Amazon and Bashas’ shoppers can support SBCO with their purchases.
Support SBCO While You Shop!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, 0.5% of your eligible Amazon purchases will be donated to SBCO.
You can manage your purchases and other account information on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile using a single account. You can use your existing Amazon.com account on AmazonSmile if you have one, or create a new account at smile.amazon.com if you don’t.
On your first visit to smile.amazon.com, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization to receive donations. After you designate SaddleBrooke Community Outreach as your preferred charity, your selection will be saved. After that, every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation.
There is also an easy way to have your grocery purchases help improve the lives of needy children in local communities. Buy a Bashas’ Community Card at the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach office in Suite L at the business complex on SaddleBrooke Blvd. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The card, which costs $5, is pre-loaded with $5 worth of store credit and was sold to SBCO at a 6% discount.
Take your Bashas’ Community Card to the customer service counter at any Bashas’ store. Ask to add to the card’s existing balance and pay using a debit or credit card, cash, or check. Whenever you use your Bashas’ Community Card to pay for a transaction at any Bashas’ or AJ’s Fine Foods, 6% of your purchase goes to SBCO. For every $100 you spend, $6 helps pay for programs that provide children with food, clothing, and educational opportunities.
Whenever you have used the balance on your Bashas’ Community Card, you can reload it. At checkout, before the cashier rings up your purchases, ask to put more money on your Community Card.
Shop online at SmileAmazon or use a Bashas’ Community Card and help fund SBCO programs. It’s a simple way to make your purchases do more.
The Moore Advantage Team proudly supports the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund.
Supporting SBCO Scholarship Endowment the Moore Way
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The Moore Advantage Team, consisting of Dorothy Moore, Lauren Moore, and Jim Bilwacks, Lauren’s husband, wanted to invest in local kids. They contacted a former client, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) President Denise Anthony, and told her, “We’d like to help. We totally believe in the work of SBCO.” Denise suggested they consider investing in the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund. Lauren noted, “I had heard about SBCO’s college scholarships at the annual SBCO meeting and Golden Goose Fashion Show. I was lucky enough to have the money to attend college, but so many cannot afford it. Our contribution can help deserving students.”
Dorothy stated, “We have been so fortunate with our business. We like to give back to the community. It’s very important to us. I have photos on my phone of the Kids’ Closet building in Mammoth. I show it to prospective home buyers so they understand that SaddleBrooke is a caring community committed to helping local children.”
If you would like to support the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund, note that all contributions to the endowment fund must be made payable to the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona (CFSA) and designated for the “SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund.” (CFSA’s Tax ID is 94-2681765.) The minimum contribution to the fund is $5,000.
Tax-deductible donations 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 Blvd., Suite 201
Tucson, AZ 85711
For more information, send an email to [email protected] or call the SBCO office at 520-825-3302.
Donations of cash and food made through SBCO enable the Tri-Community Food Bank to feed those in need.
SBCO Helps Prevent Hunger for Our Neighbors
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Each year, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) provides financial support to the Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB). In the spring, SBCO hosts an annual food drive that benefits the TCFB. In 2021, this event raised $226,647 through contributions made by SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. This represented an enormous increase compared to the $91,798 raised in 2020.
This Thanksgiving was a little brighter for many families in Oracle when SBCO volunteers assembled and delivered 62 holiday food baskets to those in need. Each plastic laundry basket was filled with traditional Thanksgiving dinner items, including a large turkey and all the trimmings.
The TCFB board of directors says, “The support and generosity we receive from SBCO and the SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch communities throughout the year allows us to continue our emergency food distribution program. It has also enabled us to embark on a long-awaited upgrade to our freezer and storage capacity. Thanks to SBCO and the residents’ funding, the quantity and quality of meat and other proteins that our customers receive has been substantially improved. We are deeply grateful, and we simply couldn’t do it without you.”
Donations made to SBCO support all of our programs and also help provide the TCFB with additional assistance during the holidays. Donations to SBCO can be made online at our website at community-outreach.org.
Bonnie Goldman (left), co-coordinator of the SaddleBrooke Ranch Mah Jongg Group, presented SBCO president Denise Anthony (right) with a $575 donation check.
SaddleBrooke Ranch Mah Jongg Players Support SBCO
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
On Oct. 21, Bonnie Goldman presented a check for $575 to Denise Anthony, president of SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO). Bonnie is the co-coordinator of the SaddleBrooke Ranch Mah Jongg Group. Each year, this local group selects a charity to benefit from their purchase of annual cards from the National Mah Jongg League.
In 1937, a number of Mah Jongg enthusiasts met in New York City to standardize the game so that all Mah Jongg players would use the same hands and rules. This meeting served as the founding of the National Mah Jongg League. Each year, the league changes the hands and rules to add more excitement to the game.
Players refer to the league card while playing, and its use is required at tournaments. According to Bonnie, although there are other Mah Jongg groups, the majority of players consider the 84-year-old National Mah Jongg League to be “the be-all and end-all authority on how to play the game.”
A league card costs $10 for the large size and $9 for the smaller version. A rebate of $2.50 is given for each card purchased online, and a bonus of $20 is given to any group that purchases its members cards on time.
According to Bonnie, the 2021 donation to SBCO, which also occurred in prior years, represents the sale of 222 cards to members of the SaddleBrooke Ranch Mah Jongg Group. On behalf of SBCO and the local kids served by our programs, we say, “Play on!”
Marv Richter finds it very fulfilling to help others as an SBCO volunteer.
SBCO Volunteer Marv Richter Helps Students Achieve Their Goals
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Seven years ago, Marv Richter became involved with SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) when he joined the scholarship committee. At that time, the committee only had about eight members and needed people to receive and review scholarship applications, interview applicants, help select scholarship recipients, and stay in contact with students through their college years. Marv stepped in to help with this essential but labor-intensive work. Today the committee has more than 15 volunteers performing these tasks.
Marv currently serves on the SBCO scholarship committee as the liaison for Central Arizona College students. Most of the students he works with come from small towns like Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, and Hayden. Career opportunities in those towns are very limited, so attending college is a big, important step for these students. It allows them to receive the education and training that will help them to succeed in life. Since these students’ families have limited income, receiving a college scholarship from SBCO can make a significant difference in their ability to attend school. Marv says, “Working with these students, ensuring they receive all the money awarded to them, and being their advocate when problems or issues arise, has been very rewarding.”
In addition to serving on the scholarship committee, Marv is also a volunteer at the Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB) in Mammoth. TCFB receives annual financial grants from SBCO and is also the beneficiary of the annual SBCO food drive. “Working at the food bank is very gratifying,” says Marv. “There is a real need in these small communities, and residents are always very grateful for our help.”
According to Marv, he has experienced many memorable moments as a volunteer, from interviewing students who have applied for a scholarship to attending the school award ceremony to present a student with a scholarship. “The benefit of being a volunteer,” he says, “is knowing you have helped people who really need it. Seeing a student with whom you have bonded graduate from college is very satisfying. SBCO provides many volunteer opportunities. It’s a chance to not only give back, but to receive the warm feeling that comes from helping people in need. If you can spare a few hours a month, volunteer. You will not regret it.”
SBCO provides a variety of volunteer opportunities to SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. If you would like to contribute some of your time to support an SBCO program or event, visit community-outreach.org/Volunteers for more information.