smile.amazon.com and either open a new account or refer to an existing account.
Closer to home, shopping at Bashas’ is another way to help clothe and educate children in the SBCO service area extending from Catalina to the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Using a Bashas’ Community Support Card results in 6% of the dollars you spend coming to SBCO to support its programs. Cards are available at the SBCO Office Monday through Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., for $5. The card comes with $5 already loaded on it. To add more money to the card, stop at the Customer Service Desk in the store. The 6% will be credited to SBCO at that time, not as you use the card at the check-out register. Please note that cards obtained at the Bashas’ Customer Service Desk, rather than at the SBCO Office, will not credit SBCO.
By using AmazonSmile and/or a Bashas’ card, you can smile as you shop knowing that you are helping needy children.
Arizona Tax Credit – Did you know? Donating can save you money!
SBCO qualifies for Arizona Tax Credit of $400 for single or head of household and $800 for married filing jointly. As you start your tax planning for the balance of 2016 please consider giving to SBCO’s many programs for kids.
If your residence is in Arizona then the Arizona Tax Credit allows you to deduct up to $400 for single or head of household and up to $800 as a married couple from your Arizona taxable income. Additionally, you may also claim this on your federal taxes as a charitable donation. For example, your $400 donation may pay for over five wardrobes and approximately 25% of a scholarship to a technical school, community college or university.
SBCO is an all-volunteer organization, with only four percent of our income going to administrative costs. The other 96% goes to support SBCO’s programs: clothing, food and education. Your donations make a tremendous impact on the kids we serve.
If you have questions regarding the Arizona Tax Credit, please consult your tax preparer. Thank you for considering SBCO in providing assistance to the kids in our area.
Aluminum can recycling
Emilie Siarkiewicz
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) has been collecting and recycling aluminum cans for many years to help funds its programs.
A large collection container is located near the RV storage lot and pickleball courts off Ridgeview Boulevard. You can drop off your empty soda and beer cans any time of day or night, seven days a week. But please – no plastic or paper bags or boxes. Empty the box or bag and take it home! Every bag left in the container results in a penalty fee which is deducted from the amount SBCO receives.
P.S.: You can also help support another worthy cause by removing the tabs from the cans before putting them in the recycling container; then drop off the tabs at the SBCO Office in Suite L in the SaddleBrooke shopping center. We will see that they get to the Tucson Ronald McDonald House.