Delighted first graders at Ray Elementary School received a bookshelf and new books through an SBCO enrichment grant.
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Has Another Banner Year in 2024-25
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
For more than 28 years, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO), an all-volunteer organization, has been providing children in nearby communities with opportunities to succeed through programs that provide food, clothing, enrichment grants, and education. Thanks to our volunteers, who generously contribute their time and talent, and our donors who provide their financial support, we are striving to end generational poverty for thousands of kids.
During the past year our fundraising efforts among local businesses and donations from SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents, alongside distributions from the Golden Goose Thrift Shop, allowed us to provide more than $1,100,000 of assistance to the 11 communities in the 100+-mile long Copper Corridor.
Feed
Our Annual Food Drive in March collected more than 9,500 pounds of food and more than $142,000 in monetary donations for the Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB) from SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. SBCO also spent $47,751 buying perishable foods for TCFB.
Thanksgiving Food Baskets were delivered to 103 families living in Oracle and in the San Manuel/ Mammoth Unified School District. SaddleBrooke residents assembled 60 baskets for Oracle families while SaddleBrooke Ranch residents assembled 43 baskets for families in San Manuel and Mammoth.
Clothe
Kids Closet provided nearly 3,200 fall and spring wardrobes to students in pre-K through eighth grade this fiscal year. When kids come to the “big red building” in Mammoth, volunteers help them shop for clothes. When the children can’t come in-person, the volunteers bag clothes for each name provided by the school.
Teen Closet hosted two shopping events for teens in towns from Catalina to Miami, one in July 2024 and another in January 2025. Ninety-seven students shopped for school clothing and school supplies in July and 76 shopped in January. To qualify for a shopping trip, teens attend school regularly, maintain an overall C or better average and perform at least six service hours in their community.
The Adopt-A-Family and Adopt-A-Child programs brought holiday joy to approximately 694 children and adults, thanks to nearly $90,000 contributed by residents of SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch. SaddleBrooke residents adopted 248 children in the San Manuel and Mammoth communities as well as 250 children on the San Carlos Indian Reservation. SaddleBrooke Ranch residents adopted 196 people in Oracle and Hayden/Winkleman.
Enrich
Enrichment SBCO awarded $152,769 in grants to local schools and community organizations. Grants were awarded to the Miami school district, Miami Memorial Library, Mammoth/San Manuel Unified School District and Little League, Hayden Library, Hayden High School, Ray Elementary School, Oracle School District, and Superior Jr/Sr High School.
Educate
College scholarships were received by 151 students during SBCO’s 2024-25 fiscal year. These included 112 four-year students, 33 two-year students and 6 graduate students. Forty-one new scholarships were awarded to students beginning college in the Fall of 2025, 12 of whom plan to attend two-year programs.
Additionally, the Scholarship Endowment Program distributed $10,000 in earnings, which enabled SBCO to grant awards to two graduate students.
Community Events
We also provided two community events. The Walk for Kids 2024 in October involved 213 walkers and more than 25 volunteers. In March 2025, The Remodeled Home Tour was attended by 450 ticket holders with support from 100 volunteers.
The success of our organization’s work is undeniable and our volunteers are inspired to raise funds and donate their time by the satisfaction they receive from improving the lives of kids—our hope for the future.
A scholarship funded by SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund earnings enabled Alison Martinez from Superior, Ariz., to attend University of California Los Angeles Dental School.
Scholarship Endowment Fund Donations Help Future Scholars Achieve Their Goals
Greg Jones
Post-high school education remains one of the best ways to break the cycle of generational poverty. Yet the cost of obtaining that education keeps rising. That’s why since 2001, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) has been granting two- and four-year college scholarships to deserving students in the “Copper Corridor,” an area that stretches more than 100 miles from Catalina north to Globe and includes 11 former mining towns. All of the 22 schools served by SBCO are Title I Schools, meaning at least 40% of the students come from low-income families and in some schools, the figure is as high as 98%.
In 2019, SBCO established a scholarship endowment fund to provide funding for more scholarships and ensure that college scholarships would continue to be granted even if SBCO as an organization ceased to exist.
As the year comes to a close, we want to thank SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents for making educational opportunities possible through donations to the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund. Your support has helped deserving students who might otherwise face financial barriers to pursue their academic dreams.
This year-end, we invite you to renew your commitment or join us for the first time in supporting scholarships that transform lives. Donations are fully tax-deductible but must be received by Dec. 31, 2025, to be applied to the current tax year.
By donating today you are ensuring more students have the financial support they need to succeed. Contact the SBCO office at 520-825-3302 for instructions on the various ways to contribute. Or visit our website: community-outreach.org/endowment.
Together, we can foster hope, ambition, and achievement—one scholarship at a time.
An SBCO Kids’ Closet “shopper” shows off her new red shoes.
Donations to SBCO Make a Difference in the Lives of Local Children
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
As the end of the 2025 tax year nears, many of us are making tax-deductible contributions to our favorite charities. Please consider contributing to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach’s annual Make a Difference (MAD) Campaign. For more than 27 years, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) has been providing young people in local communities with opportunities to succeed through programs that provide food, clothing, enrichment grants, and scholarships. We serve youngsters living in the “Copper Corridor”—former mining towns stretching across more than 100 miles from Catalina to Globe.
Programs implemented by our all-volunteer organization include:
Food—Our Annual Food Drive collects funds (and donated food) for the Tri-Community Food Bank and we deliver holiday food baskets to families in Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, Hayden, and Winkelman.
Kids’ Closet—Twice a year, children from pre-K to 8th grade receive new shoes, clothing and toiletries, plus a backpack filled with grade-appropriate school supplies.
Teen Closet—Twice a year, students from 9th through 12th grade receive a shopping budget for clothing and school supplies. Graduating seniors receive an additional shopping trip to prepare for college or work.
Education Enrichment—Grants are given to schools and community organizations to supplement the school curriculum with instructional experiences in science, math, and the arts, as well as summer school, books, and recreational opportunities.
Scholarships—We grant two- and four-year college scholarships to deserving high school seniors. Students in a two-year program receive $1,800 per year and those in a four-year program receive $3,600. Since 2001, we have granted 521 scholarships!
Holiday Adopt—Annually this program collects funds from SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents that volunteers then use to purchase, wrap and deliver gifts (or gift cards) to families in Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth and the parents/guardians of children attending elementary schools in Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, Hayden, Winkelman, San Carlos, and Apache Tribal Social Services.
Your financial contribution to SBCO’s general fund can make a BIG difference in many children’s lives. Since SBCO is a 501(c)(3) not–for-profit organization (Tax ID # 86-0843458), all contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Contributions are also eligible for the Arizona Tax Credit for Contributions to Charities that Provide Assistance to the Working Poor.
Your donation will be acknowledged. If you make a gift on behalf of a friend or family member, in memory of a special person or in honor of an event or person, an acknowledgement also will be sent to the appropriate person or his/her family.
You can make a secure online donation at community-outreach.org using your credit or debit card.
Or a donation can be made by delivering or sending a check (made payable to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach or SBCO) to:
SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, Inc.
63675 E. SaddleBrooke Blvd., Suite L
Tucson, AZ 85739
On behalf of many local children, we thank you for your support!