Mrs. Arizona 2023, Carolyn Larsen, introduced Arizona’s 5 Cs at the Miami Memorial Library.
SBCO Enrichment Grant Funds 5 Cs Education
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
School children in Arizona are taught the “5 Cs”—the five things that were once the main drivers of the state’s economy. While today the economic impact of cotton, cattle, citrus, copper, and climate has changed somewhat, the 5 Cs still remain an important tool for helping young students learn about our state’s history.
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) awarded the Miami Memorial Library a $5,850 enrichment grant to provide educational programs about Arizona’s 5 Cs to students from preschool through 12th grade. Adult caregivers attended, along with the students.
Outside experts were hired to make a total of six presentations. The first of these, an overview of the 5 Cs, was made by Mrs. Arizona 2023, Carolyn Larsen. Subsequent presentations were delivered at three- to four-week intervals and coordinated with assistance from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Students learned where citrus is most successfully grown in Arizona and took home books on how to grow citrus in a container. They received mini-bales of cotton, learned the best places in Arizona to grow cotton, and received books on how cotton gets transformed into textiles. Students and adults learned about the different types of cattle raised in Arizona, and during the final presentation, they were given a timeline for mining and copper in Southern Arizona. One of the books purchased for the last program included Southern Arizona Mining.
In addition to paying for the speakers, SBCO funds were used to purchase door prizes and food as incentives at each program, supplies to create print advertisements, books for students to keep, and books to increase the library collection specific to Arizona’s 5 Cs. As a learning extension to the six scheduled Arizona 5 Cs programs, the library engaged preschool students with music and movement story times and traditional story times in conjunction with the Arizona 5 Cs programs.
According to Miami Memorial Library Manager Sue Pontel, “All in all, the enrichment benefit for our community was evidenced by the total attendance of 205.” This is a good result for a town with an estimated population of 1,538.
Don’t Miss the SBCO Fall Meeting and Golden Goose Fashion Show
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Fall Kick-off general meeting, which features the popular Golden Goose Fashion Show, will be held at 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, in the MountainView clubhouse ballroom. This is a great opportunity to learn about the wide variety of SBCO programs to feed, clothe, enrich, and educate local youngsters and see some affordably priced (but very stylish) clothing. This annual fashion show proves that Golden Goose Thrift Shop customers know how to dress well while saving money.
Each year Golden Goose volunteer Betsy Lowry sifts through the shop’s clothing donations to find items for the annual fashion show. Clothing and coordinating accessories, from casual to formal wear, and even costumes, are selected for quality and style to display some of the best things available to the Goose’s shoppers. Betsy also recruits Goose volunteers to serve as models, many of whom contribute their own fashion savvy and sense of humor to the occasion. For some, their wardrobe is comprised of so many Goose finds that they can simply shop their own closet for a fashion show ensemble!
The Golden Goose Thrift Shop evenly divides its proceeds between SBCO and IMPACT of Southern Arizona. Whenever you donate items to the store or buy treasures from its inventory, you are helping to support the work of both of these great local charities. Since its founding more than 20 years ago, the Golden Goose has contributed $20 million to these two nonprofits, changing the lives of thousands of local residents.
SBCO Helps Students Go Back to School in Style
A young “shopper” models the new jeans and T-shirt she has selected with the assistance of Kids’ Closet volunteer Margaret Thompson.
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Twice a year, in the fall and spring, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) provides school wardrobes and school supplies to children living in towns along the Copper Corridor, from Catalina north to Miami and San Carlos. Kids’ Closet serves children from preschool through 8th grade, while Teen Closet assists students in 9th through 12th grade. By offering new clothing and shoes, both programs help to raise kids’ self-esteem while reducing the strain on their families’ already limited budgets.
Teen Closet shopping days are held on multiple evenings in January and July at the Target and Ross Dress for Less stores in Oro Valley. Schools identify students entering 9th grade who would benefit from the program based on family need. To continue in Teen Closet, each student must attend school regularly, attain a passing GPA, and perform six hours of community service each semester to receive $250 to purchase clothing, shoes, and school supplies. Students who graduate from high school in the spring are given one last shopping trip in July when they can purchase items for their dorm rooms or apartments in addition to clothing. This July, 98 students from six high schools in the SBCO service area were met by an adult volunteer who served as the student’s shopping mentor. The students included 11 graduating seniors with 42 returning 10th through 12th graders and 45 new 9th graders. A total of 60 men and women volunteered to serve as shopping mentors, assisting from one to three times during the week of shopping. Teen Closet gives teenagers the opportunity to attend school with pride of person, knowing that they have earned this benefit through their hard work and mindfulness of the needs of others in their community. The next Teen Closet event will be held in January of 2025. If you would like to help a student shop, please email [email protected] so your name can be added to the volunteer list.
Kids’ Closet is located in “the big red building” in Mammoth. Students are brought on school buses on Mondays and Thursdays or, on Saturdays, by their parents to the facility. Inside, there is a waiting area where each child can select two grade-appropriate books to take home. In the “Zoo Room,” named for the colorful animals painted on the walls by the SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild, volunteers serve as personal shoppers, helping each child find clothing that fits. But the children make their own selections from the T-shirts, shorts or jeans, jackets or sweatshirts, and shoes in stock. Students also receive underwear, socks, and personal toiletry items like toothbrushes and toothpaste. Dressing rooms and bins of clothing organized by size help to recreate the experience of shopping in a store. Between the fall season, which this year runs from Sept. 23 through Dec. 8, and the spring season, from late January or early February through April, Kids’ Closet provides approximately 3,000 wardrobes each year. Backpacks filled with grade-appropriate school supplies are delivered directly to schools for distribution. If you would like to become a Kids’ Closet volunteer, please send an email to Margaret Thompson at [email protected].