Help Fight Hunger—Annual SBCO Food Drive March 6-18
This year the SBCO Annual Food Drive will include donations of food (as well as money) to benefit the Tri-Community Food Bank.
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
This year the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) annual Food Drive will once again accept donations of food as well as money to support the Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB) based in Mammoth. TCFB serves needy families living in Mammoth, San Manuel, Oracle, and the Dudleyville/Aravaipa area. On a monthly basis, TCFB serves about 400 households (1,190 people). The rising cost of gasoline, food, and utilities over the past year has created an even greater financial burden for these families.
Monetary contributions can be made online or with checks. Online donations can be made at the SBCO website: community-outreach.org. Checks, made payable to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (please put your unit number on the memo line), can be delivered to your Food Drive Unit Captain or mailed/hand delivered to the SBCO office at 63675 E. SaddleBrooke Blvd., Suite L, in Tucson (in the SaddleBrooke business complex). Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All monetary donations go directly to grocery purchases and related expenses. SBCO and TCFB are both all-volunteer organizations and are IRS 501(c)(3) and Arizona nonprofit charitable organizations, so donations made to these organizations are tax deductible.
On Saturday, March 18, food donations need to be placed at the curb for pickup by 8 a.m. These donations will be taken to the MountainView Clubhouse parking lot for sorting, boxing, and delivery.
TCFB needs these items:
Canned food: Beans, fruits and vegetables, meats and tuna, soups and stews, tomato products
Dried food: Beans, cereals, crackers, flour and sugar, pasta, rice, potatoes
Other items: Peanut butter and jelly, cooking oil, cleaning supplies, laundry products, hygiene products and toiletries
If you would like to volunteer for the Food Drive, please contact Andrea Stephens and Betty Ryan at [email protected].
No Foolin’—See Seven Great Homes on April 1 Home Tour
In 2022, SBCO Home Tour attendees were able to visit the remodeled kitchen of Dottie May. (Photo by Kenya Glenn, KC Creative Design Photography)
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
If you are curious about how SaddleBrooke residents have revamped their homes to expand storage options, create a space for guests, or simply modernize and beautify their surroundings, then the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) home tour on Saturday, April 1, is made for you! The seven remodeled homes allow you to see extensive changes as well as budget-friendly transformations that may inspire your own home improvements.
This annual event helps SBCO inform the SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch communities about its food, clothing, and educational programs for children in nearby communities. It also helps SBCO recruit the volunteers needed to make these programs work.
Tickets for this popular tour go on sale at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 6, in the SBCO office, Suite L, in the SaddleBrooke business center. You will be able to choose between a morning (9 a.m. to noon) or afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) tour. During those three hours, you’ll be able to visit all of the homes.
Tickets cost $20 per person and are sold only to SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents. You can purchase tickets at the SBCO office between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, March 6 through 31 (or until all tickets are sold). Call your friends and make plans now before the tickets sell out!
If you would like to serve as a docent in one of the 2023 tour homes for the morning or afternoon session, please contact Lisa Urban at [email protected]. Docents receive free admission to the tour.
Annual SBCO Celebration Set for April 10
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
On Monday, April 10, at 3 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) will honor the volunteers and supporters who have made it possible to annually serve children and their families living in the 100-mile Copper Corridor, stretching from Catalina to Miami and San Carlos. This area includes more than three counties, eight school districts, 17 schools, Head Start programs, and 4,000 youngsters.
For 25 years, the mission of SBCO has been to provide opportunities for kids to succeed. SBCO programs and grants focus on four things important to the success of children in need: food, clothing, enrichment, and education. Over the years, the variety of programs we support, as well as the number of children served, has expanded dramatically.
This event is an opportunity to recognize the contributions of the SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents who have provided SBCO with the time, talent, and funds essential to our programs’ success. The volunteer of the year, receptionist of the year, and lifetime achievement volunteer will be recognized. A check for the funds raised during the annual food drive will be awarded to Tri-Community Food Bank, and guests from local schools will present the enrichment programs that were funded by SBCO grants.
Refreshments, a no-host bar, and door prizes will be provided. Attendees will be able to visit with volunteers and meet members of the current and incoming board of directors. At the event, SBCO members will vote on the slate of officers for 2023-24.
Plan now to join us in celebrating SBCO’s more than 25 years of making a difference in local communities—and the dedication of those who have made our organization so successful. This event is open to the public and no reservations are required. Just come on April 10, have fun, and learn more about SBCO’s programs.
Clean Out Your Old Paperwork!
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
If you are weighed down by outdated paper files, get ready to lighten your load. Bring boxes or bags of paper to the Shredding and Recycling Event on Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to noon (or until the truck is full). The event, hosted by Long Realty-Golder Ranch, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, and the Beacon Foundation, will be held in the SaddleBrooke HOA One parking lot next to the bocce ball courts.
To protect your privacy, all documents are put into containers at the drop-off site. The containers are locked and transported to the Beacon facility for shredding. In addition to documents, only computer hard drives, which may still be inside computers or laptops, will be accepted for donation/recycling.
For each bag or box of items delivered for shredding or recycling, please bring $5 or five cans of food. All donations of cash or food will benefit the Tri-Community Food Bank and the Beacon Group.
For more information, please contact Long Realty at 15250 N. Oracle Road, #110 (in the Basha’s complex) or 520-665-4200.
Scholarships Help Students and Ease Financial Burden
SBCO Scholarship recipient Carson Keegan is a first-year Honors College student at the University of Arizona.
Mary Riemersma
Carson Keegan is a first-year student at the University of Arizona in the Honors College. He plans to obtain a bachelor’s degree in engineering and possibly minor in mathematics. Carson would like to complete this degree with little or no debt when he graduates. “This is important to me because I live in a single-income household and my mother is still paying on her own student loans. I would like to avoid putting more of a financial burden on my mom as I have watched her struggle to pay for her education while taking care of my sister and me.”
Carson hopes to make it through college maintaining a high GPA and he would also like to complete an internship in his field of study. He has not yet decided on a specific engineering major, however, electrical and computer engineering are strong possibilities. Like most students, Carson does not have a concrete view of what his future will be, but he ultimately would like to obtain a job in Arizona that he enjoys.
Carson actually began his college studies while still in high school. One of two engineering courses he completed in high school was while dually enrolled with the University of Arizona. Even in high school Carson identified engineering as a good fit for him because math was his passion and engineering affords him the opportunity to “express and apply my knowledge of math to real world problems and find solutions.” In high school, Carson was described as a well-rounded student who ranked 15 out of 428 students and who took advanced placement courses in language, literature, calculus, and physics.
Carson says, “Receiving the SBCO Scholarship has provided me the opportunity to forgo a job this year and acclimate to college life and the demands of the Honors College and the engineering curriculum. Being able to spend more time on my studies, build relationships with other engineering students, and have the opportunity to live in the Honors Village has helped me grow as an individual and achieve my academic goals for the semester.”
If you would like to help outstanding students like Carson, please consider making a contribution or providing a gift to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Program. You can include the program as a beneficiary in your trust, have a portion of your mandated IRA required minimum distribution (RMD) sent directly to the Scholarship Endowment Program as a tax-deductible gift, or you may simply write a check. Like with any financial decision, be sure to consult with your tax advisor regarding the benefits of such charitable gifts.
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 Number is 94-2681765.) The minimum contribution to the fund is $5,000.
Tax-deductible donations to the Endowment can be made any of four ways:
* A personal check—sent 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.
* Non-cash contributions (e.g., stock, securities, real estate, autos).
Send donations to:
The Community Foundation of Southern Arizona
SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund
5049 E. Broadway, Suite 201
Tucson, AZ 85711
For more information, send an email to [email protected] or call the SBCO office at 520-825-3302.