Greetings to All!

President Elect Paula Peterson opened our meeting today as our President Lisa Cali is home with her broken clavicle and the flu all at once! Oh girl, please take care and rest! Thank you Paula, for leading our meeting today!

Invocation: Lydia's invocation today was a throwback in memories. She shared several stories of the neighbors she grew up with and so many of us reminisced about our own surroundings. Many of us grew up where we knew all of the people for blocks around, we knew their families, their backgrounds, their happiness and their sorrows. It was a microcosm of the world. Well Mr. Rogers, it's not the same old neighborhood anymore. But maybe it's time we become more "familyish" where we live. It would take effort but the rewards would be something you'd remember fondly the rest of your life. Thanks for the cute stories Lydia! So fun.

Our guest today was Karen Goldberg. So nice having you visit again!

Sunshine: Wishing our Lisa Cali a speedy recovery with her broken clavicle and flu and to her fur-baby Finn, sorry buddy, but no more trail walking with Mama for a bit. Hoping that Nancy gets over this "crud" soon as well. Stay down and take care of yourself. To our SoroptiMISTER, Rick Pence who had a skiing accident, we are wishing you a speedy recover. And to the victims and families of the plane crash that occurred in Washington, DC area last night, our prayers are with all of you.

Reminder: Fires continue to rage for our neighbors in Southern California. We in Tahoe and our surrounding communities are no stranger to fire and understand this unimaginable time for you. Want to help? Information is below on a supply drive in Tahoe and Truckee.

And a special SHOUT OUT to our new Club Sponsor, El Dorado Savings Bank. Thank you to Mr. John Cook and the entire team for their continued support to SITS and the community of Lake Tahoe. We appreciate all of you so very much. If you want a bank where you love to conduct business face to face, check them out. They've been serving our community and the communities of the Sierra Nevada area since 1958.

Today's speakers were Team Pinkleball, Jim Barr (our Shirley's hubby) and Adrienne Shepard This spirited team and organization is dedicated to raising money for local and national cancer support and research organizations, with an emphasis on breast cancer organizations.

This twosome brought an exciting presentation today. We learned that pickleball, which has been sweeping the nation for quite some time now, only continues to grow with folks of all ages who love a little trash-talk and laughter on the court. We also learned how this unlikely duo connected to then take this sport and put it to life saving use by raising money to save people, like Adrianne.

Jim shared a hilarious recount of how pickelball came to be here in our community. His small but wild group of players took it upon themselves to go through hoops of the bureaucratic process to get our town a place to play and a huge amount of participation, all for the love of the game. In our community, it's Paradise Park that looks like it's crawling with ants on weekends for play.

Adrienne is a cancer and she is a fierce woman. With two young kids and a husband, her experience was one she didn't think she'd survive. She talked highly of the life saving medical miracle she received at Tahoe Forest Cancer Center across the lake . Her life was touch and go for quite some time and she continues to have chemo treatment to keep the cancer away every three weeks. Pickleball was not on this woman's radar until she became a member of the organization, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a nonprofit, advocacy group which raised funds for research. Part of her involvement led her to create a project here in town. She knew Jim, she knew he played pickleball and simply asked if a group of players might want to help raise funds.

Well, Jim being Jim, the flood gates opened and the rest is history. PINKleball in Paradise was born and this year, on July 5, 2025, excited players will compete in the 3rd Annual Pinkleball in Paradise event. This isn't just an event for the players but for the entire community.

It's going to be a rip-roaring event and this year's proceeds will benefit both METAvivor, a research and support organization for metastatic breast cancer stage 4 patients, made up of survivors as leaders, and the Tahoe Forest Cancer Center.

We ALL need to support these efforts. Many of us in this community have lost loved ones or have seen the battle they have had to undergo due to cancer. One of the ways in which they are raising funds is through the sale of PINKLEBALL baseball hats! Pinkleball in Paradise hats can be ordered NOW and there are only 100 that will be available. Get yours now here.

Thank you to both of our speakers today. It was a very special talk about a very important topic.

Specifically SITS

Members, mark your calendars for our upcoming dates of our Fundraising events: Signups will be happening shortly. Kudos to Jean B and Laurie F for getting the signup.com prepared.

• Bread & Broth with Lasagna Love, Feb. 10.
• Online Auction, May 16 - 30, 2025.
• Vacation Raffle Ticket Sales, March 1-May 30.
• Mad Hatter Tea at Valhalla, May 18, 2025
• Celebrity Tournament, July 9-13, 2025

We are a hands on club, and we need all hands on these important projects to raise funds for our community.

Committee Happenings!

Reminder: When hosting an event/meeting, please forward a photo and paragraph to techhelp@sitahoesierra.org so we can add it to our website and social calendar.

COMMITTEE Signup Portal!

This is how we get things done.

Our SITS club and all that we do are driven by the committees that we maintain. All members are asked to join at least ONE Service Committee and ONE Technical Committee. Service is what we do and Technical is how we roll! Our Committee Signup portal is ready for members to sign up on! Simply click here! Newsletter Team sign ups are here and all are welcome to learn a new skill and join in!

Online Auction Report: We have a team of women who will be working to upload and advertise our donations. Each week, a team member will send out an email so you know who to get your donations to! Go get em ladies!

STHS Girls met with Hellen Barkley and Andrea at BMO bank this week to learn about finances! 7 of our high school youth participated. Whoohoo!

SITS Spring Fundraisers: Our Online Auction opens Friday, May 16 and closes on Friday, May 30, 2024 at 5:00 PM.

Club Sponsor & Event Contributor requests have gone out and we hope to hear from potential supporters soon!

Reminder to club members that your hard copy letters will be provided in January. Vanna recently sent out an updated version of our listing so please sign up.

SITS2025.org. Donations are being accepted NOW! Sponsorships and Event Contributor positions are accepted NOW!

Members, to sign up where your talent lies, go here.

We also need ladies to sign up for donors yet to be claimed! Please go here.

Mad Hatter Tickets go on sale SOON through the website AND we have a return of our Vacation Raffle opportunities thanks to the generosity of the Jean Bergner, Cookie Rork, and Jeanne Prestella! Here we go ladies! Members, to sign up where your talent lies, go here.

Vacation Raffle tickets will be sold starting March 1 and run through May 30. Tickets will be $50 each and only 200 per trip will be sold. You have a choice of a week in a 2 bedroom Maui condo, or a week anywhere in the world in timeshare. Members, to sign up where your talent lies, go here.

MEMBER Weekly Contribution or Quarterly Contribution can be paid online here! It's fast and easy! It can go through your Paypal or Credit Card. Get er dun!

NON-SITS

Fun and Opportunities in Tahoe

There's actually so much going on so you're going to want to check out the EVENTS tab on www.southtahoenow.com, but here's a few to get you started!

South Lake Tahoe and Truckee Holding Supply Drives for Southern California Fire Victims

For information on specific items needed (cash as well), drop off locations, days and times go HERE.

Challenge Day is a two day event and you can sign up for either day or both! Challenge Day for STMS students will be on Wednesday Feb. 5 and the School Assembly will be on Thursday, Feb. 6.

 Learn more about the life changing event for our youth at the Challenge Day Volunteer Sign up here. Challenge Day is supported by SITS financially and with our amazing volunteers. Calling all Service Clubs in our area. Join our efforts now!

Tahoe Arts Project brings magician Alex Ramon to the schools Feb. 3-7 and will offer a FREE public performance on Feb. 7 at Harvey's, 7:00 p.m. Use the QR code or the following link for free tickets:

https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/alex-ramon-public-show

Only 200 tickets will be offered.

Feb. 7, 2025 - Night to Shine - Tim Tebow Foundation. This is a worldwide celebration event, celebrating people with special needs. Now in its 12th year, our community is invited to support and participate in this event. It will be at the Tahoe Blue Event Center. For more information visit

https://www.laketahoecf.com/nighttoshine

Volunteers are needed in the areas of security, EMT/Medical, Hair Stylist, Makeup, Florist/Flowers, Photographers, Videographer!

Looking for up to date resources in our community? Barton Health has a list for all of us and it is actively updated! SHARE this link with others!

Volunteer NOW for the 22nd Annual Drug Store Project on April 1, 2025 here! The event will be held at LTCC and will not only change the life of a child, but yours as well. Learn more about the project at www.drugstoreproject.org Drug Store is supported by SITS financially and with our amazing volunteers. Calling all Service Clubs in our area....Join our efforts now!

ALL YEAR LONG!

LTCC Basic Needs Center is looking for food donations. A variety of foods and basic need items are on the list. Click here for full list and drop off details

If you'd like to donate through our club, please bring your donations to the monthly business meeting and Lisa C. or Andie will make sure they are delivered to the college. Please include an estimate on the value as LTCC needs to keep records of that information.

Important information for your family from TASK (Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids)

TASK's mission is to prevent and reduce youth substance use and related harm - Keeping kids safe in collaboration with our community partners. TASK's mission is to prevent and reduce youth substance use and related harm - Keeping kids safe in collaboration with our community partners. For more information about TASK click here.

For TASK's Did You Know? campaign to keep kids safe, click here!

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue has a quarterly newsletter to keep us all updated on fire safety info. Their goal is to help people learn about the fuels reduction products they are working on, seasonal fire safety info and other fire dept related news. Click here to sign up for the newsletter

Saint Joseph Community Land Trust has changed their Motel to Home (MTH) program from a loan program to a grant program and we're hoping this will attract families living in substandard housing, who would like to live in a more permanent and adequate home. Please click here for more details

Tahoe Learning Haven - Click here for all their information and a link to each month's newsletter.

TAHOE LEARNING HAVEN: Are you aware of the FREE monthly educational forums that Kathy Haven has set up for students, parents, and all interested community members? These are great! Most TLH forums are the second Wednesday of the month from 6:45pm-9pm at the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe! See here or tahoelearninghaven@gmail.com. Mark your calendar now

·       1/8 – Scholarship application tutorial

·       2/12 – The college track: A-G requirements

·       3/12 – Playing at the next level: Athletics after high school

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless seeks community support in keeping people cared for.

Our South Shore community has been able to sleep better knowing that our homeless population has an indoor option. This winter season marked the seventh anniversary of the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) providing warm beds to the most vulnerable in our community.

The office hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12-4 at the Red Lodge, 1137 Emerald Bay Rd.

More details here

Between Horses and Humans continues to grow! If you're a lover of youth and a lover of horses, this is a program for you! You can keep up on their information by reading their newsletters here! Volunteers and donations are always needed. BHH Update-they are soon relocating to the Amacker Ranch!

Food Assistance Guide for So. Lake Tahoe. If you know of anyone in need, please share this information. Click and print!