Elise Grimes and Anne Everett were honored for their many years of service on the SBCO Board of Directors.
SBCO honors volunteers and supporters
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
For more than 20 years, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) has supported food, clothing and educational programs for local children. Annually, SBCO serves a 100-mile corridor stretching from Catalina to Miami and San Carlos, which includes more than three counties, eight communities, 17 schools, three Head Start programs and approximately 4,000 youngsters.
On April 8, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach board members, volunteers and sponsors gathered to celebrate the achievements of the past year and honor the special contributions made by the supporter and volunteer of the year.
Robson Communities was recognized as the supporter of the year for its long-time commitment to SBCO, including providing office space in the Minit Market Plaza for a token $12 per year. Steve Groth, president of the SBCO Board of Directors, presented the award to Tim Fudge, Robson Communities Director of Facilities.
Mimi Sander was honored as volunteer of the year for giving generously of her time and talents to make the Teen Closet very successful. Ken Siarkiewicz was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his long-time volunteer work on countless projects including Special Events, Finance Committee, administrative operating documents, website management and promotional material. Nan Nasser was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Nan has twice served as president of the SBCO board as well as serving as executive vice-president. She helped develop administrative operating documents and is currently serving as SBCO historian.
Two departing board members, Elise Grimes and Anne Everett, also were honored for their many years of service to SBCO. Elise served as executive vice president of SBCO and worked tirelessly as vice president of education, helping to ensure that local children have access to educational enrichment opportunities. Anne served for several years as SBCO’s treasurer. Thanks to Anne, our financial accounts have been well managed – which is essential to the proper implementation of SBCO’s many programs and grants.
The next SBCO General Meeting will feature the annual Golden Goose Fashion Show, held at the MountainView Ballroom on September 23.
Donate to SBCO while grocery shopping
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
There are two easy ways to use your grocery dollars to help improve the lives of needy children in local communities.
Option 1: Buy a Bashas’ Community Card at the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach office in Suite L at the mini-market complex on SaddleBrooke Blvd. The office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 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 Basha’s 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’, AJ’s Fine Foods or Food City Store, 6% of your purchase goes to SBCO. So, 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.
Option 2: Fry’s allows reward card holders to designate SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) as a recipient of contributions from Fry’s community rewards program.
Here’s how to link your Fry’s VIP card to SBCO:
STEP 1: Create an online Fry’s account.
If you already have an online Fry’s account, skip to No. 2
* Go to http://www.frysfood.com/
* Click on “Welcome! Sign In” (top right)
* Click on “No Account? Register” (top right)
* Under “Create an Account,” enter your email and create a password (write down your email and password; you will need it in step 2)
* Under “Select your preferred store,” enter your postal code and click “Find”
* Select your store, then click on “Create Account”
* You will then be prompted to check your email for the confirmation email
* Click the hyperlink “View My Account” in your email to finish creating your Online Fry’s Account
* Continue to Step 2 to register for the Fry’s Community Rewards Program of your choice.
STEP 2: Register for the Fry’s Community Rewards Program:
* Go to https://www.frysfood.com/topic/community?activePage=community-rewards-2
* Select “Sign-In”
* Enter your email and password, then select ‘sign in’ (this will be the email and password you created in step 1)
* Under “Welcome back!” click “Your Name/My Account”
* Under “Account Summary,” scroll down “Community Rewards”
* Click ‘enroll’ under “Community Rewards,” if prompted, enter personal information
* Under “Find Your Organization:” Enter the NPO number or name of organization then select ‘search.’ (You can get the NPO number from your organization.)
* Under “Select Your Organization:” Select box next to your organization (left side)
* Then select ‘save changes.’
* If you have registered correctly, you should now see your organization information listed under “Community Rewards” on your account summary page.
Linking your Fry’s VIP card to SBCO is a simple way to make your grocery dollars go much farther.
This spring seventy students enjoyed great weather during their hands-on geology instruction at the Grand Canyon.
SBCO funding helps send students to the Grand Canyon and Catalina Island
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Annually SaddleBrooke Community Outreach awards a $3,000 educational enrichment grant to Coronado K-8 School in Catalina to help pay for seventh grade students to take a spring bus trip to the Grand Canyon. These funds are greatly appreciated by the students and their science instructors. During the two-day excursion, 70 students connected their geological classroom instruction with the real world. While at the Grand Canyon, students were able to identify different types of rocks, describe the formation of the canyon and sunset crater, as well as identify fault lines. The students also saw Glen Canyon Dam and Wupatki pueblos on this excursion.
SBCO also provides a $2,500 grant for sixth grade students from Coronado K-8 School to take a trip to the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) in California. CIMI is an outdoor science school, providing hands-on labs and field activities in marine science and island ecology.
This year, forty-eight students visited the plankton, shark and invertebrate labs and went snorkeling while at CIMI.
Larry Richter, former SBCO Vice President of Education, and his wife, Linda, congratulated SBCO scholarship recipients from Ray High School in Kearney.
SBCO college scholarships help local students succeed
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
Members of the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) educational committee have been putting in long hours in recent months. They have been reviewing college scholarship applications, traveling to communities along the “Copper Corridor” to interview candidates and ranking applicants to determine who will be awarded a two- or four-year college scholarship. Fortunately, the committee has recently added several new members who helped to shoulder the workload.
According to Jim Weeks, SBCO Vice President of Education, 45 applications for scholarships were received this spring and 29 scholarships were awarded. Of these, 25 scholarships were for four-year schools with the remainder for two-year schools. The scholarships were awarded to students in the following locations:
Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson: eight applicants; five scholarships.
Hayden High School in Winkelman: four applicants; three scholarships.
Ray High School in Kearny: ten applicants; five scholarships.
Miami High School in Miami: four applicants; two scholarships.
San Manuel Junior/Senior High School in San Manuel: 11 applicants; nine scholarships.
Superior High School in Superior: eight applicants; five scholarships.
Weeks noted, “This year’s applicants were just outstanding. They’ve worked hard and are determined to attend college and fulfill their career goals. We wished we could have given all of them scholarships.”
During the 2019-2020 school year, a total of 86 students will be receiving SBCO scholarships, 75 for four-year degrees and 11 for two-year degrees. Students will be attending schools across the country: Northern Arizona (23), U of A (20), ASU (13), Grand Canyon University (7), various junior colleges (15) and BYU, Central Michigan, Clarkson, Embry Riddle, Johns Hopkins, UNLV and Wayland Baptist (one student at each institution). Scholarships of $3,000 per year are awarded to those attending four-year schools. Students in a two-year program receive $1,500 per year. Scholarships are renewed annually for students maintaining a 2.0 GPA as a full-time student taking a minimum of 12 credits.
Steve Groth, President of SBCO Board of Directors, joined members of the Mammoth Little League to celebrate their first game of the season. Steve was honored for the second year in a row to throw the first pitch of season.
SBCO champions community sports programs for kids
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
It’s summer – time for local school children to play ball! Since 2017, SaddleBrooke Community Outreach has provided financial support for the Mammoth and San Manuel Little League Baseball Programs and Girls’ Softball teams. For 2019, a total of $10,000 ($2,500 for each team) was awarded through educational enrichment grants. These programs run from the end of April to the end of June. SBCO’s assistance has been needed to fill the void left when other sponsors, particularly the mining companies, reduced their donations.
SBCO also has granted $2,500 to the Mammoth Lions Swim Team. This grant supports a free summer basic swimming skills program at the Mammoth pool. Approximately 60 children ages 3 through 12 take lessons each year. Since Mammoth has the only working swimming pool in the area, swimmers enrolled in the program come from Mammoth, San Manuel, Oracle, Hayden, Winkelman and Catalina. Through its grants, SBCO helps to ensure children in these communities continue to have meaningful summer activities.