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 Letter from the President/CEO
...At the Heart of Celebrating Our Community of Supporters
On any given day, many friendly faces arrive at the Volunteer Center to joyfully help us serve the community. It's so inspiring to see these volunteers generously give their time without any form of compensation besides our utmost gratitude. National Volunteer Week is always the perfect time to publicly thank all of our wonderful volunteers and our donors.
The long-awaited draft of this year's Honor Roll of Donors
is now available to review on our website.
Click here
to look it over and make sure we acknowledged you correctly, and
click here
to email us and let us know if any corrections need to be made! You can also join this growing list (or move up a level!) by making a gift to support our programs, new focus or greatest need. In addition, as our newest board member JoAnn Angeli demonstrates below, if you make a donation in honor of your favorite volunteer this month - in celebration of National Volunteer Week - we will send them a special acknowledgement celebrating and thanking them for making a difference!
I also hope you will join the wonderful members of our Affinity Group in supporting Kids For Kids, a unique new fundraiser that will support Operation Teddy Bear so that we can once again deliver schoolbags full of educational materials to students in need. Finally, we are making great progress on the research and program development for the new focus I told you about last month - the social and emotional wellness of our youth (
click here to read more
). We are currently looking for more teens, parents and mental health professionals to serve on various committees and focus groups. If you are interested in volunteering for that, please email me!
As always, thank you for being "at the heart of helping,"
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How Will You Celebrate National Volunteer Week?
...At the Heart of Honoring Volunteers For Their Service
In my role as Event and Community Relations Manager at Keenan & Associates, I am fortunate to lead the company's Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, which coordinates a variety of service projects at each of our offices throughout the year. I feel such a sense of pride when I watch our team come together to help the community, whether it's participating in events like the Family Fun Fair (pictured) or working on special projects during Keenan's annual IMPACT DAY!
Since this week marks the 44th annual National Volunteer Week, it's the perfect time to celebrate the impact and power of our volunteers who come together to build stronger, more resilient communities.
Whether it's a card, a cup of coffee or a donation in their name, I find a little gesture goes a long way in thanking our volunteers for making a difference in the community... and the Volunteer Center has made it easy to do as a part of our National Volunteer Week celebration!
I am personally honoring two of my favorite volunteers from Keenan's CSR Committee with donations to the Volunteer Center to celebrate their personal involvement in their local communities:
Dan Keenan and
Emily Hopton are what we call "Weekend Warriors," because they donate their free time to causes that are near and dear to their hearts!
I hope you'll join me and honor
your favorite volunteers in our community this month!
JoAnn Angeli
Member, Volunteer Center Board of Directors
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Celebrating Our Indispensable Volunteers
...At the Heart of Everything We Do
Regular, weekly volunteers are the lifeblood of a nonprofit organization. They are vital to day-to-day operations, but you may not know the names of these unsung community heroes. Since we often tell you about the volunteers who help us with special projects, we love using
National Volunteer Week as an opportunity to shine a light on our team of year-round, consistent volunteers in appreciation for all they do!
We depend on our weekly volunteers to keep the
Food For Kids program running smoothly, including sorting and organizing donations, packing the bags and delivering them to the elementary schools each Friday. We are lucky to have a fantastic and hard-working contingent that we count on week-in and week-out to make this program a success.
Our volunteer packers include
Sue Golden,
Joe Gray,
Kathy Gray,
Sheila Millman,
Fe Nulud,
Catherine Paez,
Krizelle Pum and
Dan Selleck. Our team of volunteer drivers consists of
Joe Gray,
Kathy Gray,
Bob Habel,
Alan Manack,
Joe Millman,
Verne Palmer,
Dave Sargent and
Charlie Saulenas. We also host a booth at the Wilson Park Farmer's Market twice a month, which wouldn't be possible without
Jean Adelsman and
Bob Habel. On top of that, members of the Torrance
Easter Seals come by weekly to help with Food For Kids and other projects throughout the year.
Click here to read more about our volunteers in their own words!
We are extremely grateful to
Denise Beggs,
Martin Hoerchner and
Steve Wilson, our regular volunteers who assist with administrative support, research and special projects. We are also lucky to have an amazing
Affinity Group, with dedicated members who work together to support
Operation Teddy Bear and other programs through fundraising events and other projects throughout the year. You can read more about the Affinity Group
here, and you can read about all of our Operation Teddy Bear volunteers
here.
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Become a Kids For Kids Sponsor!
...At the Heart of Affinity Group's Creative Support
The Volunteer Center is grateful to the
Affinity Group for their leadership in creating unique fundraisers year-after-year. This year, they've launched
Kids For Kids, a wonderful opportunity for individuals, corporations and organizations to join the Affinity Group in supporting
Operation Teddy Bear. Inspired by the goats used to clear brush on the hillsides of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and other areas in the South Bay,
Kids For Kids sponsors will receive a special gift from the Affinity Group: a resin statue of a baby goat - otherwise known as a "kid!"
One of these charming statues with adorable faces, realistic eyes and playful poses (pictured) will be hand painted with a unique design by a local artist, unless you prefer to keep the natural look of your "kid." Your
Kids For Kids sponsorship will be acknowledged on a special website, and if you plan to display your statue at a public location, your "kid" will be featured on the website's interactive map! This will help draw the community to your business or organization. You will also be honored at a special celebration on Sunday, July 8.
Click here for more details, and contact Sharon Ryan at (310) 540-4304 or
[email protected] if you are interested in becoming a Kids For Kids sponsor.
The Affinity Group was founded in 2005 as a support group for the Volunteer Center. Members of the Affinity Group work together to support Operation Teddy Bear and other Volunteer Center programs, making a difference in the lives, education and futures of the underserved children and their families.
Click here to learn more about the Affinity Group, and contact the Volunteer Center for details about becoming a member!
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Kinecta's Continued Support
...At the Heart of Longstanding Community Partnerships
Kinecta's Lisa Longoria stopped by a recent board meeting to present a check to President/CEO Sara Myers and Board Chair Lynne Neuman in support of Operation Teddy Bear, Food For Kids and the Family Fun Fair. During her visit, she shared how much the Kinecta team enjoys supporting and volunteering for our programs. We are extremely grateful to our friends at Kinecta for their longstanding support of the Volunteer Center!
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A Phenomenally Successful Family Fun Fair
...At the Heart of Rainy Day Family Fun
We didn't let a little rain get in the way of our second annual
Heart of Helping Family Fun Fair last month. Our team of amazing volunteers and staff moved the activities indoors, and more than 300 community members of all ages played games, won prizes, participated in crafts and service activities, had their faces painted, entered to win opportunity drawings, enjoyed delicious carnival food and took advantage of an opportunity to teach kids about volunteering and kindness!
Volunteers from
Keenan & Associates created new games featuring aspects of
Operation Teddy Bear and
Food For Kids, and attendees had the opportunity to give back to the community through two service activities: coloring cards for patients at
Torrance Memorial, one of our event sponsors, and seed planting for
Madrona Marsh. The event also featured a special appearance by Wonder Girl, courtesy of
Wishing Well Entertainment and Parties, who encouraged everyone to become superheroes by spreading kindness and volunteering to help others. Children enjoyed a kindness-themed story time co-sponsored by
South Bay Families Connected, and parents were able to continue the teaching opportunity at home with
a list of kindness-themed books. The
Helpful Honda People even made a surprise appearance, serving as another example of spreading kindness and helping others by passing out umbrellas and other giveaways to guests.
The Family Fun Fair was a tremendous success due to the support of our sponsors: the
Simon Law Group
,
Torrance Memorial
,
Torrance Refining Company
,
Keenan & Associates
,
Kinecta
,
Impact Production
,
Saatchi & Saatchi
,
Smart & Final
,
South Bay Families Connected
,
South Bay Mommies and Daddies
, the
California Water Service
,
DJ Ozzie
,
MOOG
,
Torrance Bakery
and
Torrance Community Credit Union
.
It also goes without saying that we could not have done it without our team of volunteers, who represented sponsoring organizations and in-kind donors, as well as AskBrad, Beacon House, Girl Scout Troop 4115, Torrance Police and Fire Departments, We Will Save Your World Face Painting and members of the community. Click here for links to see more photos and videos of the event!
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| The Latest Food For Kids Collections
...At the Heart of Feeding Families One Bag at a Time
We are so grateful for the support we continue to receive from the local community for our Food For Kids program!
- Beta Iota Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International in Long Beach - an honor society of women educators - selected our Food for Kids program as the beneficiary of their Community Service Project and collected 130 pounds of food!
-
The team at CBRE in El Segundo donated more than 100 pounds of food!
- The team at DaVita Dialysis Center in Lakewood and Paramount donated nearly 185 pounds of food!
- The team at Honeywell Aerospace held a food during Engineers Week and collected nearly 300 pounds of food!
- Elizabeth McCarthy of Torrance donated 156 pounds of food and Jo Tomich of San Pedro donated 62 pounds of food!
Currently, our greatest need is for breakfast items such as cereal, oatmeal and granola bars.
Donations of these breakfast foods or any other items on our Non-Perishable Food Shopping List can be dropped off at the Volunteer Center (1230 Cravens Avenue in Torrance) Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. OR at our booth at the Wilson Park Farmer's Market on Saturday, April 28 between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
(check the Upcoming Events
on our homepage
for future Farmer's Market dates).
Click here
to learn more about Food For Kids and view/download a copy of our Non-Perishable Food Shopping List.
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The Parkland Hearts Art Project
...At the Heart of Uplifting Others With Words of Hope
Our friends at HandsOn Broward are calling on the helping hands of every community across the country to honor those affected by the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida through the Parkland Hearts Art Project.
In times like these, kindness and compassion are more important than ever, so we invite you to share your words of hope, encouragement and togetherness through this project. All of the hearts sent to HandsOn Broward will be turned into an art installation to preserve the memory of our shared experience while honoring those affected by this tragedy.
Click here
for step-by-step instructions and check out examples of the hearts they've already received on
Facebook
,
Instagram
and
Twitter
.
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Volunteer Opportunities Available 24/7!
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THANK YOU TO OUR MAJOR SPONSORS:
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The Volunteer Center
South Bay-Harbor-Long Beach
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The Volunteer Center South Bay-Harbor-Long Beach recognizes the valuable role volunteers play in our society and has been "at the heart of helping" for more than 50 years. We recruit and refer volunteers to more than 400 nonprofit organizations in our service area, as well as for our own signature programs, Operation Teddy Bear and Food For Kids. Potential volunteers can contact us to obtain information and connect with just the right service experience, fulfilling our mission of "mobilizing people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community needs." Visit www.volcenter.org to learn more.
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