The SaddleBrooke Ranch woodworkers who built bookcases for young readers in Kearny are (left to right) Barry Milner, Mark Prose, John Gordon, Dan Carter, Dale Lythjohan, Russ Hardy, Sam Rossi, Jeff Hansen, and Tony Manza. Not pictured are Ken De Leo, Jim Lindley, and Eric Taylor.
SBCO Promotes Reading with Bookcases and Books
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
At the end of the school year, first grade students at Ray Elementary School in Kearny receive a handmade bookcase and at least two books. Each child annually receives an additional two books (through the third grade) to store in their bookcase. The Rotary Club of Kearny started this program to encourage young students to read, since many come from homes where there are no books. For many years, the club helped to finance and construct the bookcases.
When the Rotary Club backed away from the program, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) began providing an annual grant to buy the books and the materials for the bookcases. At first, Kearny-area woodworking/shop class students built the bookcases. Then prisoners in Florence were paid to build them. Finally, SaddleBrooke Ranch residents who enjoy woodworking volunteered their talent and time to build the bookcases. This is the fifth consecutive year that Ranchers have built bookcases for these elementary school students.
This year 27 sturdy, beautifully built bookcases were delivered to the school in Kearny. SBCO and the first graders of Ray Elementary School are grateful to the residents of SaddleBrooke Ranch who so generously contributed their skills and resources to support this program: Dan Carter, Ken De Leo, John Gordon, Jeff Hansen, Russ Hardy, Jim Lindley, Dale Lythjohan, Tony Manza, Mark Prose, Sam Rossi, and head builder Barry Milner.
The students in Kearny value the bookcases and books they receive as first graders. High school students have reported that they are still using their bookcases, adding to their book collection over the course of their education.
SBCO Scholarship Students Provide a Lesson in Humility
Anne Williams
When we reminisce about our high school days, we remember our classes, our teachers, and our activities. Some of us graduated and went on to college, others to trade schools, and others launched into careers or into family life. Most of us would probably say, “I did well” or “I did well enough.”
Come forward in time and imagine this scenario, a true story: A young high school senior at Superior High School (2025 senior class of 18 students) is graduating this week. Along with earning her high school diploma, she has achieved certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)—two separate programs—at the age of 18 as she graduates from high school!
Meeting this young lady and five other seniors from Superior High School during interviews for scholarships through SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) was more than inspirational. In a way, it was a life-changing event. Seeing what these young people have accomplished despite the challenges of living in a small, rural, low-income community is something that we will not forget. It encourages us all to do more!
The SBCO Scholarship Committee provides one of the many opportunities in SaddleBrooke to “give forward.” Committee members act as liaisons to individual students, following and assisting them through their four- or two-year scholarships. Members also have the privilege of interviewing potential scholarship candidates in various communities, reviewing and grading scholarship applications, and/or presenting the scholarships at high school awards ceremonies. Individual committee members can take on as much or as little work as they feel they can commit. Anyone interested in participating on the SBCO Scholarship Committee can contact Committee Chair Mary Riemersma at mary.riemersma@community-outreach.com.
The 2025 SBCO Home Tour included the home of Dawn and Dave Buchanan. The kitchen’s pantry features antique doors from India. (Photography by Kenya Glenn/K.C. Creative Designs)
Is Your House a Candidate for the SBCO Home Tour?
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Each year SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) hosts a tour of remodeled homes designed to show SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents changes that may inspire their own home improvements.
This event helps SBCO inform both communities about its food, clothing, enrichment, and educational programs for children in nearby communities. It also helps SBCO raise funds and recruit the volunteers needed to make these programs work. Tour attendees can choose between a morning (9 a.m. to noon) or afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) tour. The 2026 tour will be held on Saturday, March 21. During those three hours, attendees will be able to visit all six homes. In addition to viewing the latest interior design, they’ll see smart bathroom and kitchen makeovers, casita additions, revised floor plans, and renovated outdoor living spaces.
If you have recently remodeled your house—or purchased a remodeled house—and would like to have it included as a candidate for the 2026 SBCO Home Tour, please contact Home Tour Committee Chair Mary Hojnacki at hojnackimary@gmail.com.
The Wacky Science Guy did science experiments with youngsters at the Miami Memorial Library as part of its Fall Science Program.
Miami Library Used SBCO Grants to Keep Kids Reading
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
We all can recall the thrill that accompanied the last day of the school term—the anticipation of the freedom to play all day, watch TV, and generally “goof off.” But a hidden downside to the “lazy, hazy days of summer” appeared when we returned to school. Students lose some of their hard-won reading skills when they are not used for three months, forcing students and their teachers to spend time reviewing to regain lost skills.
In 2024, to counteract the “summer slide,” the Miami Memorial Library requested a $10,200 grant from SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) to help fund their Adventure Begins at Your Library program. This program was designed to encourage students to read and attend educational events at their local library throughout the summer.
Using the theme Adventure Begins at the Library, the students engaged in adventures in flight, nature, imagination, mystery, at the Olympics, and in the dark. A certified drone operator demonstrated “flight” while the students made airplanes and dropped eggs. The students made solar ovens, nature picture frames, and learned from an expert about cooking with a Dutch oven. Youngsters made cardboard castles and had a jigsaw puzzle challenge. They made light jars and played with “The Thing in the Cellar,” a whodunit mystery game. The library held its own Olympics—and, yes, gave out medals.
But SBCO—and the Miami Memorial Library—didn’t stop with summer. More grant funds were used to support the Fall Science Program. September started with Galactic Quest. The librarians used a 4-H program and installed a portable planetarium in the library. The kids learned about what the sky looks like at different times of the year. In October they looked into pumpkins, how they grow and what to do with them when they are picked, eaten, or carved. The Wacky Science Guy did several experiments with the kids. Then came “Dinovember,” which involved learning about dinosaurs, their skeletons, and excavating for their bones. “Dinosaur trainers” even brought their “pets” to the park. In December a geologist from the Forest Service taught the kids about spelunking. They were all certified junior rangers by the end of the session. Finally, there was winter science, which included all things gingerbread and learning about frost.
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach has proudly supported the Miami Memorial Library’s Summer Reading and fall programs in 2023 and 2024 and has approved a grant for Summer 2025. This summer’s program is Color Our World and will be the subject of a future article. Public libraries are a vital part of our communities, especially for youngsters living in economically depressed rural areas. Libraries preserve historical and cultural heritage; provide access to informational, educational, and recreational resources; and promote lifelong learning now and for future generations. Having visited libraries that have received SBCO grants, I am consistently impressed by the commitment and creativity of the local librarians who stretch every dollar and give the children wonderful experiences that inspire them to learn and explore beyond their local environment.
Students who receive school clothing from SBCO Kids’ Closet can choose handmade hats like these made by members of the Knit Wits.
Knit Wits and Creative Giving Provide SBCO Kids’ Closet with Handmade Hats
Kim (Prochnau) Whedbee
Each fall, students from preschool through 8th grade who come to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Kids’ Closet receive a knitted hat as part of their fall school wardrobe. The students can choose from the handmade hats donated by two groups: the Knit Wits in SaddleBrooke and Creative Giving in SaddleBrooke Ranch.
Knit Wits is a fun knitting and crocheting club dedicated to socializing, learning the craft, and contributing to charity. Up to 65 SaddleBrooke members gather at the SaddleBrooke One Arts and Crafts building every Wednesday at 9 a.m. to socialize and work on their knitting and/or crocheting projects designed for family, friends, or charities (or sometimes themselves!).
Although members are free to work on their own projects, the club also makes blankets, garments and soft toys for Kids’ Closet, a local high school, and also AVIVA Tucson, an organization associated with Easter Seals that focuses on children in foster care. In 2024 Knit Wits donated 414 items, including blankets for babies, comforters for older children, hats, and scarves.
Lavetta Torke, a knitter since she was 10 years old, says she finds the group to be full of interesting women, such as 92-year-old Mary who is a faithful attendee and avid knitter. Many of the members are experienced knitters and can demonstrate complicated stitches as well as teach beginning knitters.
Co-chairs Linda Hood and Matilda Moore preside over the monthly meetings. LaVetta Torke oversees the charitable giving. Classes are offered for beginners as well as for advanced crafters. Club members tend to shop at the two specialty knitting shops in Tucson for fancy and high-grade yarn and at the big box stores in Oro Valley for the more basic yarns and tools. SaddleBrooke residents are encouraged to drop in any Wednesday to see if this club is right for them. After three visits, visitors are asked to join at the very modest cost of $12 per year.
Creative Giving is a handicraft club for SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. This group of 68 volunteers supplied over 2,300 knitted, sewn, or crocheted handicrafts in 2024 to SaddleBrooke Ranch residents in need of medical support items and to eight different charities. They also make items for their own use or to sell to raise money for supplies. Co-chairs Linda Shannon-Hills and Dian Gowen lead the group, which comes together to harness their skills, share laughter, and inspire one another.
While the group makes many items for traditional use, such as hats for babies and children, they also make special-purpose gifts such as baby blankets to be used in portraits of stillborn infants lost to grieving parents. The blankets are not only beautiful and one-of-a-kind, they are infused with the compassion and love of their neighbors.
Creative Giving serves the needs of SaddleBrooke Ranch residents by making handy items such as mastectomy pillows, bags that can be attached to walkers, and double-pocketed scarves to be worn by people who need to keep their hands free while using a cane. As the club says, “Together we are making a difference, one handmade item at a time.”