SBCO Grants Support Educational Enrichment
Seventh-grade students from Coronado K-8 who attended the Catalina Island Marine Institute trip were able to snorkel and visit the plankton, shark, and invertebrate labs.
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach has long provided grants to help finance education enrichment opportunities and summer sports activities for local students. Among the programs that recently received SBCO grants are the following:
San Manuel Softball
A $2,500 grant was given to fund a summer softball program for kids living in the greater San Manuel area.
Mammoth-San Manuel K-12 Summer School
A $6,500 grant provided funding for a summer school program that helps students improve their academic skills and reach grade-level performance.
Oracle Scholastic Books
Thanks to a $3,240 grant, every student from kindergarten through sixth grade at Mountain Vista School received a new book to take home every month during the school year.
Ray Learning Garden
A $5,000 grant for a Learning Garden in the Ray Unified School District was used to purchase garden supplies, tools, a chipper shredder, an irrigation system, and other tools to help more than 60 junior high students learn gardening skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
Miami Monsoon Youth Outreach
A $6,000 grant funded a program that brings to the school people working in the arts—theater, music, visual arts, and literary arts—to interact with kindergarten through third grade students at the Charles A. Bejarano Elementary School.
Oracle School District GATE Program
The Oracle School District’s GATE program provides special educational opportunities for children who are academically gifted and/or talented in one or more areas. SBCO provided a $6,000 grant to fund this program at the Mountain Vista School.
Miami Discovery Time
SBCO provided $7,500 to support a program that uses hands-on activities with an emphasis on math. Students are given some leeway about which module they work on.
Miami Math Masters
A total of $11,500 was given to two programs: one for kindergarten through second grade and another for third through fifth grade, for math enrichment. Students are rewarded with t-shirts and M&M candies for mastering math skills.
Youth on Their Own
Youth on Their Own (YOTO) supports the high school graduation and continued success of homeless young people. Students receive assistance with living expenses, as well as emotional support and incentives to stay in school. SBCO provided YOTO with a $5,000 grant.
Bookshelves Program at Ray Elementary School
With help from SaddleBrooke Ranch woodworkers, the Bookshelves Program gives each first-grade student in the Ray School District in Kearny a bookshelf and books to take home at the end of the school year. Books are added to the students’ “library” while they are in second and third grade. SBCO granted $6,000 for this program, which has been ongoing for 16 years!
Miami School District FUNctional Reading
The FUNctional Reading Program, which was funded with SBCO grants awarded to programs canceled by COVID, provides material in non-fiction reading to help students prepare for state reading tests.
Amphitheater School District Field Trips
Catalina Island: This enrichment experience at Coronado K-8 School allows seventh graders to participate in a three-day trip to solidify grade-level science content in oceanography, weather, and marine biology. SBCO provided $3,000 to fund student scholarships for this trip.
Grand Canyon: This enrichment activity allows Coronado K-8 School sixth graders to participate in a two-day trip to the Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam, and Sunset Crater National Park. To solidify the geology science standards, the students can see first-hand how our world is carved and shaped by natural phenomena. SBCO granted $4,00 for student scholarships.
Miami Mindfulness Room
A $500 SBCO grant supported the implementation of a mindfulness room for use by staff and students in the Miami School District. The grant was used to pay for paint, bean bag chairs, educational posters, and other items to create this dedicated room.
Ray School District Gifted and Talented Program
The Ray School District Gifted and Talented Program received $5,000 in support from SBCO. This program provides special educational opportunities for children who are academically gifted and/or talented in one or more areas.
YMCA
SBCO awarded a $7,500 grant to provide scholarships for students who cannot afford the fees to attend the Triangle YMCA Summer Camp in Oracle.
Long-Time Volunteer Supports SBCO and Golden Goose Thrift Shop
Judy Cannon has supported SBCO by serving on the board of directors and as a Golden Goose Thrift Shop volunteer.
Diane Prickett
Judy Cannon became a SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) board member in 1999. Although she had moved to SaddleBrooke in 1993 and had a neighbor who kept asking her to join SBCO, her parents were failing and needed her. Judy recalled, “After my parents passed, I had the time. I served as the recording secretary, following Beverly Harpold in that position. I was on the board for two terms while SBCO was involved in fundraising and beginning to provide college scholarships. I didn’t know SBCO would explode like it has! It was a new organization, and everyone was feeling their way along. I don’t think we could have survived without financial support from the Golden Goose Thrift Shop. It was a God-send!”
Judy began volunteering at “the Goose” after her last term as SBCO recording secretary. “I saw the Golden Goose go from a tiny space in a shopping center to its own store. I spent 15 years volunteering at the Goose, and I loved every moment of it! I think when I started volunteering it was Stephanie Urales’ first year as the store manager. I started work on a Thursday, and the following week we celebrated the store’s first anniversary. We made $5,000 that month!
The Golden Goose became a social place for the clients. Many people came every day. People would stand in the aisles visiting with other shoppers and bring their out-of-town visitors to the store like it was a tourist attraction.”
Judy worked on the floor in the clothing department. “We knew our clients and acted like personal dressers, because we knew what they liked and could make suggestions. We had relationships and acted like a community. We only sold items in the best condition. And we sold everything—even cars! Very early on, we had people leaving donations at the back door. One time someone left a mailing tube. When we opened it, we found original sketches by Picasso!
The Golden Goose has just kept on expanding! A thrift store was needed in Catalina. People came back and told us how we helped clothe their family and now they could afford to give back. It was a win-win for everyone.”
The Golden Goose Thrift Shop, now in its 20th year of operation, is a 501(c)(3) organization. Its proceeds are divided evenly between SBCO and Impact of Southern Arizona. Every time you donate an item to the Golden Goose, buy something from the store, or serve as a Goose volunteer, you are helping to support the work of these two community-based nonprofits. As Judy noted, it’s a win-win for everyone—volunteers, donors, shoppers, and the kids in local communities that SBCO helps to feed, clothe, enrich, and educate through its many programs.
SBCO Scholarships Provide Assistance Even as Dreams Evolve
SBCO Scholarship recipient Daniella Kotopoulous is currently preparing for a future in the video gaming industry.
Mary Riemersma
As we travel through the stages of life, our dreams, plans, and even our careers evolve. When Daniella Kotopoulous graduated from high school, she thought she would earn a teaching degree with a major in English at the University of Arizona. However, like many students, her plans are changing. She began to dream about becoming a voice actress, entertaining little ones in cartoons, or becoming someone’s favorite character voice in an action-packed video game. Since video games have surrounded her throughout her young life and the video gaming industry is growing, Daniella is now contemplating majoring in video game design and development and minoring in both computer science and Spanish. She quips, “If video games don’t accept me, maybe cybersecurity will!”
Throughout her time in high school, Daniella was contemplating her future. She spent a lot of time on her essay and application for a SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) college scholarship. She submitted it with a mind full of prayer. After the interview and being told she was awarded a scholarship, she was ecstatic. Daniella says, “I’m so grateful there are communities and groups like SBCO to aid teenagers in their struggle of self-discovery. This scholarship is helping me create my future by offering great financial and emotional support!” Daniella acknowledges her goals will continue to evolve, as is the case with most students. She believes an SBCO scholarship provides a great opportunity for anyone willing to put in the effort to apply, and she is truly grateful that she jumped at the opportunity.
Daniella is a small-town girl from Mammoth and acknowledges any and all support is heartedly appreciated. As she continues her studies at the U of A, Daniella is happy, grateful, and excited that SBCO is there alongside her. She says, “Bear down and Go SaddleBrooke!”
If you would like to help students like Daniella attend college, please consider making a contribution to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Program. All contributions to the 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 number is 94-2681765). The minimum contribution to the fund is $5,000.
Tax-deductible donations to the Endowment can be made any of four ways:
* A personal check—send directly to CFSA—made payable to Community Foundation of Southern Arizona with “SBCO Endowment” in the memo line.
* A distribution from your IRA to CFSA—for the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund.
* Include CFSA, as the manager of the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund, as a beneficiary in your trust or estate plan.
* A non-cash contribution (e.g., stock, securities, real estate, autos). For these donations, please email [email protected] for assistance.
Send donations to:
The Community Foundation of Southern Arizona
SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund
5049 E. Broadway, Suite 201
Tucson, AZ 85711
For more information about the Endowment Fund, send an email to [email protected] or call the SBCO office at 520-825-3302.