It’s easy to shred, recycle and donate
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Are you drowning in useless paper files and electronics? Pack up those unwanted items and bring them to the Shredding and Recycling Event on Saturday, April 21 from 9:00 a.m. to noon (or until the truck is full). The event, hosted by Long Realty-Golder Ranch, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach and the Beacon Foundation, will be held on the SaddleBrooke One bocce ball courts.
To protect your privacy, all documents are put into containers at the drop-off site. The containers are then locked and transported to the Beacon facility for shredding.
In addition to documents, the following items will be accepted for donation/recycling: computers, laptops and servers; mouse, keyboard, cables, cords; DVD players, VHS players; speakers, stereo equipment; phones and cell phones; printers, fax machines; adding machines, calculators and batteries – alkaline and rechargeable.
These items will NOT be accepted for recycling: appliances; microwaves; computer monitors and televisions.
For each boxful of items you drop off for shredding or recycling, please bring $5 or five cans of food. All donations of cash or food will benefit the Tri-Community Food Bank and the Beacon Foundation.
For more information, please contact Long Realty at 15250 N. Oracle Road, No. 110 or 520-665-4200.
Don’t miss the 2018 Home Tour
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
This year’s annual SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) home tour focuses on remodeled homes. It’s a great opportunity to see how fellow SaddleBrooke residents have adapted their homes for “open concept” living, improved storage, or built a space to accommodate their hobbies or guests. The seven homes on the tour provide examples of top-to-bottom renovations as well as some budget-friendly decorating tips you can easily adopt.
This fundraising event will be held on Sunday, March 11 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Tour tickets are on sale Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the SBCO office at Suite L in the Minit Mart Plaza. Tickets cost $15 per person or $25 for two people (cash or check preferred) and are only sold to SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. Funds raised help SBCO provide food, clothing and educational opportunities for children in local communities.
Call your friends and plan now to spend four hours viewing good interior design, beautiful bathroom and kitchen makeovers, casitas, revised floor plans and renovated outdoor living spaces. A remodeled villa will show how living in a smaller space can be quite grand. You also can pick up information about local service providers and perhaps identify an idea you’d like to implement at home.
If you would like to serve as a docent in one of the 2018 tour homes, or offer your home for the 2019 tour, please send an email to [email protected].
SBCO assists Sycamore Canyon Academy students
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Turning your life around can be a daunting task for a troubled kid. Sycamore Canyon Academy, located outside Oracle, serves as a “last chance” educational facility for students referred by judges, probation officers or the Department of Corrective Services. At the Academy, kids are given an average of four to six months to complete a program that focuses on behavioral changes and educational achievement.
Students complete reading, writing and math assessments upon entering and leaving the program. Eighty percent of the students should be in the ninth or tenth grade, but 50 percent read below grade level, averaging a fifth-grade reading level. Students with low test scores see volunteer tutors when available. Low-performing students see teachers daily for extra help and are evaluated on a weekly basis by all staff. The goal is for SCA students to return to their home school at the appropriate grade level.
SCA requested a $4,000 grant from SBCO to fund a learning center with a library of new fictional, chapter books, encyclopedias and standard educational reference books, along with bookshelves, a table and chairs. SCA students have previously only had access to donated used books. The grant would also cover the cost of computers, headphones and approved educational software.
The results achieved with this funding have been dramatic. As Elise Grimes, co-chair of the SBCO educational committee noted, “It’s amazing how far they were able to stretch $4,000. Our grant was able to cover the costs of construction, furniture, books, computers and software.” But the most important results have been seen in the behavior of the students. They have to earn the opportunity to use the learning center and to date only one student has lost privileges.
SBCO is committed to providing food, clothing and educational opportunities to children in local communities. We are pleased to be able to help troubled kids get their lives back on track.