Donate to SBCO and Make a Difference in the Lives of Local Children
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
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 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!
It’s Angel Tree Time—Help Make the Holidays Brighter for Local Children
Kim Schweitzer
Since 2007 the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Holiday Adopt Program has provided hand-picked and carefully wrapped holiday gifts to local families and children. For the past 15 years, SaddleBrooke Ranch has joined this important cause to support children who are enrolled in the Mountain Vista School in Oracle and the Hayden-Winkelman School District.
We ask that you choose an angel from our tree. Each angel details the name, age, clothing sizes, and wish list of holiday items for a child. Gift recipients are referred to us by the Oracle and Hayden-Winkelman school counselors. Let’s open our hearts and make sure our local school children have a gift to unwrap this holiday.
The angel tree will be available on scheduled dates in November and December at the Ranch House lounge area and the La Hacienda Club. Dates will be announced in the weekly email blast.
Residents of SaddleBrooke Ranch can donate to the program by:
* Taking an angel and returning wrapped gifts
* Writing a check made payable to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach or SBCO. Checks can be mailed or hand delivered Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to the SBCO office at 63675 E. SaddleBrooke Blvd., Suite L., Tucson, AZ 85739
* Donating online at community-outreach.org by Nov. 17
Dates for all events and delivery to locations at The Ranch and to Mountain Vista School and Hayden-Winkelman will be announced via email once confirmed.
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.
If you have questions, please contact Kim Schweitzer at KimLise2@gmail.com or Myriam Barthole at bartholemyriam@gmail.com.
At the “Color the World” Summer Reading Program Kickoff event, volunteer Barb Montgomery and Delvan Hayward, president of the Friends of the Miami Library, helped families register their children in the seven-week program.
SBCO Grant Supports Summer Reading at Miami Memorial Library
Kimberley Prochnau Whedbee
Little Lucy was not yet talking when her mother started bringing her to the Miami Memorial Library’s “Color the World” Summer Reading Program, but clearly she loved the picture books and activities. So much so, that her mom reported that her first word was not “Mama” or “Papa” but “Library,” which she frequently employed as a request to get new books.
A SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) grant funded this seven-week summer reading and art program at the public library in Miami, Ariz. Children of all ages were invited to engage in learning and reading opportunities, all with a theme related to art.
The program began with the Registration Kickoff at a local park where the children created a group art project that was displayed at the library for the duration of the summer. Families listened to live performances and books being read, and also had the opportunity to create individual pieces of art. The Registration Kickoff even gave children the opportunity to visit other agencies, such as the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension office, so it was a great opportunity to merge art and education.
Each week during the seven-week program, children came to the library to pick out books, gather for story hour, and engage in the science and art education experiences. The art experiences included Drawing, Fiber Arts, Photography, 3-D Art, Writing & Storytelling, Performance Art, and Watercolor. Science demonstrations included “Salt Vibrations” and “Exploding Pumpkins”—both sensational and designed to stimulate an interest in science.
The salt vibrations experiment is created by pouring salt (or sand) onto a taut membrane, such as saran wrap pulled tight over a bowl, then playing music and watching the salt move, making the vibration of sound waves visible to all. The exploding pumpkins experiment is a fun and dramatic demonstration of the effects of force by putting rubber bands around a pumpkin until it explodes.
Children were also given the opportunity to pick out books to take home and keep, to ensure students stayed connected to reading, even while at home.
At the end of summer celebration, students not only enjoyed cupcakes and prizes but were excited by the awards given out to acknowledge the reading completed.
Susan Pontel, Miami Memorial Library Manager, is enthusiastic about the program and reports that this summer was their best summer ever—with more students actively participating in the program. Program logs maintained by the children showed a 24% total increase over the previous summer in time spent reading by the students.
At the end of the program, all of the school-age children indicated that they read more often and enjoyed reading more; the majority of their caregivers not only concurred but stated that their children were more confident readers and either maintained or increased their reading skills over the summer.