Janice Neal
Mahjongg is a very popular game at SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR). We have many players who are new to the game and people who have played for years. Prior to COVID, there were weekly games played on Thursdays in La Hacienda Club (and sometimes lessons), coordinated by Gail Latimer and Bonnie Goldman. There are multiple private groups who have weekly games played in their homes. There were mixed mahjongg games played by couples at night and an SBR Mahjongg tournament.
All of us play with an annual card, published by the National Mahjongg League (NMJL). The card contains all of the official hands that can be played that year. This will be the fourth year that we place an SBR group order to the NMJL. For every card in the order, they donate $2 to our charity, the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) organization.
Last year over 182 people participated and ordered their cards through me. This order was submitted under the name “SaddleBrooke Ranch Mahjongg Players.” We received $401 (a new record!) from the NMJL which we have donated to the SBCO in a presentation to Steve Groth, SBCO’s President.
Our donation contributes to a program for needy children who live in the Copper Corridor, from Oracle to Mammoth and the San Carlos Reservation. Children from the ages of five to 15 who qualify for the free breakfast and lunch programs at school, receive a wardrobe valued at $75 twice per year. The fall wardrobe consists of three pairs of pants, three shirts, one jacket, one pair of shoes, six pairs of socks, six sets of underwear, knit hat and gloves, toothbrush, toothpaste, and two books.
Because this project has been so successful, we will again coordinate ordering the 2021 cards for SBR residents who wish to participate. The NMJL has kept the information online for everyone who ordered last year. We will gather all of the order information and payments in late December and January and will submit the order by Jan. 20. The process will be published again on Facebook, SBR, and Nextdoor. I hope that many more residents participate in our charity donation project for the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach this coming year.