Get Ready to Register for 24th Annual SBCO Walk for Kids!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Plan now to register for the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Walk for Kids (formerly known as the Walkathon). The Walk will be held at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. This signature SBCO event helps support our food, clothing, and education programs benefiting youngsters along a 100-mile corridor from Catalina to the San Carlos Indian Reservation and the Miami school system. SBCO now also offers scholarships to students in Globe. Annually, SBCO touches the lives of approximately 4,000 students through new clothes, backpacks filled with school supplies, college scholarships, contributions to Tri-Community Food Bank, and financial support for a wide range of educational enrichment activities.
In honor of SBCO’s 25th anniversary, walkers will receive a special commemorative t-shirt, bites and drinks at a “Snack Shack,” and listen to live music. Participants also will be able to visit booths featuring information about SBCO’s programs and some of its leading business supporters. We’re working to make this a bang-up celebration of SBCO’s 25-year history of making a difference in local communities.
Online registration for the 2022 Walk for Kids begins on Monday, Aug. 1, at community-outreach.org. The registration fee of $30 per adult and $10 per child (ages 6 through 18) covers the cost of the t-shirt, snacks, and entertainment.
If you choose not to register online with a card, in-person registration using cash or check begins on Tuesday, Sept. 6, and runs through Oct. 28, every Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the SBCO office at Suite L in the Minit-Market Plaza. Registrations (online or in person) received after Sept. 28 are not guaranteed a t-shirt (or a shirt in the desired size).
T-shirts will be available for pick-up at the SBCO office between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24, through Friday, Oct. 28.
Be sure to register by Sept. 28 and talk to your friends and neighbors about walking together. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning!
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Supports Enrichment Activities for Kids
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Each year SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) awards educational enrichment grants to local schools and community organizations in support of new or recurring programs. Although grants are awarded throughout the year, summer is the ideal time for students to improve their academic skills as well as engage in team sports. This year SBCO has provided funding for two local summer programs.
Mammoth-San Manuel School District received a $6,500 renewal grant for summer school for approximately 100 kindergarten through 6th grade students. The program, which ran from June 6 through June 30, was designed to provide a learning bridge to keep students on track academically. It also allowed low-income students further academic support as well as the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities. The summer school program cost approximately $25,000 with $18,000 paid by the district and the rest supplied by the SBCO grant.
The San Manuel Girls’ Summer Softball Program received an SBCO grant of $2,500. This program will serve 70 girls between the ages of 3 and 16, providing an opportunity for exercise and teamwork during the summer months.
For the 2022-23 school year, SBCO awarded a $3,240 to grant to Mountain Vista School in Oracle. This financial grant will support a program that provides, on a monthly basis, Scholastic Book Club books for individual students in grades preschool through 6th grade.
SBCO Helps Students Graduate Without Years of Tuition Debt
Mary Riemersma
Students like Hannah Reidhead can sometimes only dream about the possibility of receiving a college degree. Hannah’s dream is not only coming true, but she will be able to realize that dream without years of debt in her future.
Hannah knew she wanted a degree but thought she would have to begin at a community college. The tuition for four years at a university just seemed cost prohibitive. But Hannah’s high school counselor encouraged her to apply to Arizona’s major universities. Not only was she accepted by all, she was offered scholarships at each of the schools. She accepted the offer from Northern Arizona University.
She received the Lumberjack scholarship, which covered her tuition for four years. She also received other state and university grants that helped her to pay for her room and board in Flagstaff. And with a scholarship from SBCO, she had enough money to afford other expenses, like books, supplies, and groceries for each semester. She states, “Over the last four years, I’ve been blessed with the ability to focus on school without having to work during the academic year.”
Hannah graduated debt-free this year with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. Following graduation, she plans to take a year to shadow physical and occupational therapists to learn more about these professions and to determine her future direction. She is hopeful that she will then be accepted into a graduate program that defines her future career.
Hannah is grateful for the assistance the SBCO scholarship has provided. She is also appreciative of the understanding provided by her SBCO liaison Steve Sahl who empathized and understood how COVID impacted her efforts to acquire an education.
Hannah is just one more example of how SBCO’s educational scholarships can make a difference in the lives of students who desire to advance their education. If you would like to help students like Hannah, please consider making a contribution or providing a gift to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Program.
You can even include the program as a beneficiary in your trust, you can have a portion of your mandated IRA minimum required distribution sent directly to the Scholarship Endowment Program as a tax-deductible gift, or you may simply write a check that will be used for the awarding of current scholarships. Like with any financial decision, be sure to consult with your tax advisor regarding the benefits of such charitable gifts.
All contributions to the Endowment Fund must be made payable to the Community Foundation for 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.
* In-kind contributions (e.g., stock, securities, real estate, autos).
Send donations to:
The Community Foundation of Southern Arizona
SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund
5049 E. Broadway, Suite 201
Tucson, AZ 85711
For more information, send an email to [email protected] or call the SBCO office at 520-825-3302.